Organisational change management

Managing the non-service property portfolio and business ventures of Auckland council. Looking after a portfolio worth c$950 million with an annual income in the region of $35 million.

The National Botanic Garden of Wales was opened in July 2000 and is one of the largest and most important plant collections in the UK. In addition it also comprises a 480 acre National Nature Reserve opened in August 2008. The Garden’s turnover in 2008/09 was c£2.4 million. It has an annual visitor number of c150,000 including c20,000 educational visits. It has a membership of 7,500. I managed a Senior Management Team of nine (including Finance, Marketing, Commercial, Facilities, Horticulture, Science, Education and Estates/National Nature Reserve), a staff of c80 and a volunteer corps of c200The post of Director reports directly to the Board of Trustees and is responsible for all aspects of developing and running the Garden. The post is directly responsible for strategic planning and policy setting (in conjunction with the Board), business and budget planning, marketing & PR, fundraising and operational and resource management.My achievements include:• Moving the focus of the Garden towards conservation and education, enabling credible negotiations with relevant stakeholders.• Stabilising the Garden’s financial position. This has involved the removal of a historical £3.5 million debt through negotiation with the Welsh Assembly Government (WAG) and Carmarthenshire County Council (CCC).• Securing annual funding support of £600,000 from WAG and CCC. Secured on a three-year rolling cycle.• Negotiating with the Countryside Council for Wales (CCW) - and securing - the designation of the Waun Las National Nature Reserve, together with annual funding support. • Overseeing the establishment and opening of the Garden’s library.• Establishing and enabling the Garden’s conservation science programme (in partnership with, amongst others, CCW, National Museums Wales and Aberystwyth University)• Significantly enhancing and cementing the Garden’s reputation within the UK and international botanic garden community.

At-Bristol is an award-winning interactive science and discovery centre located on Bristol’s historic Harbourside focused on the provision of life-long learning. It attracted c450,000 visitors p.a. (including 100,000 educational visits). The annual operational turnover was c£5 million, with a further income derived from fundraising activities – growing from c£150,000 in 2001/02 to c£5 million in 2005/06.The post of Director: Income Generation & Visitor Experience was responsible for all income generation including commercial income (admission income, catering, retail, IMAX cinema, corporate hospitality, lease income, and car parking) and fundraising. It was also responsible for all Visitor Services (including front of house staff, booking staff, interpretation staff, etc.).I was also responsible for developing the overall organisational strategic plan and annual business plan and budget.Achievements in post include• Increasing overall annual turnover (operational and fundraising) from c£4 million to c£11 million.• Securing support from the South West of England Regional Development Agency, Bristol City Council, Wellcome Trust, SITA Environmental Trust, Garfield Weston Foundation, Clore Duffield Foundation, Orange, Allied Domecq, among many others.• Helping to secure partnership deals with Aardman Animation, Bristol University, University of the West of England, among others.• Representing Bristol as part of the Science City initiative.• Helping position At-Bristol at the forefront of its sector both nationally and internationally.I left At-Bristol to take up the role of Director, National Botanic Garden of Wales.

I had responsibility over all aspects of corporate income generated for the RSPB including affinity marketing, sponsorship, licensing, mail order and retail sales. I managed a team of eight focused on the development and implementation of a corporate sector strategy concordant with the overall strategy of the RSPB. To this end I also sat on the overall ‘Marketing Strategy Group’, responsible for the development of the Society wide marketing strategy. In the financial year 1998/99 corporate income was c£10 million.I was also heavily involved in international consultancy work with NGOs in developing countries (that were supported by the RSPB), primarily in Africa. This involved complete organisational reviews and the development of strategic business plans.I left the RSPB to further my career and to improve my remuneration (my second child was born in early 2002). up the

Anagram International Ltd was a privately owned, US based, consumer products company. I was brought in to promote its products to the UK retail sector.My responsibilities included: all UK marketing and promotion (including the management of a retained PR company); Strategic realignment of market segmentation and distribution channels; managing the UK licensing programme, management of key retail accounts, management of the UK customer services team. I left to work in the not-for-profit sector.

The Management Development Programme consisted of a rapid progression through a number of business units, designed to train and equip individuals to take on management positions within the company. I experienced time in Sales and Marketing, Communications, Purchasing and finally Business Development within Leisure Products.I was head-hunted to join Anagram International Ltd.