After 25 years of working on high-impact Government Major Projects I am now available for short or long-term consultancy work. My top areas of expertise, and approach, are set out below. Programme Management and Leadership: My leadership approach follows the principal that team members need a voice in what we’re trying to achieve, the autonomy to deliver and the ability to influence team culture. Business Case development: My collaborative approach focusses on bringing people… Show more After 25 years of working on high-impact Government Major Projects I am now available for short or long-term consultancy work. My top areas of expertise, and approach, are set out below. Programme Management and Leadership: My leadership approach follows the principal that team members need a voice in what we’re trying to achieve, the autonomy to deliver and the ability to influence team culture. Business Case development: My collaborative approach focusses on bringing people together, from end users and beneficiaries to operational staff to senior sponsors to generate highly readable documents and shared confidence in our approach. Service design: in-depth workshops with buyers and stakeholders set out how our new or transformed service make the world a better place. I then develop service specifications, with user-needs front and centre of everything we’re doing. Procurement and Contract Management: To get the best suppliers we need a detailed understanding of what we're buying. I work intensively with clients to develop a deep understanding of their requirements and use market engagement to understand how we can make change happen. Contract management should create clear accountabilities to deliver the very best services for end users.Cost/Finance Modelling: I develop cost models collaboratively and in the open to demystify how a programme will deliver against budget, with costs, benefits and supporting evidence clearly laid out. Models should have in-house finance systems in mind, to make it super-easy to reconcile actual expenditure against forecasts.Stakeholder Management: this should feel like a collaboration between the programme and those with the most to gain from its success. Expert, honest feedback, especially from critical stakeholders, is amongst the greatest asset a programme can have. I’m a believer in taking the programme to stakeholders, spending time with them in their own environment. Show less

Alongside my corporate transformation work, the most rewarding aspect of my life over the past two decades has been providing foster care to children and young people, both through the Albert Kennedy Trust and then for Southwark Children’s Services. This opened my eyes to the impacts of early neglect and trauma on children’s behaviour and, working with Systematic Psychotherapist Hanna Koster, I developed the RACER programme to help foster carers support children and young people with… Show more Alongside my corporate transformation work, the most rewarding aspect of my life over the past two decades has been providing foster care to children and young people, both through the Albert Kennedy Trust and then for Southwark Children’s Services. This opened my eyes to the impacts of early neglect and trauma on children’s behaviour and, working with Systematic Psychotherapist Hanna Koster, I developed the RACER programme to help foster carers support children and young people with challenging behaviour. RACER training aims to reduce the instances of children being ‘moved on’ from placements because foster carers are struggling to cope. I have been delivering workshops to London Local Authorities since 2018 and have consistently received five-star feedback from attendees. Show less

A short contract ‘Pump Priming’ a project to transform the LBS admissions process. I led ‘warm-up’ events with staff to map existing customer journeys, identify key in-house experts and build support for the project. I Led procurement of a specialist partner to advise on Business Process, Architecture and CRM platform development and I developed a detailed, integrated, Discovery project plan to guide the in-house Project Team in taking things forward.

I led the design, development, and delivery of a new Operating Model to rescue the DfE flagship programme for post-pandemic educational recovery. I rapidly transformed the scheme from a, centrally managed, tutor-booking service to a grant scheme, putting schools in charge of delivering catch-up tutoring. I led a competitive procurement, under intense political and audit scrutiny, to replace the previous "Prime" contractor with three, smaller, specialist suppliers to support schools and… Show more I led the design, development, and delivery of a new Operating Model to rescue the DfE flagship programme for post-pandemic educational recovery. I rapidly transformed the scheme from a, centrally managed, tutor-booking service to a grant scheme, putting schools in charge of delivering catch-up tutoring. I led a competitive procurement, under intense political and audit scrutiny, to replace the previous "Prime" contractor with three, smaller, specialist suppliers to support schools and managed off-boarding of the old supplier and onboarding of the new suppliers, while ensuring that delivery against targets was never compromised. This delivered over £2m in annual savings while considerably improving the quality of services to schools. I also right-sized the programme delivery team into a leaner, more focussed, team half the size, but with the right operational skills, and streamlined programme governance, away from 'activity oversight' to focus on managing risks to successful delivery. Show less

The "Get Help With Technology" programme provided almost 2 million devices to schools for remote education during lockdowns. I was emergency seconded to lead device and logistics procurement, contract management, finance, and programme governance. I led the production of the Full Business Case, which was praised senior colleagues for its clarity. I assembled and led a group of tec experts to develop device specifications and improve value, to tight deadlines. As the programme progressed we… Show more The "Get Help With Technology" programme provided almost 2 million devices to schools for remote education during lockdowns. I was emergency seconded to lead device and logistics procurement, contract management, finance, and programme governance. I led the production of the Full Business Case, which was praised senior colleagues for its clarity. I assembled and led a group of tec experts to develop device specifications and improve value, to tight deadlines. As the programme progressed we delivered superior devices, exceeding industry standard return rates, whilst driving down average unit costs by 11% against earlier procurements. I also led the programme onto a firm financial and performance footing; initial operating costs were unsustainable so I realised a clear vision for appropriately sized and skilled teams, ultimately reducing staff and consultancy costs by over £400k per month. Show less

Responsible for ensuring the accountability of DfE digital services and establishing DfE's internal Governance & Assurance framework for developing or upgrading these services. I developed the DfE Assurance Framework for new digital services, reducing circa sixty sign-off requirements for new services down to just seven while remaining compliant. I also reinvigorated management of the portfolio of digital services to maximise the impact of DfE's £220m annual expenditure on digital services… Show more Responsible for ensuring the accountability of DfE digital services and establishing DfE's internal Governance & Assurance framework for developing or upgrading these services. I developed the DfE Assurance Framework for new digital services, reducing circa sixty sign-off requirements for new services down to just seven while remaining compliant. I also reinvigorated management of the portfolio of digital services to maximise the impact of DfE's £220m annual expenditure on digital services through a focus on cross-cutting risks and sharing best practice between projects. Show less

I was urgently transferred within DHSC to build warehousing to stockpile pharmaceuticals, ahead of a possible December 2019 ‘no-deal’ Brexit. My leadership of the 'pharmaceuticals stakeholder group' tapped intelligence about existing warehousing capacity, which quickly saved £2m by shedding, unnecessary, DHSC sponsored ambient storage. I also contract managed the construction of refrigerated storage, which was significantly behind schedule - leveraging wider contractor relationships with the… Show more I was urgently transferred within DHSC to build warehousing to stockpile pharmaceuticals, ahead of a possible December 2019 ‘no-deal’ Brexit. My leadership of the 'pharmaceuticals stakeholder group' tapped intelligence about existing warehousing capacity, which quickly saved £2m by shedding, unnecessary, DHSC sponsored ambient storage. I also contract managed the construction of refrigerated storage, which was significantly behind schedule - leveraging wider contractor relationships with the Department and NHS to secure delivery within budget and to the original deadline. I also developed contingency options for short-shelf-life medicines that could not be stockpiled through an innovative ‘War Game’ event to reveal how rationing and prioritisation of medicines would be untenable. This resulted in a strategy to identify alternative products sourced via non-EU transit routes. Show less

Leading political oversight of the NHS Five Year Forward View (FYFV) for Mental Health. I created a single, joined up, Delivery Board between multiple agencies responsible for the 58 projects within the FYFV programme and co-authored the Mental Health Workforce Plan for England to train an additional 21,000 mental health professionals to support it. I also delivered the 'Beyond Places of Safety' Grants Scheme, which awarded grants to 51 innovative projects to provide user-centred pre-crisis… Show more Leading political oversight of the NHS Five Year Forward View (FYFV) for Mental Health. I created a single, joined up, Delivery Board between multiple agencies responsible for the 58 projects within the FYFV programme and co-authored the Mental Health Workforce Plan for England to train an additional 21,000 mental health professionals to support it. I also delivered the 'Beyond Places of Safety' Grants Scheme, which awarded grants to 51 innovative projects to provide user-centred pre-crisis support for vulnerable service users to reduce the need for in-patient admissions. I also led a cultural exchange between English and Dutch mental health clinicians via the International Initiative for Mental Health Leadership. Show less

Transformational leadership of DHSC's £200 million portfolio of Healthy Foods Schemes. My achievements include digitising the Healthy Start and Nursery Milk Schemes, achieving over £6 million in annual savings; reprocurement of the School Fruit and Vegetable Scheme (reducing annual costs by £5 million through persuading suppliers to subsidise the scheme) and reforming the manufacture and distribution of Healthy Start vitamins to enable high street and overseas sales, reducing overall costs to… Show more Transformational leadership of DHSC's £200 million portfolio of Healthy Foods Schemes. My achievements include digitising the Healthy Start and Nursery Milk Schemes, achieving over £6 million in annual savings; reprocurement of the School Fruit and Vegetable Scheme (reducing annual costs by £5 million through persuading suppliers to subsidise the scheme) and reforming the manufacture and distribution of Healthy Start vitamins to enable high street and overseas sales, reducing overall costs to the public sector. Show less

Following publication of the Local Support Services Framework, I led on expanding the number of local partners to encompass many more Housing, Homelessness and Voluntary Sector organisations; agreeing respective roles for them in ensuring joined-up support for the most vulnerable UC claimants. I also led development of the Finance model for UC localised support and the bid to HMT for funding to roll out the approach.

In this role I led the development of the local support arrangements for the most vulnerable welfare claimants, with the most complex claims. My team and I visited over 100 Local Authorities and ran workshops with over 1000 front-line support staff, from Social Workers to Youth Workers and Housing Officers. This research culminated in the Universal Credit Local Support Services Framework for providing joined-up support for vulnerable people accessing welfare and work.

As Head of Pensions Policy Development I transformed the culture of the DWPs Private Pensions Policy and Regulation Division, through building relationships between the Division and Trustees responsible for operating private schemes. I led the development of the first ever UK Government survey of the costs of operating private pensions and persuaded the National Association of Pensions Funds to promote completion of the survey amongst their member schemes. I also established a system of… Show more As Head of Pensions Policy Development I transformed the culture of the DWPs Private Pensions Policy and Regulation Division, through building relationships between the Division and Trustees responsible for operating private schemes. I led the development of the first ever UK Government survey of the costs of operating private pensions and persuaded the National Association of Pensions Funds to promote completion of the survey amongst their member schemes. I also established a system of "accounts managers" whereby large schemes would have an official within the Department that they could reach out to with concerns. Show less

As head of the Housing Benefit Review, I audited the UK Government's annual expenditure on Housing Benefits. Under my leadership these audits were transformed from a retrospective (published two years after the event) to a real-time rolling review every six months. I also expanded the service, from an audit to a comprehensive counter-fraud intelligence service, informing training of benefits staff and focussing counter-fraud efforts.

Overseeing UK expenditure on projects for building information management capacity in developing countries via multilateral aid agencies. My role included oversight of how UK aid money was being used by these agencies and thought-leadership to support a cultural shift in favour of information and evidence-based aid spending. To this end I commissioned a seminal academic paper on improving the evidence base for allocating foreign aid entitled "Measuring up to the Measurement Problem", for… Show more Overseeing UK expenditure on projects for building information management capacity in developing countries via multilateral aid agencies. My role included oversight of how UK aid money was being used by these agencies and thought-leadership to support a cultural shift in favour of information and evidence-based aid spending. To this end I commissioned a seminal academic paper on improving the evidence base for allocating foreign aid entitled "Measuring up to the Measurement Problem", for which I am referenced in the acknowledgements. Show less

Responsible for forecasting and reconciling UK aid spending via the EU. This accounted for about 25% of UK aid spending. My research aligned DFID's forecasting models with EU Finance systems reducing the discrepancy between forecasts and outturns from nearly 30% to under 5%. This greatly improved DFID's ability to allocate overall resourced by reducing the amount that needed to be held in contingency,

As a statistician at the Department of Health and Social Care, I established the first ever England wide Independent Sector Usage Survey (ISUS) of Hospital Trusts' use of private sector hospitals for inpatient elective surgery. The results demonstrated wide variations in the costs charged for key procedures, like hip and knee replacements. The survey enabled DHSC to publish reference rates, giving Trusts clarity as to what they should be paying for the most commonly outsourced surgery.

As a post-graduate trainee statistician at DWP, I undertook modular training in key aspects of statistics production and publication, specialising in large household surveys, statistical publications and dynamic microsimulation modelling.