Consulting Team

Christine is an accomplished senior leader, bringing strategic and hands-on public sector experience across her 28 year career. She can bring to SUMS members and clients her expertise in strategic change, governance and compliance management, resource planning and business continuity, as well as broad experience working on transformational change programmes to create improvements and efficiencies.

Christine joined SUMS in 2023. In her most recent role she was part of the University Executive as Secretary and Clerk to the Board of Governors at Cardiff Metropolitan University. In addition to leading the team delivering the new university strategy, she led a governance transformation programme. This included creating a scheme of delegation to improve transparency around decision making, revising the constitutional documents for approval by Privy Council, introducing a policy hub to improve compliance, and managing a board effectiveness review which improved performance across Board committees.

She was previously Science Faculty Manager at the University of Bristol, with responsibility for all professional services across the Faculty including administration and technical services; this included reviewing and developing structures and processes for delivering efficient services, enabling increases in student numbers without commensurate increases in staff numbers. Christine also led Cardiff Met’s response to the pandemic, steering at speed the development of policies and processes which enabled staff to move off campus prior to lockdown, and managing the process of enabling staff and students returning to campus in line with Welsh rules while prioritising the health and safety of staff, students and the local community. The pandemic approach was highlighted in the award of Times Higher University of the Year 2021.

Christine has been able to build strong working relationships with academic and professional services staff, students, governors and other stakeholders to understand need and to deliver effective, customer focussed solutions. She particularly enjoys finding ways to bring people along with the change, especially those who are most reluctant.

Christine has been learning how to be a glassblower, in addition to a long-time passion for fused and stained glass. She is also a keen runner and recently gained a diploma in vegan cookery.