• Creating associate-based network of music educators, specialising in youth music provision.• Launching unique business opportunity, from conceptualisation and aligning with clear ethos, to full implementation and sustainable growth.• Leadership of branding development, marketing assets, and e-commerce website, enhancing visibility and reach.• Transitioned business from sole trader operation to team of 20 employees, implementing robust HR processes and procedures.• Designing and implementing safeguarding policies and procedures for educational settings, ensuring compliance and safety.

I launched Ukulele Jam in 2014 as a means to broaden my music business activities to reach adults, not just young people in schools. Over the last few years I have engaged with many hundreds of people who have been looking to learn a new skill, 'keep their brains active and fingers moving' and just make new friends. I have built a vibrant and close-knit community of mainly over adults aged 50+ but also including grandchildren and elderly parents alike. We meet every week, after-hours in coffee shops to learn new songs and 'blast out' our favourites - usually it's standing room only and ofter passers-by will stop and sing along from the pavement. It's often suggested that I have somehow captured a little piece of magic with Ukulele Jam - it brings great joy to those who participate and spreads lots of happiness to audiences in care homes, wedding receptions and festivals alike. I have become the go-to ukulele coach in the South West and am regularly booked for performance opportunities and teaching workshops even though this all takes place in my spare time, mainly evenings and weekends. We have featured on TV a number of times, including on the BBC news sofa!

• Building over 25 key partnerships with organisations, local authorities and community based trusted-voices.• Managing substantial budget for marketing, advertising and community project funding.• Created innovative litter-picking West Midlands project, raising brand awareness, engaging local residents, businesses and local authorities.• Driving commercial activity by creating regular events and bespoke opportunities for direct sales engagement.• Presenting to community groups using online platforms and in-person environments.• Key responsibility for analysing, understanding and highlighting competitor activities for C-level colleagues on monthly basis.• Strategic social media engagement, including producing creative content for blogs, web-pages, marketing campaigns and online competitions.

One of 200 Senior Engagement Managers recruited across England and Wales to manage the ONSrelationship with local authorities and communities in the lead up to the Census 2021 operation. This was a fixed-term contract at Senior Executive Office level.• Devised key engagement strategies, driving record census participation (98%) within Forest of Dean, Stroud and South Gloucestershire.• Building productive relationships with community partners, meeting strategic project objectives.• Reviewing internal operational performance to highlighted improvement opportunities.• Making effective presentations to local authorities, community groups and ONS managers, using variety of platforms and opportunities.• Facilitating library events and workshops, enabling participation.• Using social media platforms, engaging hard-to-reach minority groups.

Ukulala is all about improving the workplace for employees and employers.The wellbeing revolution has hit the workplace with employers recognising that an engaged and healthy workforce can make a significant contribution to business performance. Ukulala is an unique operator in this sector, encouraging employers to offer a '20 minute Fun Break' to staff - learning ukulele and meeting other employees from across the business in an informal training environment. Ukulala focuses on the wellbeing and performance of the organisation as well as the physical and mental performance of the individuals within it. It’s about culture, environment, business practices, leadership skills, communication and teamwork as well as personal resilience and resourcefulness, self-confidence and self-belief, work life balance and energy management. Ukulala was stood down as of the Covid-19 pandemic.• Establishing unique business, leading brand development, marketing, and creating e-commerce website.• Rapidly establishing committed client base of 150 local participants.• Successfully conducting music workshops in NHS settings, including Bristol Royal Hospital for Children and Residential Care Homes.• Secured contract to deliver music workshops and funding opportunities for Gloucester Blind Veterans Charity and Southmead Hospital Charity alongside regular wellbeing projects with John Lewis PLC.• Achieving exceptional social media presence, including 17 million views on YouTube, with additional profile on BBC TV and Radio.

FunkyPunk Music delivering peripatetic music lessons in schoolsOriginally working as an independent peripatetic music teacher, I was approached by several of my peers who had recognised the professional success I was enjoying and asked to be mentored, managed and employed by me. I set up FunkyPunk Music to allow other music teachers to benefit from my ethos, reputation and relationship with many schools in the area. As my role and responsibilities broadened from just teaching young people in schools to include managing a team of coaches, I had to quickly pick up HR knowledge and develop systems and policies to enable us to work in more primary and secondary schools. This included researching safeguarding regulations, developing my own policies, arranging DBS checks and Child Protection Training sessions for my workers. I was responsible for creating an invoicing system to collect music lesson fees from schools and individual parents and pay my staff, who were set up as self employed sub-contractors. I was responsible for recruiting and line managing a regionally dispersed team of up to 10 tutors. My role involved securing and maintaining contracts and relationships with 25 schools across the region. I designed and developed the FunkyPunk Music / redMUSIC brands for future franchising opportunities and led the business from initial concept to an annual turnover of over £80,000. Education was firmly at the heart of FunkyPunk Music but our ethos was ‘putting the fun back into learning to play a musical instrument’. I also developed a classroom based music curriculum and delivered this in around 12 schools over that 15 year period. In many of these classroom environments, I was the sole adult and therefore responsible for behaviour management as well as delivering fun and engaging music lessons. The business has been rebranded as redMUSIC and is run by one of the coaches, with me taking a non-active role.

Initially joining the charity to fulfil a music management role, I led a programme of international arts based tours, with young people and volunteers travelling throughout the UK and Europe performing musicals and multimedia presentations of our own creation. I was the lead organiser for local and national events, many of which sold-out in advance and received media attention. The success of these projects and initiatives led to internal promotion and this new senior leadership role within the charity saw me take responsibility for a number of projects covering the full array of NGM’s vision. I led the project team for design and build of their community arts centre and helped to generate £2.1 million of investment to enable construction and fit-out. In this project, I acted as lead relationship manager with high net worth individual contributors. Following my oversight of the construction phase for thiscommunity arts centre, I led the team which developed training courses and was involved in recruitment of new training personnel. I regularly delivered presentations of the charity's aims to audiences of between 100 and 10,000 people and was involved in representing the Directors in media opportunities (TV & Radio) as well as in high level meetings with peer leaders from other organisations in the UK and overseas.• Led a programme of national and international arts based tours.• Managing multiple teams of young people and volunteers.• Lead organiser for numerous local and national sold-out multi-media events.• Project Managing fundraising, design and construction of £2 million arts centre.• Engaging presenter and event host to audiences of between 100 and 10,000 people.• Representing the Directors in media opportunities (TV & Radio) and high level meetings.• Leading the IT Team, Facilities Team and Creative Media Team.• Built a successful record label and management company for music artists.

Building on my experiences as a signed musician, I was recruited by Engage Ltd to build a roster of music bands and artists for this emerging label. I had oversight of branding, website development and external comms as well as managing budgets and regularly negotiating contracts with strategic partners within the music industry. My leadership of bands and artists, studio management and label development involved me creating artist touring opportunities across the UK and Europe and I twice oversaw the design, construction and establishment of recording studios for our artists and bands. Some of our artists progressed to achieving commercial success.