Ruth Marks Email & Phone Number

Cardiff, Gb

Wales, United Kingdom

Independent member of the Audit and Risk Sub Committee of the Economic Development and Transport Department of the Welsh Government.

Wales, United Kingdom

Public appointment to provide independent scrutiny to senior public appointments process in Wales.

Wales, United Kingdom

Cardiff, United Kingdom

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Elected as a Board Member in December 2017.

To undertake a review of HIW to reform, develop and improve its regulatory and inspection functions. The review will consider whether the HIW remit is sufficientlycoherent and look for ways in which it may be able to be streamlined and certainlyto be strengthened. The review will also consider the legislative powers of theWelsh Ministers which are exercised by HIW.

I managed a range of services including: specialist dementia care, personalised support, extra care and sheltered housing across dispersed locations in England and Wales. Key achievements:• Developed key relationships with internal colleagues and external bodies including the inspectorate, statutory commissioners and housing providers across local authorities and health bodies.• Established strategic partnerships with the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, Bangor and Swansea Universities to support the new development of a centre for excellence for younger people with early onset dementia to become a flagship service.• Identified an opportunity and initiated discussions with local authority and health commissioners to provide re-ablement support to people following hospital discharge, delivering a pilot exercise.• Implemented a review to modernise our housing and support services to sheltered housing tenants, making efficiency savings, managing staff and tenant consultation processes.• Held face to face meetings with people we support resulting in the development of an Older People’s Group to advise and give feedback on services to identify areas for future improvement.

Established world’s first public body with legal powers to promote and protect the rights and interests of older people. Independent regulator role equivalent to Ombudsman, four year fixed term appointment.Accounting Officer responsible for Corporation Sole governance, £1.74M annual budget, 27 staff, 20 associates. Key achievements included:• Starting this new public body, the world’s first older people’s “ombudsman”, overcoming initial obstacles by attracting key staff on secondment and securing pro bono professional advice.• Building its capacity to deliver statutory investigations, recruiting a full team from diverse professions, and establishing governance frameworks, rated “best practice” by Deloitte.• Creating the Commission’s vision after extensive engagement with older people, voluntary agencies and other stakeholders in Wales and the UK, basing it on the UN’s Principles for Older Persons.• Leading Dignified Care?, a high-profile, politically sensitive but balanced investigation into the inadequate treatment of older people by the NHS, resulting in major changes in practice and government policy.• Successfully promoting deeper and more meaningful engagement by service providers with older people, including personally meeting groups as many as several thousand people, in diverse settings.• Establishing and managing relationships with UK Government Ministers, Welsh Ministers, the NHS and local government, ensuring the Commission’s reports and recommendations would be acted on.• Influencing £20 million in funding from the Big Lottery Fund to put in place support, befriending and advocacy services reflecting best independent living practice with the Joseph Rowntree Foundation.

RNIB is a leading charity and membership organisation offering information, support and advice to almost two million people with sight loss. Responsible for an operating budget of £3 million, and leading a large Directorate of staff and volunteers on four sites across Wales, my successes included:• Change managing a traditional, tired directorate, unleashing creativity by championing a new, more open culture, securing extra funding and supporting managed risk-taking.• Successfully piloting numerous developments in Wales before rolling them out across the UK, including a housing advice service, delivered in partnership with private sector companies such as Barratt and Wimpey. The Visibly Better accreditation scheme assists housing providers to improve their service.• Designing the business case for an innovative partnership between RNIB and the Cardiff Institute for the Blind, selling the proposition to both Boards, delivering better, more efficient and joined-up services.• Creating the first formal manifesto from RNIB and all Welsh sight loss organisations, advocating improved services to national and local government, resulting in £10 million additional funding.•Raising around £1 million per annum from a full range of sources, including private sector companies, charitable trusts, the BIG Lottery, European and government contracts.

I was appointed to lead this high-profile economic development agency for women when it was facing an acute risk of failure. Managing around 125 people on six sites, and a budget of £4 million, I:• Turned around the organisation, following a major strategic review, resulting in vastly improved performance and a 400% increase in core funding.• Re-engineered the governance arrangements, changing this social enterprise with leading companies, trade unions and councils as members, into a charity, recruiting an impressive board of Trustees.• Managed a redundancy programme after the review, maintaining morale and delivery while preventing damage to the organisation and spinning off a new charity providing some of Fair Play’s former services.• Won £4 million in EU funding for urban and rural schemes supporting female entrepreneurs, and negotiated new, complementary forms of support from the Regional Development Agency.• Secured Fair Play’s hosting of the regional element of a DWP and ACAS funded work-life balance project, resulting in policies, procedures and training for SMEs and PLCs, promoting flexible working.• Designed and delivered a successful PR and marketing strategy, securing the attention of trade, national and local press, TV and radio, supported by advertising in media used by women.

Developed and managed range of corporate social responsibility programmes including equality and diversity, Opportunity Now, education mentoring and employee volunteering. Responsible for finance, hr and relationship management.

Post Graduate Certificate, Leadership And Collaboration, Distinction

Fellow Chartered Institute Of Personnel And Development, Human Resources Management And Services

Ba Hons, Law And History

Education record