Alison Brown

Experience

• 

  Morrison & Foerster LLP

  Sept 2004 - Sept 2005

  Legal Document Specialist
• 

  Civil Service Fast Stream

  Aug 2006 - Oct 2008

  Senior Policy Adviser

  Consumer and Competition Policy Aug 2006 - Sep 2007▪ Led team of 3 and directed 16 delivery projects covering England and Wales.▪ Designed governance structure to forecast and manage £47m budget.▪ Delivered analysis for a project extension, securing £85m of additional funding.Head of Caspian and Turkish energy Aug 2007 - Oct 2008▪ Initiated partnership with multinationals including Shell and BP to meet mutual aims.▪ Leveraged 90% of the costs from commercial stakeholders for a ministerial tour. Show less

• 

  Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

  Oct 2008 - Jul 2009

  Assistant Director, MacLeod Review
• 

  Deloitte

  Jul 2009 - Feb 2010

  Head of government and public sector thought leadership

  Produced the following publications on leadership, restructuring, outsourcing, lean techniques and cost reduction:CO-AUTHOR & EDITOR:New Shapes And SizesLeadership At All LevelsEDITOR:Lean And FitIn The Hot SeatCONTRIBUTOR:No more 'them and us'

• 

  UK Trade & Investment (UKTI)

  Feb 2010 - Apr 2015

  Part of British Business Embassy core team at Lancaster House during the London Olympics and Paralympics that:- Delivered 17 Global Business Summits designed to facilitate new commercial deals, with live content fed across the country; and- Hosted 4,000 international CEOs including the heads of Google, GSK, WPP and ARM and over 40 UK Government Ministers.I led on sponsorship for the programme, securing £1m cash and >£1m value-in-kind (targets exceeded by 70% & 200% respectively).Following the events, I led on quantifying the trade impact of the Games, resulting in the announcement that 90% of the Prime Minister’s £11bn legacy target was achieved in first year of 4. Show less I was responsible for the trade elements of David Cameron's November 2010 China visit and his accompanying business delegation; and the commercial aspects of Vice Premiers Li Keqiang and Wang Qishan's 2011 UK visits.The China Unit led in the UK on bilateral trade relations with mainland China, Hong Kong and Mongolia; and oversaw strategy and resources for the network of UK Government business advisers in these locations (including the outsourcing contract to deliver related services via the China-Britain Business Council).UKTI is the part of central government that works to boost UK export performance, attract foreign direct investment to the UK, and enhance the UK’s reputation in global markets. In 2010, it was declared the best trade promotion organisation in the developed world. Show less

  • Deputy Regional Director

    May 2014 - Apr 2015

  • Head of Sponsorship and Evaluation

    Oct 2011 - Apr 2014

  • Head of China Unit

    Feb 2010 - Sept 2011
• 

  Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

  Apr 2015 - Jul 2016

  Head of Apprenticeship Standards, Quality and Assessment Team

  I led the team designing governance of the new apprenticeships system, playing a key role in the Prime Minister’s ambitious target of 3 million apprenticeship starts.

• 

  University of Sheffield

  Aug 2016 - Dec 2017

  Establishing a Commercialisation Fund

  I led the launch and growth of a £1million internal investment fund to expand the University of Sheffield's commercialisation pipeline.I also led on Sheffield's role as one of the first recipients from the BEIS/HEFCE Connecting Capability Fund, securing £5m for a commercialisation initiative with the Universities of Manchester and Leeds.

• 

  University of Lincoln

  Dec 2017 - Sept 2018

  Industrial Partnerships

  Headed the section covering:- Knowledge exchange- External partnerships- Intellectual property (IP) & commercialisation- Business development for ESIF innovation programme

• 

  MCB Guru

  Oct 2018 - Apr 2019

  Director
• 

  Department for Education

  Apr 2019 - Apr 2020

  Head of External Affairs

  Led the External Affairs team, advising ministers and colleagues on all aspects of stakeholder engagement and reputation management.For the first 4 months of the Covid-19 outbreak, I was the Department for Education's communications lead, working closely with ministers and special advisers to leverage our channels to ensure safety and accurate information as the pandemic developed.

• 

  Government Communication Service

  Apr 2019 - Apr 2020

  External Affairs Specialist

  Led Department for Education's contributions to the cross-government External Affairs group, which shaped the development of what was a new discipline in Whitehall. I designed and delivered training numerous events, online and in person, that enabled and grew the impact of hundreds of civil service communicators.

• 

  The Open University

  Apr 2020 - Jul 2024

  Director of Communities & External Engagement

  I was proud to lead, and learn from, teams of wonderful colleagues spanning five functions, including strategic communications and marketing, philanthropic and commercial fundraising, and immersive technology delivery in WELS.Reporting to the Executive Dean WELS, I sat on the Faculty Executive, helping the OU to be more externally-facing.The Open University is a global pioneer of accessible, supported distance higher education, and the largest university in Europe: 200,000 students, plus millions more benefitting from our extensive free resources on OpenLearn. Show less

• 

  Disability Connect Mentoring Scheme

  Aug 2021 - now

  Business Mentor

  I work with various sectors to raise awareness and drive inclusive improvements to culture and processes.

• 

  Midlands Rural Housing

  Apr 2023 - now

  Non Executive Chair

  Non executive Chair of Leicestershire Rural Housing Association, part of the Midlands Rural Housing Group (voted by board members as Chair in December 2024). My role involves supporting and scrutinising the executive team, advising on sustainable growth, government affairs, and strategic communications.

• 

  Social Enterprise Mark CIC

  Apr 2023 - Apr 2024

  Non Executive Director; Chair of Finance Committee

  Supported and scrutinised the executive team, advising the executive on international growth, income diversification and new customer acquisition. Role ended when the organisation closed.

• 

  Bishop Grosseteste University

  Apr 2023 - now

  Senior Independent Director; member of Governing Council and Audit Committee

  Support and scrutinise the executive team, advising on impact, sustainable growth and government affairs.