David Mason

Experience

• 

  Defra

  Jan 1996 - Jan 2010

  I developed strategic proposals and business cases for the reform of livestock movement reporting, in particular the introduction of digital channels for reporting movements of pigs and sheep to complement those being rolled out for cattle. I engaged with a working group of senior representatives of the livestock industry to explore ways in which this might be achieved but also to manage expectations about the extent to which Defra was prepared to invest, previous solutions being too expensive to repeat. I met frequently with a senior Defra strategy group to present and discuss options. My recommendation to disconnect the solutions for pigs and sheep was pivotal in enabling progress to made. Ultimately, this led to two projects to introduce electronic channels for pigs and subsequently for sheep. Show less I led a laboratory team of about 50 scientists providing pesticide residue testing services and associated R&D. The customer base was approximately 50% government and 50% private sector (mainly food and drink producers and retailers). In parallel, with my work to secure and deliver on-going business I instigated and completed a process re-engineering project that led to a step change improvement in performance and thereby service to customers. On a major contract with a multi-national, I worked with the knowledge management team on a small scale agile development to provide a bespoke sample tracking and result reporting tool available through a web-portal. Together these measures were important in winning new and repeat business to sustain my department. Show less

  • Programme Manager

    Jan 2005 - Jan 2010

  • Laboratory Team Leader

    Jan 1996 - Jan 2005
• 

  Animal and Plant Health Agency

  Jan 2010 - Jan 2017

  I successfully led and delivered the Veterinary Delivery Partnership Programme, which has modernised and reformed the supply of veterinary services to Government by private sector vets. This was a significant project within Defra which required Treasury approval. It has delivered improved services with clear standards; at lower cost and with appropriate commercial controls.It involved a number of public procurement exercises; an IT project to amend the existing workflow system; legislative changes to enable the removal of unnecessary legal powers from private vets; substantial business change within APHA and considerable engagement with the thousands of vets and hundreds of practices affected by the reforms.I subsequently worked with colleagues in a number of different groups to help develop the Defra Transformation Programme and Target Operating Model.I then led definition work for the Scanning Surveillance Development Programme to improve the various ways we look for early signs of new or re-emerging animal disease threats. Show less

  • Progamme Manager

    Jan 2013 - Jan 2017

  • Portfolio Manager & Project Manager

    Jan 2012 - Jan 2013

  • Programme Manager

    Jan 2010 - Jan 2012
• 

  Defra

  Jun 2017 - now

  Programme Manager

  Managing the Licensing and Permitting Programme.