
Portfolio
Port
Senior leader with a proven track record of design-led transformation, operating model change, and service innovation, balancing strategic leadership with hands-on craft to deliver scalable impact and business value across complex organisations.📍 Essex, UK


My Case Studies


Testimonials
"Thank you Rachel for all your incredible support with the backlog this year. Your hard work and dedication has truly made a difference - the change process has improved significantly and continues to get better because of your efforts. I really appreciate everything that you have done to help and support me throughout the year"
- a team member December 2025
“It sounds like you are a secret weapon for transforming the lives of our customers through more seamless customer journeys” – a communications colleague September 2025
“What a fabulous (internal) podcast. You came across wise, knowledgeable, endearing and passionate well done” – a colleague September 2025
"Rachel took the time to listen to the problem, organise a solution, and manage the process completely" - An employability colleague May 2025
"Every time I work with her, I end up with a smile. She is super knowledgeable and her willingness to share is truly inspiring. She constantly goes above and beyond" - Solutions Colleague March 2025
"Thank you very much for the guidance and support over my past few months, in my very first proper job. I could not ask for anyone better to ease me in. I have learned so much, that will be great for my career"
- Direct Report February 2025
"Thank you so much for agreeing to help out with interviews this week. Your expertise has proved invaluable" - Business Improvement Leader, September 2024)
"Thank you, for all your hard work on behalf of the service, and for being an advocate for the changes we need to push ahead with," - Service Owner 2024
"Rachel is a Leader...helping to reimagine services that are built around the resident, and delivered to release costs whilst improving user experience" - Director, 2023
"Thank you for the dedication and diligence you brought." - Colleague, 2024
"You have always been a valued colleague to me, and someone whose input and opinion I have appreciated" - Funder representative 2020
"…and appreciated her support in facilitating the community of practice. I admired Rachel's knowledge and application of early years research and service design" - Funder representative 2019
"I have enjoyed my time on the placement, and you made me feel so welcome and I knew I could always come to talk to you about anything. You have shown me I could do this" - Student Social Worker 2012
"You are clearly creating a strong team and promoting leadership qualities in others, and providing appropriate development opportunities to grow a team" - Level 7 Leadership Practice Assessor 2012
"Your leadership has helped resolve cross centre relationships and processes"
- Level 7 Leadership Practice Assessor 2012

My work and practice experience
Central and Local Gov. | Social Housing | Strategic Partnerships |
Social Value - Commercial
👩💼Leadership Style:
visionary | change orientated | participative | ideological |
Personality Type:
Ambivert | Intuitive | Feeling | Judgement (E/I N / F / J)
Strengths in: Harmonising | Campaigning | Innovating | Exploring
Thinking Hats: Yellow (Positivity), Red (Feelings), Green (Creativity)
My main professional training can be viewed on my LinkedIn Profile
📅 2024 to April 2026
Head of Customer Journey
(Maximus UK - Global services to Government) | Remote | Full Time
-
Led service and ecosystem transformation across 53 customer and citizen journeys (healthcare and employability) in a highly regulated public sector commercial environment.
-
Delivered measurable improvements in service trust (+6.75%) and operational effectiveness through evidence‑led, user‑centred change, and business transformation.
-
Senior product leadership (inc. UI/UX) on an employability platform, setting strategic backlog prioritisation and influencing executive decision‑making.
-
Successfully delivered, defined, and implemented a unified customer and citizen journey roadmap, aligning services with user need, regulation, and organisational priorities.
-
Championed end‑to‑end service improvement with operational teams, embedding ownership, governance, and continuous improvement across delivery teams.
-
Embedded the Voice of the Customer (VoC) through user research, UAT, and co‑design, ensuring inclusive and compliant outcomes.
📅 2022 - 2028
Design PhD Researcher
- Open University | Remote | Part Time
-
Mixed methods (qualitative and quantitative) Doctoral (PhD) Research undertaken with professional practice in design, research, and public service transformation.
-
Conducting doctoral research exploring the use of service co-design methods in parenting education and support with, and for women who are criminal justice experienced
-
Applying design, psychology, behavioural science, and systems thinking to complex challenges and 'wicked problems'
-
Applying provotyping, prototyping and 'test and learn' principles
-
Designing and facilitating co-design activities with those with lived experience, practitioners, policy makers, designers and academics
-
Undertaking qualitative, and mixed methods research, literature synthesis, and theory to practice knowledge translation in the form of frameworks and tools
-
Contributing talks, teaching, mentorship, and academic and pracademic discourse
📅 2020 to 2024
Service Design Lead
(Basildon Council - Local Government) | Remote | Full Time
-
Led service design performance management through Objectives and Key Results (OKRs).
-
Oversaw 33 matrixed service design teams and programmes, spanning user research, journey management and service blueprinting, organisational design with end-to-end service transformation and change across digital technologies, policy, and people-centred delivery.
-
Successful digitisation of Equality Impact Assessments.
-
Established and governed the Council’s Service Design Framework and Roadmap, ensuring consistent assurance, compliance, policy adherence, and continuous improvement.
-
Led cross-government Service Assessments (Design, GDS Lifecycle and Design Systems), offering expert assurance and constructive challenge.
📅 2015 - 2020
Service Design and Research Lead
Early Years Alliance - Strategic Partnership with Southend Council) | Hybrid | Full Time
-
Produced and presented health research and evaluations to drive ‘test‑and‑learn’ delivery inc. an innovative communication and language service (achieving 7% improvement in outcomes).
-
Led a complex portfolio of 30 evidence and science-based, and innovative service designs.
-
Initiated and led transformational theories of change and logic modelling for a £40m programme, and portfolio of projects.
-
Successful execution, publication, and implementation of Service Design, and Evaluation Frameworks
-
Active member of the Senior Programme Team, Boards, and governance groups.
2014 - 2015
📅 Research Lead | Funding Bid Writer
(Early Years Alliance - Strategic Partnership with Southend Council) | On-Site | Full Time
-
Lead researcher, and funding bid writer in a small bid team that were responsible for a successful ten-year lottery funded early year’s programme (value of £40m)
-
Co-Leading the mobilisation, implementation, project plans and fund mapping for a complex project portfolio (inc. 30 projects)
-
Leading and coordinating parenting intervention research, and service designs
📅 2004 - 2014
Leadership and Management
- various (Estuary Housing Association) | Full and Part time On-Site
-
Leadership and management of a large multi-agency staff team and strategy inc. a £250k annual community development budget
-
Driving service improvement and quality improvement
-
Managing functional performance management (inc. budgets monitoring, and evaluation)
-
Transforming satisfaction in service delivery from 70% to 95% (and increasing reach to the Centre by 20%)
-
Management and practice supervision of a student social work unit (postgraduate and undergraduate)
-
Successful execution and management of successful high value bids and grant applications (inc. commissioning a oral history publication)
📅 1988 - 2004
Various roles including Higher Executive Officer
(HM Customs and Excise) | Full Time | On-Site
-
Project management in business and statistical analysis departments (inc. Prince2, SaS, and Crystal Reports)
-
IT Helpdesk coordination for a Customs Directorate
-
Managing Communications (inc. website design MS Frontpage),
-
Managing an IT Procurement function
-
Managing service improvement and quality management systems (ISO9001), service and change management. (inc. ITIL), web design, and user testing for a wide range of IT Projects
-
Trained trainer and facilitator (learning design and delivery)


My education and awards
Social Science and Social Policy | Psychology | Forensic Psychology | Leadership | Design
My Open University People Profile
-
PhD Researcher (in Service Codesign from Oct 2022)
-
MSc Forensic Psychology – Coventry University
-
Postgraduate Certificate in Integrated Centre Leadership (NPQICL Level 7) Middlesex University
-
BSc in Psychology 2:1 Open University
-
BSc in Social Sciences with Social Policy 2:1 Open University
-
Graduate Member of the British Psychological Society (since 2014) inc. Media Contact
-
Member of the Design Research Society (since 2023)
-
Editorial Board Member, and Certified individual - Global Association of Applied Behavioural Scientists (from 2025)
Bursary Award - School of Good Services (May 2024)
for Course Attendance - 1st October 2024 (Advanced Skills) Stakeholder Leadership