Graham Elder Email and Phone Number

Coaching senior police officers, NHS Clinicians, logistics professionals and others, all studying to achieve their MBA in senior leadership, as well as their Chartered Manager Status with the CMI and their L7 Senior Leader and apprenticeship.

I work with corporates and blue chips, retailers, local authorities, politicians and NHS trusts across the UK. My broad background enables me to bring to my work the experience of managing in a commercial environment, negotiating, influencing, managing projects and growing business. I also focus on core communication skills, involving diverse groups, including the increasing importance of written formats, to get results and build relationships based on trust. In the political forum, I bring my talent for developing communication, leadership and personal effectiveness to an entirely different context, helping to ensure those who are elected to do so deliver effective and responsible government.Through my corporate work in the private sector, including rail engineering, retail, recruitment and IT services, my broad background enables managers and others to identify synergies and use practical tools to create real impact on key performance indicators.Major Achievements:•Developed and delivered a management toolkit specifically designed to develop leadership and project management skills within the NHS across 15 trusts.•Delivered my 4Thought leadership approach to the entire section manager cadre at the Peter Jones John Lewis Partnership department store, in Sloane Square, Chelsea.•Delivered a programme to develop a coaching culture in the communications authority of the government of Ghana.•Developed opposition leaders from across the UK as part of a the LGA political leadership development programme at Warwick University.•Developed and delivered a strategic account and opportunity planning development programme for Fujitsu account managers across the Europe, India, Africa and Middle East division.•Facilitated discussions between UK Fire Service employers and the Fire Brigades Union, at Westminster, London.•Developed and delivered an executive leadership programme for the executive board at Brighton and Hove City Council

Establishing the L7 senior leader programme.

I supported senior level learners throughout their apprenticeship journey (level 7). I provided coaching, mentoring and support, mapping their knowledge skills and behaviours to the apprenticeship standards. I also developed and delivered masterclasses that stretched learners and successfully supported and developed their capabilities, as well as enabling them to achieve their apprenticeship goals.

Tasked initially with the restructuring of essential training and the development of an apprenticeship programme, my overall role was to ensure a coordinated and consistent "One Legion" feel to all learning and development activities.

Reporting to the Corporate Head of L&OD, I have played a key role in developing and delivering Learning and OD strategy across Kensington & Chelsea, Hammersmith & Fulham and Westminster City Council, as well as taking overall responsibility for e learning and development for Councillors.Key Responsibilities:Consulting to Executive Director level to assist in coordinating and delivering Learning and OD Strategy for the Bi-Borough group of LBHF and RBKC, as well as Westminster City Council for tri-borough shared services.Consulting with services across 2 Councils, NHS and private sector partners,helping them create their individual engagement and development strategiesFacilitating engagement events of all sizes from a dozen to 600+ participantsE -operations lead including content development for a Moodle based LMS, building integrated, blended and multi-channel learning offers and bespoke solutions.Corporate lead for member development, advising on learning interventions and development strategy for Councillors.ILM Centre ManagerMajor Achievements:Delivered a fresh and dynamic Annual Training Programme including more effectively targeted, strategically relevant learning whilst achieving a larger than anticipated 18% saving on budget.Used my connections to build a strong relationship between The John Lewis Partnership and RBKC, including several reciprocal learning events and project collaboration across a range of services.Took the IIP lead for Learning and OD, achieving re-accreditation for the Council. Created a ground-breaking approach to member development, using role profiles to create structured L&D programmes for Councillors.

Having been approached by Land of Leather to take on the role of National Training Manager, I joined the business in January 2008 with the task of establishing the Learning and Development function within the business from scratch. Reporting in to the Head of HR and with 10 direct reports, I took responsibility for all 109 stores, 8 distribution centres and head office functions in Kent and Dorset.

Having made the decision to spend some time outside retail, I received an invaluable and enriching experience working as a consultant with a wide variety of businesses. Reporting to the Management Training Manager, I consulted with clients to establish needs and develop strategies, as well as delivering bespoke and generic programmes and assisting them with the development of their own internal training materials.

I joined the business as Training and Development Officer for the South East, reporting to the HR Manager, covering 150 branches as well as Head Office. Due to my great success in this role, I was promoted in May 2004 to the position of Senior Training and Development Officer. This involved taking responsibility for approximately 500 branches in the East of the UK including the management of 2 Training and Development Officers.

A founder member of the Courts training team, reporting to the HR Director and with 1 direct report, I played a central role in establishing the Learning and Development strategy within the business, proving its worth as an asset.

I joined the business as a Graduate Trainee Manager, quickly progressing to Section Manager level before joining the training team, reporting to the Staff Trainer, with 1 direct report. During my time at John Lewis I acquired a strong customer service and commercial background.QualificationsB.Ed. (hons) Bristol Polytechnic (includes QTS) (1990)Chartered MCIPDQualified MBTI Step 1 AssessorTA 101 AccreditedILM and ITOL Accredited Qualified Business and Life Coach Institute of Customer Service CoachLicensed Thomas International EQ AssessorQualified RMS 360 Feedback AssessorQualified Internal NVQ Assessor