Rachael Walker

Experience

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  Café Market Stall

  Sept 1995 - Jun 1996

  Tea Maker

  My first job. I lied about my age to get it - I was 14 but said I was 15. I worked from 8am to 4pm and got £14 cash in hand. Accrington market was buzzing with life, I made sandwiches in the morning to sell at lunchtime and the rest of the day was spent serving 10p cups of tea and, wait for it, 20p cups of coffee. It was noisy, a bit greasy and I spent every penny in Stationery Box or on Constance Carroll clear mascara. I loved it, it was a family owned business and it isn't there anymore. I'll never forget it and I've worked ever since. Show less

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  Fairbrother's Biscuits

  Sept 1996 - Jun 1997

  Biscuit Seller

  Who doesn't want to sell biscuits? On a stall! To old ladies!? It was amazing. I got the job through blatant nepotism; the owner was my mum's second cousin. I worked every Saturday for 8 hours earning £15 a day. Customers chose their biscuits individually, by the half pound or pound bag, and they queued for their turn to choose. By the end of my year here I was given keys to the tarpaulin padlock and was allowed to open up. I still visit the owner/my second-cousin-once-removed on the stall, his family have sold loose biscuits for over 40 years. I gave the job to my best friend when I left to work at McDonald's. Show less

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  McDonald's

  Jun 1997 - Sept 1998

  McDonald's Food Service Worker

  The lessons I learned in this job are still with me. I learned processes, timing, discipline, team work, customer service, money management, and how to work in a genuinely fast-paced environment. I was in awe of the sleek processes for making burgers, the timing and flow of the machines and sequence of actions. I was the proud wearer of all five stars on my name badge and thanks to this job I estimate I've cracked more than 50,000 eggs.

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  Lancashire County Council

  Sept 1998 - Sept 2000

  Library Assistant

  I was a children's library assistant when they all started reading Harry Potter. It was awesome. I helped children to find books, I put books away and I got to stamp library books with a stamp that made the single most satisfying noise ever. It was the first time that I really worked with "grown ups" and it cemented my love of public services. Later in life I took my children to singing sessions and to choose their own library books. Long Live Libraries.

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  Blockbuster

  Sept 2000 - Sept 2001

  Chief Video Shelf Tidier

  I put videos away on shelves (not DVDs, videos). That was it. Oh, and I signed up new members. On paper. It was the busiest and most profitable Blockbuster Video in Europe and students queued round the block at the weekend. We had three armed robberies and I was suspiciously absent for them all. It was hard work, it was a cultural moment in time and I met my husband when he jumped out of the video drop-box to scare me.

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  British Council

  Oct 2002 - Jun 2005

  Information Centre Manager

  My first proper job after graduating. Working within Information Services Management as researcher and information specialist supporting the promotion of UK culture and education internationally. I travelled to India (on my own, very brave) and I met creative, intelligent and socially-minded people from all over the world. I was proud to work for the British Council and I think about it fondly.

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  Hyndburn Borough Council

  Jun 2005 - Aug 2021

  Customer Contact Manager

  To date, my longest serving role and source of my local government heart. Dedicated service to residents, change management and modernisation of processes and systems. Revenues and Benefits policy management. Problem busting, relationship building with creative ideas and enthusiasm towards positive change and high standards. Hyndburn taught me everything I know.

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  Trueman Change

  Aug 2021 - Sept 2023

  Principal Consultant

  If you work in local government you'll know first hand the challenges the public sector is facing. I adore local government which is exactly why I joined Trueman Change - to support change in a new way, a kinder way and a way that will motivate staff, engage with residents and raise the profile of local government to where it belongs. As programme, change and project management specialists, they will work with you to transform your services. If Trueman Change can recruit this local government lifer, anything is possible. Show less

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  Co-operative Councils'​ Innovation Network (CCIN)

  Jun 2022 - Aug 2023

  Board Member - Values and Principles Board

  The Co-operative Councils Innovation Network is a non-party political hub for co-operative policy development, innovation and advocacy; committed to finding better ways of working for, and with, local people for the benefit of their local community. They help Councils identify services that can be delivered more imaginatively, more cost effectively and more co-operatively.

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  Policy in Practice

  Sept 2023 - now

  Poverty is a curable disease and we work to maximise incomes, streamline access to social security systems, and help local government provide their residents with some of the £23bn a year in unclaimed benefits. Using data, backed by social policy research, to simplify the benefits system and maximise income for low-income households.

  • Associate Consultant

    Mar 2025 - now

  • Policy and Research Director

    Sept 2023 - Mar 2025
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  Trueman Change

  Dec 2024 - now

  Associate Consultant

  Extraordinarily passionate about public sector change and transformation. Trueman Change help organisations to do change in a more compassionate, flexible and collaborative way

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  The Campaign for Better Policy.

  Mar 2025 - now

  Founder and Director

  I don’t agree that ‘tough choices’ need to be made when those choices punish people for being poor. I don’t agree that welfare spending must come down, and I don’t believe that any decision to put more children into poverty is a necessary evil to balance the books and grow GDP. Too often, policy fails the people it’s meant to serve. Decisions are made based on political convenience rather than evidence. Welfare systems punish instead of protecting. Local services collapse under broken funding models. Inequality deepens: not by accident, but by design.Bad policy isn’t inevitable. It’s a choice.That’s why I founded The Campaign for Better Policy - a platform to challenge policy failure, expose flawed ideas, and push for real alternatives.We focus on three key areas:✅ Regional Inequality – Because where you’re born shouldn’t determine your life chances.✅ Welfare – Because a safety net should support, not shame.✅ Women – Because policy failures hit women first and hardest.We’ll break down complex policies, challenge harmful narratives, and put forward ideas that work.This isn’t about ideology. It’s about better policy that delivers for people, not politics.Want to be part of the conversation? Follow along for more. Show less