The Organisational & Professional development team is based at Department W on the second floor, in the HR village (desks 2.73 to 2.96).
You can book time with an OPD advisor if you'd like to have an initial conversation about development needs for yourself or your team.
You can subscribe to the OPD monthly newsletter here to find out about upcoming events.
We provide a nominated, named member of the Organisational & Professional Development team for faculty and professional services. This provides a contact for lead teams, managers and staff who wish to discuss their organisational development, training and professional development needs. To find out who your business partner is, see Who's Who below.
If you're not sure who would be best to answer your query, or you have a general question, please email opd@qmul.ac.uk.
Petra leads our Organisational Professional Development team. Joining us in 2020, she brings with her over 20 years of experience, mainly in the higher education sector (Imperial College, City University and the University of London) as well as other organisations such as the Financial Conduct Authority and Transport for London.Petra has a strong interest in improving job satisfaction and wellbeing, while at the same time focusing on improving efficiency. She is committed to using the best evidence, so we can make the biggest impact possible with our resources. She is interested in hearing from colleagues on how we can continuously improve.In her work, Petra draws on her experience and qualifications in Occupational Psychology (MSc), coaching (ILM), facilitation (ILM), a range of psychometrics, and project management (APM).
Business Partner to the School of Medicine and Dentistry
Lorraine joined Queen Mary’s Organisational and Professional Development Team in January 2017. Coming from the public sector, Lorraine’s background is in professional and organisational development roles supporting a range of disciplines including Leadership and Management, Management Apprenticeships, Social Care, Staff engagement and Project Management (for which she is Prince2 accredited, and worked as a Project Manager for 10+ years). Lorraine’s current area of responsibility covers leadership and management initiatives, and Safeguarding Awareness. Lorraine is an experienced coach and facilitator, is trained in Psychometric testing and analysis, and has a particular interest in team and group dynamics.
Business Partner to Humanities & Social Sciences
David joined Queen Mary’s Organisational and Professional Development Team in 2015. Coming from the public sector, David’s background is in professional and organisational development supporting a range of disciplines including Leadership and Management, Human Resources, Social Care, Youth Work, Staff engagement and Learning Technologies.
David’s current area of responsibility covers leadership and management initiatives, personal and professional skills development. He is currently developing a Leadership and Management Skills programme of learning for Queen Mary staff at all levels.
He is also a qualified coach and is trained in various Psychometric testing and analysis tools. David leads the Queen Mary University of London Coaching Network.
Externally, David founded and Co-chairs the first East London Higher Education Coaching Collaboration Network. David is also a member of the London Region Staff Development Forum Network.
Business Partner to Science & Engineering
Laura joined the Organisational and Professional Development team in January 2022. She brings with her over 10 years of experience in higher education (University of Kent, St George’s, University of London) and has also worked in the NHS and private sector.
Laura has a background in Human Resources and as an operational manager, specialising in learning, professional and organisational development over the last 6 years. She is a Chartered Member of the CIPD, qualified coach (ILM), facilitator (CIPD) and Belbin accredited practitioner. She is interested in building connections, partnering with managers and engaging with teams, working towards professional and personal development and improving the working culture for all.
Bob joined Queen Mary in March 2023. He joins us from Hackney Council and has over 10 years of experience working on apprenticeship schemes and learning & development initiatives in several organisations.
After graduating university, Jina worked in Special Educational Needs and primary education, before joining us in September 2023. She works closely with Bob to develop staff apprenticeships at Queen Mary and is undertaking an HR apprenticeship herself.
Joan joined the Organisational and Professional Development team in July 2023. She works with her jobshare partner Iris as the administrative support for the Organisational and Professional Development team. She manages and supports the Welcome Events, cross-institutional coaching network, and 360-degree feedback tool.
Iris works with her jobshare partner Joan as the administrative support for the Organisational and Professional Development team. She manages Finance and training administration for the team.