Skill set (23)
Ruby in a few words
Policy, public affairs and communications specialist with experience across wide range of sectors and track record of delivering strategic, impactful and acclaimed projects. Innovative strategist and problem-solver, adept at negotiating conflict and successfully navigating complex, politically sensitive challenges to deliver timely, impactful solutions. Dynamic networker with background in bringing together experts, building grassroots movements and political engagement to grow influence and deliver evidence-led change. Accomplished communicator and copywriter, having devised and delivered multimedia comms and campaigns strategies, publications and guidance on priority issues. Inclusive leader, committed to representation, diversity and leveraging my unique lived experience to promote co-production in policymaking.
I can provide:
- Policy development, analysis, and consultation
- Campaign management, including strategy development, stakeholder engagement, and communications planning
- Communication and public affairs strategies that align with organisational goals, including identifying target audiences, developing key messages, and selecting appropriate channels for communication
- Project management, including project planning, risk management, stakeholder management, and monitoring and evaluation.
- Training programmes and coaching to individuals or teams, and facilitating workshops or seminars
- Skills in designing and facilitating coproduction and participatory approaches, including focus groups, user involvement, and feedback mechanisms
- Research and analysis to produce reports and other written and multimedia outputs on wide variety of topics
- Leadership and management support, including coaching, mentoring, and performance management
Written and publication examples can be provided upon request.
Experience
- Department of Health and Social CareAdult Social Care Senior Policy Advisor (Vaccines, Winter resilience, energy)August 2021 - Today (3 years and 8 months)London, UK• Convened network of cross-government leads and advised ministers to deliver the Winter Statement 2022-23 (government's flagship publication for winter support to the sector), providing reassurance amidst unprecedented care/political pressures and understaffing. My efforts were publicly praised by seniors and earned an in-year bonus, and will provide a blueprint for year round collaborative winter planning.• Negotiated conflicting senior visions, coordinated countrywide stakeholder input and consolidated official guidance and good practice to produce the DHSC Booster Taskforce's flagship policy publication to drive rapid uptake of COVID-19 boosters during Omicron's surge. The paper was published within 2.5 weeks, celebrated as a huge achievement in exceptional circumstances, and remains a standard for local authorities in delivering life-saving vaccines across England.• Spearheaded communications strategy and content for the launch of the £500 million ASC Discharge Fund during the 2022-23 winter health and care crisis, advising ministers and mobilised colleagues at-pace to deliver much anticipated details of the Fund.• Led the delivery of Standard Operating Procedures for the national COVID-19 booster rollout to adult social care staff in partnership with NHS England, successfully resolving contentions through negotiations with senior external stakeholders and restructuring operational guidance to deliver vaccines more effectively.• Developed an agile project development tool and training, addressing skills gaps in my team, to deliver evidence-led, bespoke plans to drive vaccine uptake across ASC in response to Omicron. Standardised an evidence backed, long-term approach to vaccine uptake across ASC tailored to specific challenges within each part of the sector.
- Youth AccessPolicy / Campaigns / Engagement OfficerOctober 2018 - July 2021 (2 years and 9 months)• Spearheaded organisational policy and campaigns shift behind a 'rights based' approach to youth mental health, building a robust evidence-base and network of cross-sector expert stakeholders to deliver multimedia policy and comms strategy and outputs. Mobilised and coached youth advocates through an annual training program to grow influence nationally, leading to public commitments from 30+ policy-makers and parliamentarians. Incorporated this learning as co-founder of cross-sector 'Fund the Hubs' campaign calling for holistic, person-centred youth support in every area.• Led policy and operational response to the pandemic. Developed a digital toolkit to guide best-practice remote delivery of youth mental health services, leveraging colleague and local expertise and navigating regulatory grey areas to rapidly respond to critical sector concerns. The toolkit was acclaimed and promoted UK-wide, received 8,638 views in one month and was recognised as my organisation's outstanding achievement that year.• Delivered thought-leadership policy publication series on the impact of, and solutions to the pandemic's impact.• Designed and led inclusive coproduction programme with young people to produce a manifesto for mental health reform that featured in BBC series and received public acclaim from parliamentarians and influential organisations. Led to me being commissioned to write a book chapter on suicide and self-harm, and 100% of participants felt supported and included during the sessions.
- Self-EmployedAcademic TutorFebruary 2017 - November 2018 (1 year and 9 months)London, UK
Recommendations
Education
- Bachelor of ArtsUniversity of Oxford2010Bachelor of Arts (B.A.), History
- Cours de Civilisation Française, French Language and LiteratureUniversité Paris-Sorbonne2014Cours de Civilisation Française, French Language and Literature