Speaker Directory

Kim is a former Chair of UHR and was for 15 years the HR Director and latterly University Secretary at the University of London.

He semi-retired in 2018 and is now Vice-Chair of the Royal Agricultural University, a Board member of AECC University College, Bournemouth, and on the Professional HE Services (PHES) Board.

He also works as a HR consultant for various universities and colleges on workplace investigations and other HR projects.

Well informed about the sector, and all things UHR conference (he’s a past quizmaster!), as compere he’ll provide continuity, help delegates pick up the many threads running through the week, and identify challenging questions and takeaways for us all.

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Ritika’s journey is one of remarkable achievement and global impact. Born and raised in India, she pursued an MBA in the UK and successfully navigated the challenges as an immigrant to both Canada and the UK. With over 30 years of experience at Board level across three continents, Ritika has worked with senior stakeholders in both the public and private sectors.

Driven by a passion for inclusion and innovation, Ritika founded Prabhaav Global, an organisation dedicated to harnessing the transformative power of Cultural Intelligence (CQ) for impactful leadership. As a CQ Certified Facilitator, CQ Fellow and Fellow at the Society of Leadership Fellows, Windsor Castle, she is a recognised authority in the field.

Ritika's influence extends to her roles as a Strategic Advisory Board member for British Transport Police, Co-Chair of the Culture First Board at Essex Fire and Rescue Services, Trustee and Board Director at the 5% Club, and sought-after global keynote speaker.

Andy Dodman is the Assistant Chief Executive and Chief HR Officer at Leeds City Council, the second largest local authority in the UK.He is responsible for its large and diverse workforce, the digital & IT service, business administration and support services, marketing and communications, and the change/transformation functions. He is a former Vice President of the Public Sector People Managers Association (PPMA).

Andy moved into local government in 2019 following a successful career at The University of Sheffield. At Sheffield he was the Director of Human Resources and more recently its Chief Operating Officer. He was an active member of UHR and a member of its Executive Committee.

Andy has consistently appeared in HR Magazine’s Most Influential List for the past decade and contributes to a range of national publications including People Management and HR Magazine, and has presented at CIPD’s Annual National Conference.

He was educated at the University of Bath (BSc) and the University of Leeds (MBA) and is a Chartered Fellow of the CIPD.

Outside of work he is an avid runner, a reluctant cyclist and a struggling swimmer.

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Stuart is the creator of Live BIG, a way of thinking and being that stops us from playing small.

A highly sought-after lobal speaker, trainer, and coach, he takes big ideas and translates them into simple, practical steps that leaders can use to empower themselves and others to do more, be great, love life...and realise their full potential.

He has worked in over 30 countries and personally trained over 25,000 leaders at companies ranging from Deloitte and Asda to the BBC and Virgin.

Before creating Live BIG in 2007, Stuart spent 15 years in the broadcast media business. He became the youngest ever Programme Director of a commercial radio station at 24 and soon after, Managing Director of a group of Big City music radio stations where the Live BIG Powers were first road tested.

At the core of Stuart's work is a belief that we are capable of more than we realise. That we all can lead happy, fulfilled, and meaningful lives. And that work can be a place where people are empowered to achieve remarkable things.

Audiences leave Stuart's sessions energised, inspired, and committed to taking action to lead better and live bigger.

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Born with Cerebral Palsy, which affects the movement of his leg muscles, Nicolas was initially a wheelchair user. He endured years of gruelling, painful training so that by the age of 17 he could walk completely unaided. A huge achievement in itself, but this was just the first part of his unwavering determination to become a professional racing driver.

Nicolas was told as a child that he would never walk due to his cerebral palsy and would spend his life reliant on a wheelchair. Not one to be told he cannot do things, with determination and gruelling training he not only walked unaided, but he started to realise his dream: to be a racing driver.

In a notoriously competitive and tough sport, Nicolas has established himself as a potential future champion, an achievement in any context, but even more so for someone who was told as a child that he would never walk. As well as racing Nicolas is focused on sharing his inspirational story and his belief that your ambition is limited only by your attitude.

Delivered in his genuine, down-to-earth, friendly manner, Nicolas’ keynotes recount his personal story of motivation, facing down challenges and overcoming adversity as well the lessons in teamwork that his sport has instilled.

Rachel leads strategic change projects at the University of Kent, focusing on improving organisational effectiveness. With a background in academic and business operations, Rachel brings practical insight into how university structures, services, and academic activity connect, and how they can be strengthened through thoughtful design. Her work centres on delivering transformation that is people-focused and sustainable, with a strong commitment to collaboration and clear communication. She has a particular passion for organisational development and supporting colleagues through change, helping to build cultures where staff feel empowered, engaged, and aligned with the institution’s strategic direction.

With over 25 years of experience in human resources, Michelle is a Chartered Member of the CIPD and Head of HR Strategic Projects at the University of Kent. Her work centres on delivering organisational change that balances strategic intent with the human experience of transformation. Michelle focuses on fostering thoughtful engagement that helps colleagues navigate change with clarity and confidence. Having worked across higher education, not-for-profit, professional services, and media, Michelle brings a broad perspective on how structure, capability, and purpose can align to drive long-term effectiveness. At Kent, she was the HR lead on delivering the University’s Kent2030 strategic transformation programme, including reimagining Professional Services through lean methodology to support sustainable ways of working. She is passionate about building collaboration, trust, and alignment during complex change, ensuring outcomes that are both practical and people-centred.

Helen leads Learning Innovation and Skills at Bath Spa University, a team comprising Academic Skills, Schools Technical Services and Teaching Expertise Development, with responsibility for developing and enhancing learning, learning support and teaching across the institution. She has extensive experience in strategic leadership of academic staff development, facilitation and evaluation within learning and teaching in higher education.

Sarah Knight is director of digital transformation within the higher education and research directorate at Jisc. Sarah and her team are supporting universities with their digital transformation using Jisc’s framework and maturity model. Sarah established the Jisc student experience experts group, an active community which provides valuable consultation and dissemination opportunities for Jisc. Sarah continues to champion Jisc’s change agents’ network: to support staff-student partnership working on technology enhanced curriculum projects. During her time at Jisc, Sarah has led large transformation projects on curriculum and assessment design, digital capabilities and learners’ experiences of technology.

Becki is a Higher Education Senior Consultant with Jisc supporting the Building Digital Capabilities Service for HE. She comes from an extensive background of over 19 years working within Higher Education in a digital education capability. Her PhD in technology enhanced learning encapsulates the processes and barriers of implementing digital tools and capabilities within Engineering Education.

Eleanor Broadbent is an Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Lead at Leeds Beckett University. Eleanor has worked in the sector for four years and has previous experience as an EDI practitioner in local government and the voluntary sector.

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Zoë has over 13 years’ experience in the Higher Education sector and has worked at the University of Nottingham in a wide range of project management and transformational change roles. Now an HR Project Manager, she has led organisation-wide initiatives across the full employee lifecycle, partnering closely with colleagues to turn strategy into meaningful change. Zoë’s current passion is building strong performance cultures through effective performance management, talent development, and learning and development. As Programme Manager for the performance culture initiative, she brings people, projects and priorities together, ensuring clear alignment across workstreams, strong stakeholder engagement, and effective decision-making to help the organisation achieve its ambitions.

Jo moved into her current Organisational Development role after a number of years supporting students in career development, recruitment and Widening Participation. Jo is passionate about supporting others to be their best, and focusing on elements such as culture, values, and behaviours as an enabler for personal and professional development. Jo has worked at a number of Midlands HEIs and, in her current role with the University of Nottingham, enjoys the variety of projects allied to learning and workforce development to support new ways of working, most recently working on initiatives to develop performance culture and performance conversations.

Alex is a highly engaged HR, change and L&D professional with over 20 years senior strategic and operational experience in the Financial and HE sectors.

Since 2023, as Deputy Vice-Chancellor at the University of Hull, Kevin has led a wide range of initiatives including academic strategy, planning and resources, portfolio innovation, partnership development and civic engagement. Prior to this, as Pro Vice-Chancellor at Sheffield Hallam University and Executive Dean at Northumbria University, Kevin led successful institutional strategy in relation to: Curriculum design; Online learning, Branch campus initiatives, Highly skilled employment, Health innovation, Apprenticeships and skills, and Investment zones. He has also led large and successful Business Schools and Law Schools. As an academic lawyer alongside his 20 years’ practise as a criminal and human rights solicitor, Kevin has been a leading proponent of experiential education, initially in clinical legal education and later in business, technology and other contexts. His appointment as a National Teaching Fellow was in recognition of this pioneering work.

Sarah is the Head of HR Business Partnering at the University of Southampton. Sarah's current role is focused on leading and managing a very experienced and competent HR Business Partnering team to deliver the operational and strategic HR agendas across the Faculties and professional Service areas. She has experience in change management, international HR, employee engagement, and leadership development within Higher Education. Sarah is passionate about creating inclusive, high-performing cultures and driving continuous improvement.

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Clarity White has been working at the University of California, Berkeley since 2017 and serves as the Director of Library Human Resources since August 2025. She is currently leading a divisional classification and pay equity review in a division with representation from nine different unions.

White's experience includes over 20 years in higher education,15 in HR. Her background includes various HR leadership roles supporting units such as Student Affairs, College of Business, and College of Humanities. She has led a team providing HR support to thousands of employees across multiple departments. Her core expertise includes employee and labor relations, organizational development, and fostering collaborative work environments.

While in the Netherlands, she completed a Master’s degree in Human Resources at the Rijksuniversity of Groningen, having previously earned Bachelor's degrees in Business Management and German. She has a deep commitment to Higher Education and International Education. Clarity has been deeply involved with the CUPA-HR association for the last 10 years serving on both a Regional board and the Board of Directors. She is known for her inclusive approach, strong communication skills, and her ability to navigate complex environments with a growth mindset.

Michael Chadband specialises in leveraging technology to transform HR operations. With a background rooted in engineering and data analysis, Michael applies a logical, systems-thinking approach to complex people processes. He is a champion of the Microsoft Power Platform, utilising Power Automate and Power BI to replace manual workflows with efficient, automated solutions that enhance data integrity and the user experience. Michael is passionate about continuous improvement, successfully integrating technical expertise with strong change management to solve long-standing operational challenges.

Tom Everett has been integral to the Automation journey within HR at the University of Edinburgh. He has led on the delivery of 13 internal changes to support efficiencies within HR Services and has participated in wider automation, working with ISG colleagues in the University. His experience across HR system while also managing our Helpline, ensures that he thinks about the customer experience in all these changes. Tom successfully completed the UHR Trailblazer programme in 2023-24.  Tom is a member of the Universities Scotland Efficiency and Climate Emergency Committee (USECEC) forum where ideas of cross-institutional collaboration on automation have been put forward. 

Sarah Cox is Head of Employee Policy and Relations at the University of Sussex, where she leads on employee relations matters and policy development, and trade union engagement. With over 20 years of experience in HR within the higher education sector, Sarah has held roles in the HR Business Partner function as well as a specialist in Employee and Industrial Relations. She has a proven track record in advising senior leadership on best practice and employment legislation, and fostering constructive relationships with trade unions. Her work focuses on supporting organisational change and ensuring compliance with employment law.

Isobel is Assistant Director: Culture, Equality and Inclusion. She is part of the HR Executive Leadership Team and leads the University’s Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Team, She works closely with the Executive Lead for Culture, Equality and Inclusion, Pro-Vice-Chancellor Professor David Ruebain, to implement the University’s strategic plan for inclusion.  Isobel has over 30 years’ experience working in HR in the Education and Charity sectors. She is committed to the collaborative development of innovative approaches to achieve transformational culture change and greater inclusion in organisations.

Colin is Executive HR Director at the University of Sussex and a member of Sussex’s University Executive Team.  

Colin is responsible for leading the HR Division to support delivery of the strategic goals of the University,  underpinned by the People and Culture strategic plan.

Colin is a values-based leader and has worked in the HR profession for over 35 years. He has significant leadership experience across a range of subjects including colleague engagement, culture change & organisational transformation, equality, diversity & inclusion, reward, development, industrial relations and health, safety & wellbeing. Passionate about future-focused HR, he champions the delivery of service excellence and insight excellence to ensure HR’s approach meets both the short and long term needs of the organisation.

Sophie Crouchman is the Strategic Projects and Research Manager at Universities Human Resources (UHR). Sophie has spent 15 years in a range of HE professional services roles including HR and a secondment to Research England for the REF, and latterly as Senior Planning Officer at Loughborough, covering governance, projects and data work, HESA, EDI and HR datasets.

Laura Jackson is Principal Consultant with Strive Higher. She has worked in a variety of data and planning roles across higher education, with a focus on statutory data returns. Laura is passionate about sharing her love of data across the sector, building data as a shared capability across all teams.

Elisha Ward is an Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Officer and Project Manager at the University of Oxford. Her work is shaped by an interest in how assumptions built into modern work affect inclusion, leadership and economic potential. With experience across psychology, HR and financial wellbeing, she promotes human-first approaches that connect individual experience with organisational learning and culture change. She is particularly interested in how rethinking value and inclusion at every level - from individual experience to institutional design - can help people and organisations thrive together.

Ben Rogers is a higher education consultant and the author of the sector’s Compassionate Communications guidance. Formerly Director of Registry Services at Cardiff Metropolitan University and Chair of the Academic Registrars Council (ARC), Ben has extensive senior leadership experience across the sector. His work focuses on service enhancement, digital transformation, and organisational change, underpinned by a strong commitment to improving the student and staff experience. Ben regularly contributes to sector-wide initiatives through Universities UK advisory groups and as a keynote speaker on leadership, communication, and student engagement.   

Emma Smith is a communications leader with 25 years of experience, specialising in helping organisations communicate effectively through change and in managing reputational risks. She has led communications, PR, marketing, corporate events and stakeholder engagement across three universities, transforming communications strategy, strengthening reputational governance, honing institutional identity and bringing organisational strategy and values to life through effective internal storytelling and engagement.  Bringing expertise from across the public and private sectors, Emma has also held senior communications and marketing roles in Further Education, Local Government, the Fire & Rescue Service, Financial Services, and a national charity. She is also a lead consultant with AHEP.

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Zahara is EDI Business Partner at Buckinghamshire New University. She has over a decade’s experience in education, leading across curriculum, wellbeing and inclusion in mainstream and now higher education. She is also a DiverseEd Associate and Bloomsbury Literary Advisor and frequently delivers diversity and inclusion training across the education sector.

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Tailte is a qualified coach with an MSc in Occupational Psychology. For over 15 years she has supported individuals and teams across the NHS and more recently in Higher Education, helping them navigate challenges and thrive in demanding environments. Tailte works within Ulster University’s People & Culture team to embed strategic, preventative, and evidence-based approaches that enhance and support employee wellbeing. With additional training in Positive Psychology, Mediation and Mindfulness Coaching, Tailte brings a person-centred and evidence-based approach to People & Culture. Whether through one-to-one coaching, analysing data to inform meaningful interventions, or determining strategic priorities, her focus remains the same: enabling people and organisations to thrive through the development of healthier and more sustainable wellbeing cultures.

Claire is an experienced wellbeing professional with nearly 15 years at HSENI, where she specialised in both health and safety. As a Business Advisor, she guided organisations in implementing robust risk assessments, and later, as Mental Wellbeing Advisor, she coached and mentored businesses on psychological health strategies. In April 2024, Claire joined Ulster University as Employee Wellbeing Partner, leading the development and rollout of the Work Well programme to enhance staff wellbeing. She holds multiple NEBOSH qualifications in Health & Safety and Health & Wellbeing, alongside a CPCAB Level 5 in Mental Health and Wellbeing Awareness. Claire also earned an Advanced Diploma in Mental Health & Wellbeing Coaching from Kingstown College, equipping her to deliver impactful, evidence-based wellbeing initiatives across diverse workplaces.

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Suzanne Christopher is the Higher Education Engagement Lead at People Insight, bringing extensive experience in staff engagement and organisational development. Suzanne has partnered with leading institutions such as Imperial College London and the LSE, as well as public sector organisations, to drive evidence-based approaches to feedback, performance, and culture change.
Renowned for her collaborative style, Suzanne excels at translating complex challenges into practical, people-centred solutions. Her work focuses on embedding inclusive leadership behaviours, amplifying staff voice, and aligning organisational values with everyday practice—helping institutions create environments where people thrive and innovation flourishes.

Rachael McGraw is Head of Colleague Experience at The University of Manchester, leading work on colleague engagement and experience. With more than two decades at the University, she previously served as its first Head of Communications before moving into the People Directorate as Head of Colleague Experience in 2020Trained as a journalist with early career experience in private sector PR, she brings a storyteller’s lens to culture, values and colleague voice—focused on translating insight into practical improvements in the day to day experience of work.

Jane Tidswell is HEI Director at People Insight, where she leads strategic partnerships with universities across the UK. Jane specialises in employee engagement, organisational culture, and leadership development, working with institutions such as King’s College London, University of Manchester, and Cardiff Metropolitan University. She supports universities in building feedback-rich cultures through 360 feedback, engagement surveys, and continuous listening platforms.

Jane is passionate about aligning people strategies with institutional values and brings a consultative, action-oriented approach to every engagement. She works closely with HR, OD, and senior leadership teams to deliver measurable impact and long-term value. Jane leads the Inspire™ HE initiative at People Insight, an annual ranking that celebrates universities excelling in employee experience and showcases sector best practice. Her practical, collaborative style helps HE professionals turn insight into action and create inclusive, high-performing environments.

Matthew is a Member of the Association for Coaching, an MTQ48 Facilitator and Coach, a Certified Everything DiSC, DISC Flow and Genos Emotional Intelligence assessor and was (between 2013-2016) the chief representative for Career Star Group in Asia, responsible for career transition (outplacement) and coaching of mid-level to senior executives in China, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam.

Passionate about working with people to realise and reach goals, Matthew is a specialist in developing resilience and behavioural change, working with his clients to help them find their 'Flow'.

By developing our resilience and ‘bounce backability’, adopting more positive behaviours and a healthier growth mindset, Matthew believes we are better positioned to overcome and manage the challenges life and work throw at us.

On the back of a 20 year career spent in sales and people management Matthew also devises and runs sales training programmes and leadership focused learning journeys targeted at developing the critical (soft) skills needed to create and grow world class leaders.

As an Executive Coach, Matthew has accumulated over 2,000 one on one and team coaching hours.

MD at INTOO - Helping people manage their careers during times of change and redundancy.

INTOO is a growing organisation supporting clients within many sectors (including Finance, Sport, Retail, Education, Manufacturing, Pharmaceuticals and Charities) with their people strategy by providing leadership, career transition & outplacement, global careermobility, employability, executive coaching and people-change services throughout the UK and beyond.

Director in Isio’s Employee Benefits team. He supports Universities and staff get the most value out of their benefits strategy across pensions, benefits technology, insurance, wellbeing and engagement.  

Sophie has over 30 years’ experience advising both employers and pension trustees on all aspects of pension matters. Sophie‘s focus is employers in the education sector, utilising LGPS, TPS, USS as well as NHS PS.

Sophie supports her clients with strategic pensions reviews, within the constraints of the higher education pension structure/limits, implementation of changes and support on employee communications – helping employers engage their employees in the value of their reward package, including their pension.

In her spare time, Sophie enjoys bellringing and running – only not at the same time.

Tim is an experienced public sector pensions actuary with 19 years’ experience advising universities and similar organisations on valuations, funding, benefit design and engagement across schemes including USS, LGPS, TPS and NHSPS.

Leatham joined Oracle in 2021 having enjoyed a successful career in public service that spans over 30 years with roles as Programme Director: Orbis (shared service between East Sussex, Surrey and Brighton and Hove City Council) HR Director, East Sussex County Council, Surrey County Council and Head of Contracts at Kent County Council.

Leatham also ran his award-winning agency ‘The Mindful HR Centre’ and was Executive Director of the Public Service People Management Association and a PPMA National Policy Board member for over 20 years. Leatham created and facilitates PPMA’s award winning talent development programmes which has now supported over 350 aspiring public sector leaders.

Leatham has received numerous awards for his work in the field of business transformation including HRO’s HR International Influencer; HRO’s European HRD; PPMA HRD and The Guardian’s Public Servant Award for Innovation in HR 7 OD.
 
Leatham’s real passion lies in creating opportunities to highlight the breadth and depth of youth talent in organisations and supporting them to gain in confidence and self-belief and enabling people to be in the driving seat of their wellbeing.

Leatham is a life long follower of Kate Bush and lives in Shoreham – by – Sea with his partner and they share a house with their whippet Luca.

Sarah’s expertise lies in co-creative organisational design and development, specialising in culture and change, with the purpose of enabling and empowering individuals, groups, and organisations to thrive.

Sarah has significant experience working in the UK HE sector, holding cross-organisational leadership roles in the areas of equity and inclusion, student services delivery and organisational development.

Sarah is a published author, Certified Transactional Analyst in the organisational field (ITAA), Chartered Fellow of the Chartered Institute for Personnel and Development, a qualified coach, interpersonal mediator, facilitator, integrative counsellor and Lean6Sigma practitioner.

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As UK&I Director for Public Services, Matthew is a trusted advisor in workforce strategy, talent acquisition, organisational redesign, and skills development. His focus is on helping organisations navigate change by creating agile, inclusive, and future-ready workforce strategies. With over 30 years’ experience in specialist workforce solutions, Matthew has a proven track record of engaging at C-suite level to deliver cost-effective, innovative solutions. Matthew's expertise spans business development, workforce transformation, and operating model design, alongside governance and risk management in highly regulated environments. He provides thought leadership to shape services in response to evolving market demands and support clients in addressing critical skills shortages. Additionally, Matthew champions initiatives that build talent pipelines and foster diversity, including reward and recognition frameworks within the Higher Education sector, ensuring organisations attract, retain, and motivate exceptional talent.

Clive has worked in Human Resources in the UK and internationally for 40 years. Since 2010 he has been a Director at B3sixty, specialists in workplace investigation and dispute resolution. Clive has a special interest and expertise in employment relations, both at a policy level and in "hands on" experience of implementing effective processes for preventing or dealing with disputes. He was HR Director at University of the Arts London for 15 years, and is a longstanding Member of CIPD and Fellow of the RSA.

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Accredited by the Civil Mediation Council, Bob has conducted workplace mediations since 2010. He is an experienced coach and supervisor, accredited by the European Mentoring & Coaching Council. He worked has worked in management development roles in the energy industry and at Warwick University, where for eleven years he was a Professor in the Warwick Business School, involved in a variety of teaching activities and supporting students facing challenging circumstances. Bob left Warwick in 2024 to set up his own company offering mediation, coaching, supervision and facilitation services. He has also provided mediation services in association with B3sixty for the last six years. Bob has written a number of books on coaching and management, most recently Coaching from A to Z and Back Again, and Management from A to Z and Back Again. He is a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.

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Suzanne has a successful track record of delivering HR solutions at a strategic level both as a Reward specialist and as a consultant.

Suzanne has led a wide range of projects from pay and grading review and job evaluation implementation projects to equal pay reviews. 

Prior to joining ECC, Suzanne worked as an inhouse Reward specialist, responsible across the full range of Reward issues including pay, core and flexible benefits and pensions.

Nicholas has led ECC through a period of significant growth and expansion over the last 12 years and brings extensive experience of developing and delivering practical and successful strategies and business plans in the public, private and voluntary sectors.

Before joining ECC he spent several years as Head of Strategy and Performance at RNIB, a £120m UK membership charity with 3,000 staff across 40 sites. In his spare time he enjoys travel, and walking a dog he always said he didn't want but is now inseparable from.

David plays a leading role in transforming the University of Manchester’s approach to reward, benefits and recognition. Over the past 18 months, David has helped deliver a step-change in colleague experience, launching the University’s first dedicated Reward, Benefits and Recognition platform, Purple Place for more than 13,000 employees. He has introduced high-impact initiatives including the University’s first Electric Vehicle scheme and a new annual Colleague Recognition Day, which saw a record-breaking 4,000 e-cards sent at launch. Alongside major strategic projects, David oversees core reward activity including role analysis, market pay, pay gap reporting and policy development, bringing a practical, people-centred perspective to building a modern, recognition-led culture. David’s focus for the future is further increasing engagement, expanding the benefit offering and building a recognition culture that aligns with ‘From Manchester for the world’, the University’s strategy to 2035.

Colin leads Reward Gateway Edenred's work with organisations in higher education, health, emergency services, local government and central government. From over 20 years of helping clients improve employee attraction, retention and engagement, he is an expert on the role of non-pay reward and recognition in improving culture and performance. Currently, Colin oversees a portfolio of 35 UK universities, including 33% of Russell Group universities – reaching over 148,000 employee across the UK with schemes including discounts and cashback, exclusive campus and local discounts, digital recognition and reward, charity donations, cycle-to-work, green cars, home tech and wellbeing tools.

Caroline is a Leadership Coach and Change Facilitator with over 25 years’ experience working with senior leaders in HE. She partners with academic and professional services leaders, including Executive Deans, Heads of School, Directors of central portfolios and services and Faculty Executive Managers, who are navigating sustained pressure, uncertainty and major change.

Caroline’s work is grounded in lived experience. Prior to establishing her leadership practice, Caroline held senior executive and advisory roles across diverse universities, including research-intensive and multi-campus institutions. Her leadership experience was forged in complexity - most notably as Chief of Staff to a Vice Chancellor during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. From the executive corridor to faculties, schools and central portfolios, Caroline has led and supported large-scale transformation programmes, cultural renewal and the development of internal change leadership capability.

Caroline brings a combination of hard-won, practical strategies and a calm, human approach. She understands the real tensions leaders face… delivering results while protecting people, making difficult decisions often with imperfect information and staying steady when pressure is high.

Above all, Caroline believes that leadership is about people. Her leadership coaching and consulting practice is rooted in the belief that when leaders are clear on who they are and what they stand for, they can lead with greater impact, courage, and care.

Jenny Jenkin is an accredited leadership coach trained in a wide range of approaches and techniques. She specialises in coaching women leaders in HE and is particularly inspired by the Time to Think approach (Nancy Kline).

Perhaps more importantly, Jenny is rooted in the HE sector. She has navigated the old and new university world for over thirty years, starting as a junior registry officer in a bustling London university before working her way through a tapestry of roles – from Policy Officer and Project Manager to Director of Student and Academic Services, and finally as Secretary and Registrar.

Daniela is a Higher Education Solution Advisor at NTT DATA Business Solutions UK&I, specialising in supporting customers as they define and deliver their transformation roadmaps. She focuses on optimising business processes and enhancing user experiences through modern, intelligent applications.

With 28 years of experience working with SAP solutions across multiple lines of business, Daniela has led and supported initiatives within complex SAP landscapes. Her expertise spans SAP S/4HANA as a digital core platform, as well as Human Capital Management and Payroll, Customer Experience,  and Spend Management solutions.

Carley Brown FCIPD is an experienced organisational psychologist with over 15 years’ experience in leadership, organisational development and behaviour change across complex environments such as higher education, the NHS, finance, the RAF and the prison service. She specialises in positive psychology and growth mindset, and helps leaders build innovative and engaged teams where people can thrive even in challenging contexts.

Carley has designed and delivered high-impact programmes that improve engagement, psychological safety and performance. She has supported clinical and corporate teams to achieve measurable results, including a 75% reduction in serious incidents. As a confident speaker and skilled facilitator, she brings behavioural science to life with clarity, warmth and practical relevance so audiences can reflect, rethink and turn insights into action.

She is a Fellow of the CIPD and brings deep expertise in leadership development, team effectiveness and healthy workplace performance.

Ahilan Shandrakopal has over seven years’ experience working with HR teams across schools, colleges and universities, supporting them to help their staff make better informed decisions about their financial wellbeing. His work covers pensions, retirement planning, savings, investments and protection, with a strong focus on making complex topics clear, practical and relevant for employees at all career stages.

A highly experienced Recruitment Director with over 25 years industry experience, Stephen leads Veredus’ Public Sector Interim Practice. Stephen has extensive experience of directly recruiting and running teams that recruit, interim professionals across the Public Sector including Government, Charities & NFP, and Higher Education.

Nataliya is Co-Head of Executive Search at Veredus and a member of the firm’s senior management team. Her focus is on advising universities on senior and executive-level appointments, ensuring high-quality outcomes and robust candidate and client experiences across complex recruitment processes.

She has over 20 years’ experience in executive search across the Education, Government and Not-for-Profit sectors, with deep expertise in higher education. For the past six years, Nataliya has led all permanent senior leadership and board-level appointments for Veredus within the HE sector.

Nataliya has advised on Vice-Chancellor, Deputy and Pro-Vice-Chancellor, Executive Dean and Governor appointments across a wide range of institutions, including Russell Group, modern and post-92 universities. She is highly experienced in supporting selection panels and governing bodies on sensitive and high-stakes leadership decisions.

Jason is the Founder and Managing Director of Radcliffe and Newlands Mortgages, a specialist mortgage advisory business committed to making home finance simpler and more accessible.

Alongside leading the company, Jason developed The Mortgage Benefit 26 years ago — an employee wellbeing initiative designed to support staff through one of life’s biggest financial decisions. The benefit provides financial education webinars, practical guidance, and expert support with arranging mortgages, remortgages, and property purchases, with a dedicated hand-held service throughout the journey.

Jason is passionate about working with HR in improving their offer to employees increasing financial confidence, reducing stress around home buying, and helping employers offer meaningful benefits that make a real difference to their teams.

George Marshall is the Compliance Manager for the Warwick Employment Group and the wider Unitemps franchise network. George has over 20 years of experience studying, researching and working in the HE sector. Since 2012 George has been working with employment legislation for temporary roles through Unitemps. In this role he has: provided specialist support to internal and franchise users with legal queries; written processes and policies for the network; and designed bespoke system configuration for Unitemps that aligns to the unique needs of HE.

James Mathers leads on external recruitment across the Unitemps network for the Warwick Employment Group. With over 15 years of experience spanning the agency sector and higher education, his work focuses on the overlap between HR strategy, governance and operational delivery. He supports universities in building temporary staffing models that manage risk and maintain strict statutory compliance. In his current role, he guides institutions through service implementations and advises the network on aligning recruitment practices with institutional policy.

Alexandria specialises in advising clients within the education sector, including universities, colleges and schools. She supports on a variety of non-contentious employment matters, including drafting and reviewing contracts, policies, procedures, and settlement agreements. Alexandria also prepares tailored training materials and regularly supports clients in preparing for, managing and defending Employment Tribunal claims, offering clear and strategic guidance throughout. This includes successfully advising an education client through multiple stages of an internal grievance process, including drafting responses and managing counter-grievances. Alexandria’s recent experience includes advising various institutions on complex employment law matters, including the legal risks and implications of suspension, employment status following the engagement of a former employee's personal service company, and terminations of employment, and advising through multiple stages of an internal disciplinary process, including the hearing and appeal, and provided advice on the implications of suspension.

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Tijen specialises in UK business immigration and supports organisations across varied sectors with specialism in Higher Education. She advises HEI’s and FE colleges on work sponsorship under the UK points-based system and represents both multinational businesses and SME clients, advising on strategic workforce planning and supporting with eligibility assessments, Certificates of Sponsorship and work visa applications, for both short term assignments and permanent relocations to the UK. Tijen is highly regarded in the education sector with extensive knowledge advising on all aspects of immigration law tailored to the specific needs of sponsoring universities.

Tijen undertakes sponsor licence immigration audits for organisations to assess UKVI compliance and presents bespoke immigration training for HR professionals and in-house counsel on work sponsorship and right to work compliance. She also assists with immigration recruitment policies and supports organisations with challenging Home Office decisions to suspend sponsor licences.

With over 15 years of experience in UK immigration, Sheetal advises on all aspects of UK immigration.

Sheetal has extensive experience of advising businesses on Prevention of illegal working legislation, right to work checks and other sponsor compliance matters. She also advises universities and education providers on compliance frameworks and risk management.

She delivers regular training to HR teams on sponsor compliance and wider immigration issues. She has also worked with private clients and has assisted high net worth individuals on Global talent, Expansion worker and other complex areas of immigration.

Jane heads up VWV's Higher Education practice and has been a trusted adviser to universities on employment, HR and wider HE issues for over 25 years. She has extensive experience of all aspects of employment law but specialises in complex employment litigation, equality and diversity issues and strategic HR projects.

Chambers & Partners comments: "Jane is very approachable and very pragmatic; she will chat an issue through and engage with you, rather than just telling you how to approach a matter."

Jane is a regular speaker at HE sector events, including the UHR annual conference and provides regular webinars for HEIs and practical employment law training to HE clients.

Bob is a partner in VWV’s Employment team, specialising in the Higher Education sector. He has undertaken a secondment to a university's legal department and led teams covering maternity leave for in-house employment lawyers of two other universities. He is also an Independent Governor of Falmouth University.

The Legal 500 2024 edition describes Bob as a "trusted contact for work related to industrial relations". Bob applies his substantial experience of advising HEIs to provide practical and creative solutions. His advice covers a wide range of employment law issues including academic staff contracts; apprenticeships; cross-border working; tribunal litigation; family leave, pay and flexible working; HR policies; industrial relations and trade union consultation; disciplinary and grievance issues and termination of employment; off-payroll working; restructuring and collective consultation; training; and TUPE.

A university client says "Bob is everything that an in-house lawyer would wish for. He's responsive, understands challenges of the sector and delivers sound, pragmatic advice in a very timely way".

Bob is a regular speaker at UHR conferences.

Michael is a partner in VWV's Employment team and the key point of contact for a number of universities and research institutions within VWV's HE practice. He has been active within the sector for over a decade and retains strong relationships with the institutions he advises.

Michael has a deep understanding of the way his HE clients operate, their policies and the pressures they face. He has worked closely with in house legal and HR teams across a range of institutions, building up long standing relationships. This provides his clients with valuable insight and continuity.

Over the years Michael has advised on a wide variety of issues ranging from day-to-day enquiries from HR departments to complex litigation and institution-wide restructuring programmes. Michael has recently advised on a wide variety of tribunal claims, including a series of linked claims arising out of a restructuring exercise, an interim hearing relating to an academic alleging whistleblowing, and departmental group grievances with discrimination Tribunal claims running alongside. Michael has also advised on investigations into allegations of misconduct in scientific research and linked whistleblowing claims.

Katie is a Senior Associate in VWV's Employment team and has worked with clients in the HE sector for over nine years.

Katie is a key contact for a number of the universities that VWV advises. Katie advises on the full range of employment law issues in the HE sector, including disciplinary and grievance matters, termination of employment, working time, discrimination, and TUPE, as well as complex project work such as restructuring and redundancy exercises. She also regularly acts for HE clients in defending complex and high value employment tribunal claims.

Katie regularly delivers training sessions and workshops on topics such as discrimination, redundancy, whistleblowing, freedom of speech, discipline, and poor performance.

Robert is a Partner in Eversheds Sutherland’s national Education Sector employment team. He specialises in providing advice to the education sector and is a member of the senior management team for the firm’s national education practice. Robert leads the education employment team in our Manchester office. Robert advises HEIs across a full spectrum of employment law issues.  This includes advising on restructuring and redundancy and outsourcing exercises; advising on HE governance matters; advising on collective disputes, including industrial action; advising on a range of EDI issues, including tensions between equality legislation and rights of freedom of expression and academic freedom; conduct of complex, multi-day employment tribunal claims; and, advising institutions on their response to the ‘anti-casualisation’ agenda in the higher education sector.

Chris Mordue is a partner in our Education Sector team, specialising in employment advice to universities. With over 24 years’ experience of advising HE clients across the UK, Chris has a national sector reputation as a go-to lawyer with a focus on helping universities to achieve their strategic, commercial and operational objectives, taking a robust and business focused attitude to legal risk. Chris is ranked in the Leading Individual: Hall of Fame category for education in the Legal 500 legal directory. Chris has worked with many university HR teams on taking less risk averse approaches to everyday employment case work, saving time and money and focusing on achieving business outcomes. His specialisms cover complex tribunal litigation, redundancy and organisational  change, collective bargaining and industrial action issues, freedom of speech and senior exits.

Natasha specialises in advising on employment matters for universities. She advises on a wide range of contentious and noncontentious matters, including complex employment tribunal claims, restructures and employment status as well as day-to-day strategic advice to HR and in-house counsel. Prior to joining Mills & Reeve, Natasha worked at international firms in both London and Hong Kong.

Sian specialises in providing employment law advice to higher education institutions. Prior to joining Mills & Reeve, Sian worked as an in-house employment lawyer and then Head of HR for strategic projects at the University of Birmingham. Siân’s recent work has included advising on using subsidiaries to employ staff to save pension costs, complex disciplinary and grievance cases regarding expression of views and competing rights, overseas employees and international partnership people issues, the engagement of casual workers, complex organisational change, union relations, policy and governance, and complex tribunal claims.

Alex is a partner in our employment education team who specialises in advising educational institutions. His experience includes advising on strategic people issues, complex employment tribunal claims, restructures and senior severances, international collaborations, mergers and the transfer of staff, and amendments to constitutional documents. Alex also leads our national immigration team and supports institutions in recruiting talent from the global labour market and managing related compliance obligations. He regularly conducts immigration audits, drafts policies and procedures, and delivers training on immigration and staff mobility issues.

Trish heads our Employment Law + (award winning) training team. She is a member of our national HE employment team and has delivered training to many University and Higher Education organisations. Trish has worked on significant training projects for university sector clients including performance management programmes, working with management teams to help develop their knowledge, confidence and communication skills to tackle underperformance fairly and proactively. Representative feedback from participants on these courses includes "… easily the most professional and worthwhile course that I have attended" and "Very good presentation style. Clear delivery focused on the University's business."

Laura is a Senior Consultant with Brook Graham, Pinsent Masons EDI consultancy practice. She combines her background as an employment lawyer with her EDI expertise to support our global clients including University and Higher Education organisations. Laura’s work includes detailed EDI audits incorporating focus groups and engagement with senior leadership teams. Laura is skilled at delivering educational webinars, interactive training courses and programmes to attract and retain underrepresented talent. She also supports our clients with complex culture investigations which typically centre upon allegations of bullying and harassment, often involving senior managers and board level executives. Laura co-chairs the Pinsent Masons Social Mobility Network and is a key member of the Diversity Network Collaboration Forum. Recent feedback from Laura’s work has included “…the presentation nailed what we wanted to achieve so thank you” and “Great session - super useful and informative!”

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Nadia Motraghi KC specialises in employment and discrimination and represents many universities and colleges. Her cases span the full breadth of employment law including whistleblowing, equal pay, all strands of discrimination law, trade union matters and industrial relations, TUPE and claims arising out of contract. Her work often involves high profile and sensitive issues and/or group claims, multi party claims and expertise in closely related areas including judicial review, education and professional discipline. Nadia is sought after for her forensic cross examination and her persuasive submissions.

A former law lecturer, Nadia is an honorary fellow of St John’s College Oxford, sits as a fee paid judge and is the joint head of the Employment Group at Old Square Chambers, the UK’s largest group of specialist employment barristers. Her recent cases include Rice v Wicked Vision in the Court of Appeal on the scope of whistleblowing claims.

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Bettina is a partner in the education team and a member of our Higher Education Leadership Group. She is recognised by the legal directories as a leader in her field. She has been advising higher education institutions for 20+ years on Human Resources matters.

She is particularly known for advising on equality, diversity and inclusion and discrimination claims.

As a member of the Council of the University of Exeter for nine years Bettina was the independent member lead on HR and ED & I.

Bettina advises universities on complex tribunal claims including disability discrimination and whistleblowing, on employee relations processes and supporting managers/panels in investigating and hearing matters and appeals.

She has delivered workshops and legal sessions at many UHR conferences.

Kate leads both the Leeds and Birmingham Employment Teams at Shoosmiths as well as our National Higher Education Team. As a highly experienced employment lawyer with a track record of excellent client service, Kate has developed an impressive network of clients in the sector. Kate is recognised for her versality, her commercial and robust advice and keeping abreast of topical issues. Kate has extensive experience advising clients in the Higher Education space on complex and sensitive employment matters, including high-profile investigations and Employment Tribunal cases and those involving allegations of sexual harassment, discrimination and misconduct. She is trusted by Universities to provide clear, strategic guidance on issues that attract significant scrutiny and require careful handling. Kate also advises senior leadership teams on proactive diversity and inclusion strategies, equality duties and cultural change initiatives, helping institutions navigate risk while fostering inclusive and accountable workplaces.

With 30 years’ experience advising on employment law, Jonathan is seen as a go-to contact for HR directors on complex employment matters and more recently has been advising clients on the impact that AI is having on HR. Jonathan has a particular specialism in advising clients on trade union recognition, industrial action and developing good relationships with workplace unions and representative bodies.

Jonathan also advises clients in the sector on significant employment litigation and having practised as a barrister before also qualifying as a solicitor, Jonathan is a skilled tribunal advocate, appearing regularly in employment tribunals and the EAT. On a number of occasions, he has obtained costs awards for various clients against Claimants following the successful defence of tribunal claims (such awards being relatively rare in tribunal proceedings).

Jonathan also has detailed experience of handling large-scale strategic projects,; wide-ranging employment contract reviews and senior leadership changes.

Employment Lawyer Jo Tunnicliff has considerable experience advising on a variety of aspects of employment law, both in respect of contentious and non-contentious matters.

Jo has developed a particular specialism in advising on all aspects of AI, People and the workplace and is a regular panellist and speaker at national and regional events on AI and the future of work including leading discussions on unconscious bias in AI models, employee monitoring, data protection and the challenges of litigation and disclosure when it comes to tech interference.

Additionally, she has significant experience of conducting Employment Tribunal claims for clients throughout the full lifecycle of proceedings, from receipt of the claim form to advocacy at hearings. Jo is adept at providing strategic advice and securing commercial solutions for employers during settlement negotiations.

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Kathleen works with universities on complex employment matters such as senior management team terms and conditions, high value employment tribunals claims, restructures and international ventures. She also advises universities on how to set up protocols and structures to safeguard students and vulnerable adults and works with the university when a safeguarding incident occurs.

Melanie is a senior employment lawyer with 30+ years’ experience, over 20 of those almost exclusively for HE clients. Melanie has worked inhouse, hand in hand with colleagues in senior management, HR and governance, before re-entering private practice with Weightmans in 2021.

Melanie handles both contentious cases in the employment tribunal & EAT and non-contentious work including working alongside sector colleagues on strategic projects, restructuring, reward, employee relations issues, contracts and policy development and all aspects of EDI. Melanie has a strong reputation amongst clients and peers alike for giving considered but pragmatic and commercial advice in a way which is both direct and accessible.

Senior Manager in Isio’s Employee Benefits team. He supports Universities and staff get the most value out of their benefits strategy across pensions, benefits technology, insurance, wellbeing and engagement.

Sophie has over 30 years’ experience advising both employers and pension trustees on all aspects of pension matters. Sophie‘s focus is employers in the education sector, utilising LGPS, TPS, USS as well as NHS PS.

Sophie supports her clients with strategic pensions reviews, within the constraints of the higher education pension structure/limits, implementation of changes and support on employee communications – helping employers engage their employees in the value of their reward package, including their pension.

In her spare time, Sophie enjoys bellringing and running – only not at the same time.

Paul Moffatt is an Actuary with 25 years' experience in the pensions industry. He is a Director in Isio's public service pensions team and leads our work on unfunded schemes, pensions tax and McCloud. He has been a member of the Living Pension Steering Committee since inception and is now committee Chair.

Shelley Morris has 20 years’ experience in pensions and joined the Living Wage Foundation in 2021 to lead the delivery of Living Pension. Formerly at Friends Provident and Aviva, she spent a decade as a Client Relationship Manager and later worked on digital services for workplace pensions. Shelley was awarded the Unsung Hero award at the Professional Pensions ‘Women in Pensions’ awards in 2023 for her work on bringing Living Pension to life.

Dr Paul Greatrix brings over 35 years of experience in the higher education sector, including 18 years as Registrar at the University of Nottingham. A former executive member of AHUA and President of HUMANE, Paul is a respected leader in university management and governance.

As Director of Higher Education Consultancy at Shakespeare Martineau, Paul supports institutions in strategic planning, governance, and responding to sector challenges in the UK and internationally. He is also a recognised author and podcaster in the HE space, continuing to shape sector thought leadership.

Paul has strong experience and a record of achievement across university management and governance. Having worked in universities across the English sector he has a broad knowledge of higher education policy and the challenges facing institutions. He brings a track record of effective strategic leadership, delivering organisational change, developing high performing teams, innovation and creativity and sound financial management.

Tom is an experienced employment lawyer and is a trusted day to day advisor to a number of large public sector clients, particularly in HE sector. Tom specialises in advising on issues of whistleblowing and discrimination, TUPE, redundancy and restructuring and senior employee exits. This also extends to performance management, grievance and disciplinary matters, ensuring fair yet legally compliant processes. This includes advising on actual and potential industrial action disputes (often attracting national media attention) including High Court injunction applications and collective bargaining revisions. Tom’s recent experience includes advising two institutions through the sensitive exit process of their Vice-Chancellors, advising universities on performance management, disciplinary, and grievance investigations, and advising the first UK university to convert a staff association into a non-independent trade union.

Carley Brown FCIPD is an experienced organisational psychologist with over 15 years’ experience in leadership, organisational development and behaviour change across complex environments such as higher education, the NHS, finance, the RAF and the prison service. She specialises in positive psychology and growth mindset, and helps leaders build innovative and engaged teams where people can thrive even in challenging contexts.

Carley has designed and delivered high-impact programmes that improve engagement, psychological safety and performance. She has supported clinical and corporate teams to achieve measurable results, including a 75% reduction in serious incidents. As a confident speaker and skilled facilitator, she brings behavioural science to life with clarity, warmth and practical relevance so audiences can reflect, rethink and turn insights into action.

She is a Fellow of the CIPD and brings deep expertise in leadership development, team effectiveness and healthy workplace performance.

Susan joined Weightmans in 2015 from a Chartered University where she was Director of Legal and Secretariat. As the manager of inhouse legal, student complaints, academic appeals and breaches & information governance teams, Susan was directly responsible for managing and advising on strategic legal, regulatory and compliance risk.

Susan currently works with Higher Education institutions to provide legal advice and pragmatic support to University clients on student and staff related legal matters including providing practical and proportionate advice on solutions and approaches to legal issues that impact on HE services. Building on her experience, including in undertaking numerous investigations on behalf of organisations, she has been instrumental on developing tools to assist HEIs in managing sexual misconduct cases.

Ahilan Shandrakopal has over seven years’ experience working with HR teams across schools, colleges and universities, supporting them to help their staff make better informed decisions about their financial wellbeing. His work covers pensions, retirement planning, savings, investments and protection, with a strong focus on making complex topics clear, practical and relevant for employees at all career stages.

Mia is Digital Learning Manager in the Learning and Development team within Human Resources, with a remit that spans all staff across the institution. We know people learn in different ways and her work is about leveraging technology to match people's needs, while still delivering something genuinely engaging. Drawing on her background leading digital learning creation and accessibility in the School of Education, she brought that expertise into HR in 2025 with a focus on building digital skills, confidence and AI literacy across the whole university. This includes the launch of the AI Hub - a central, accessible resource where staff can find guidance, tools and support around AI; founding the AI in Action Community of Practice, created to fill a gap she identified in peer learning for professional services staff; running workshops exploring how generative AI can be used not just as a task tool but as a thinking partner; and piloting an apprenticeship programme with a focus on automation and AI. A long-standing champion of EDI and digital accessibility, Mia sees inclusive practice as central to any digital strategy that genuinely works for everyone.

Her challenge to the room: Automating the repetitive and mundane is a real opportunity, as it frees HR professionals to do what they are actually there for: focusing on people, relationships, and the work that genuinely needs a human. The risk is when we lose sight of that distinction. Are we using technology to elevate our people, or to replace the very thing that makes HR meaningful?

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Becki is a Higher Education Senior Consultant with Jisc supporting the Building Digital Capabilities Service for HE. She comes from an extensive background of over 19 years working within Higher Education in a digital education capability. Her PhD in technology enhanced learning encapsulates the processes and barriers of implementing digital tools and capabilities within Engineering Education.