Lynne Smith

Associate Consultant

Lynne originally qualified as a solicitor in the private sector, but moved on to gain significant experience in the public sector, having been a chief officer assistant chief executive in local government for over 10 years., latterly also as an interim manager. This has given her experience not only in operational matters and direct delivery, but also in policy and strategy development, enabling Lynne to support our local government clients on a wide range of projects. Lynne holds roles as a non-executive director for a large PCT and as a college governor and with a specific interest in the Third Sector, she is also involved with several charities/not-for-profit organisations. 

At a strategic level, she has worked on shared services, policy and strategy (including LSPs and LAAs), partnership working, strategic budgeting, communications and community safety.  Lynne has been instrumental in the development of several significant partnerships and the strategies that accompanied them, as well as improvements in communications, consultation and community engagement. On the operational side, her work has encompassed economic development and regeneration, legal, property and asset management, ICT, revenues and benefits, car parks, HR, elections, customer service centres.  As a result, she is adept at quickly and successfully taking on new areas outside her current experience.

As a consultant, she has used her skills in areas ranging from working with LSPs to successfully improve their performance management, to producing a feasibility study and business plan which saw a defunct community centre reopened.  She has also used her change management and people skills to turn around a failing department for a council and pioneered an innovative budget challenge process to meet tight financial restrictions in another.

An experienced trainer and facilitator, with consistently positive feedback from delegates, she has devised and delivered a number of training courses both within and outside local government. Trained in Plain English, with a clear and jargon free coaching style, her court work background ensures that complex issues are put over in a clear and concise way.

Her work as a non-executive director of the largest Primary Care Trust in the West Midlands includes public and community engagement and PCT representation on the strategic LAA Board gives her excellent knowledge of the health sector.  Her particular areas of specialty as a non executive director include performance management, communication and public and community engagement.  Similarly, her work as a college Governor as well as helping to steer the college towards its FE/University status means Lynne also has sound knowledge of the Further Education sector.  

Lynne is a trained peer and EFQM assessor and is a lecturer for the Royal institute of Public Administration's Total Quality Management overseas civil servants' course. An experienced mentor and coach, she is studying to be accredited in mentoring skills to Masters Degree level by Sheffield Hallam University and is a trained mediator (OCN level 3).

Away from work, Lynne is a keen traveler to Europe. Speaking both French and Italian well enough to order wine and apologise for any bad behaviour afterwards, she enjoys spending time at her house in France and writing.