ORBIS UK is an affiliate of ORBIS International, a global organisation working to eliminate avoidable blindness. ORBIS UK has a total income of £3.2 million and employs 15 staff.

I filled a short term position during which I developed an annual plan and budget, including contingency plans, to increase ORBIS UK’s financial contribution to the global work of ORBIS, approved by the board of trustees. I also
introduced new investment, reserves and risk management policies and new performance management and staff development processes.

Asthma UK is the UK’s leading charity dedicated to improving the health and well-being of 5.2 million people with asthma in the UK. Asthma UK employs 90 staff and in 2007 had a total income of £9.1m, 92% of which was voluntary income.

As a member of the Executive leadership team I was responsible for the development and delivery of Asthma UK’s organisational strategy. My key achievements were:

Social Marketing:
1. Devised and delivered an integrated marketing strategy, which increased the uptake of Asthma UK’s health services by 168% amongst people with asthma and 60% amongst health professionals.
2. Devised and led the ‘Asthma Control Test’ campaign, encouraging people with asthma to manage their condition more effectively and avoid unnecessary symptoms and hospital admissions. Over 17,000 people responded to an integrated campaign with 40% going on to have a consultation with a health professional.
3. Devised and led the ‘Deadly Serious’ integrated campaign, prompting 30,000 parents of children with asthma seek more information about what to do in an asthma attack.

Service Development:
1. Designed and launched the ‘Kick Asthma’ website (www.kickasthma.org.uk) for children aged 9-13 to learn more about the condition and share their experiences.
2. Worked with Hammersmith and Fulham PCT to develop an information pathway website for healthcare professionals to provide answers and signpost people to further information - www.infoprescription.org.uk.
3.Introduced SMS text alerts for people on high pollen days.

Brand development and awareness raising:
1. Led the transformation of the National Asthma Campaign (primarily a medical research charity) into Asthma UK (primarily a patient organisation) through successfully re-branding and re-positioning the charity.
2. Implemented a proactive PR and media relations strategy that increased awareness of Asthma UK amongst the general public from zero to 43% in three years.

Fundraising:
1. Raised £9.8m voluntary income and managed an expenditure budget of £1.9m
2. Delivered a fundraising strategy that increased net income, not including legacies, by 43% in three years, consistently exceeding targets within budget.

Organisational and Team Leadership:
1. Led Asthma UK’s annual planning and budgeting process, introduced a new ‘whole-organisation’ approach resulting in more efficient performance and increased organisational output.
2. Built a very successful and motivated team of 40 Marketing Communications and Fundraising professionals. As a result Asthma UK was voted 3rd best workplace in the UK by the Financial Times in 2008.

I set up a marketing consultancy, working with clients in Australia and the UK.

I developed The Queensland Muscular Dystrophy Association’s first marketing strategy that delivered a 20% increase in fundraising performance and improved awareness.
I informed the Brisbane Strikers Soccer Club’s strategic planning by researching customer segments and clarifying their product range.
I conducted business development planning for Gift Fundraising’s entry into European markets and reviewed their staff recruitment and training processes.
I devised and implemented a national quality assurance programme for The Public Fundraising Regulatory Association.

On-Digital was the world’s first digital terrestrial TV network with 1.2 million customers.

I developed and initiated a strategy for renewing prepaid customers, introduced a listings magazine to improve loyalty and channel usage and researched, represented customer views and prepared customer communications for the re-branding from On Digital to ITV Digital.

The Samaritans provide confidential, emotional support, answering over 3.5 million calls a year

I introduced a new strategic approach to supporter development. In two years this delivered a 24% increase in income and 34% increase in fundraising profitability.
I Managed the first national integrated volunteer recruitment marketing campaign resulting in a 400% increase in the cost efficiency of recruiting volunteers.

Responsible for initiating individual fundraising within the organisation, I developed a membership scheme to integrate national and local fundraising.

Responsible for managing fundraising campaigns to potential and existing supporters, including RNID’s most successful donor development campaign, winning the ICFM gold award in 1996. I also set up and managed an ‘in house’ telemarketing operation that was 30% more profitable than the incumbent agency.

Project managed telemarketing campaigns to ActionAid’s individual and corporate supporters and supervised and trained telemarketing staff.

Researched innovative uses of the telephone for fundraising, producing management reports to inform operational decision-making.