Richard Holmes

With experience in education and community development, I help people achieve their potential and support local communities to take action on things that are important to them.

As an experienced leader, facilitator and engagement specialist, I help people and communities take action on things that are important to them, enabling great places for our kids to grow up and for us all to grow older in. Throughout my career, I have developed an exceptional reputation across the social sector and educational organisations, developing expertise in community engagement, training and facilitation and facilitating systems change.

Executive Director - Gloucester Community Building Collective (July 2020 - April 2021)

Exec Director of dynamic and ambitious social enterprise. Our business is to foster and grow relationships amongst neighbours thereby growing community capacity across the City.
We want Gloucester to be a great place to live, where everyone can have a good life and we think a lot of this can be done through community led action.
Rooted in ‘asset-based community development’. GCBC employs Community Builders who talk to residents about what they love about their neighbourhoods and the change they want to see. Community Builders connect people. They help neighbourhoods to discover and use the skills and assets they already have to realise their visions and plans. They can be big or small.
GCBC helps people build relationships before they are needed. Put simply, we grow community resilience.

Consultant (Sept 2019 - July 2020)

Drawing on a hearty background in community education, I was commissioned to work with key people to enable sustainable social change, where neighbours take action on the things that are important to them about where they live. Working with Gloucester City Council and Barnwood Trust to develop an independent social enterprise to increase community building across Gloucester - Gloucester Community Building Collective. I led on strategic planning and execution, fundraising, organisational development, and delivery of Asset Based Community Development (ABCD) the Stewardship Circle (a leadership development programme).

Head of Learning - Barnwood Trust (Jan 2012 - September 2019)

Appointed as a member of the senior management team from previous tenure of Director (Head) of Inclusive Community Building, Director of Delivery and Director of Learning. Appointed to drive change, supporting the Trust’s vision and I created empowering environments across Gloucestershire for disabled people and people suffering with mental health issues.

Responsibilities included:
- Developed learning strategy, learning programme and cultural change work
- Strategically created and developed community building programme
- Liaised with target market directly to gather information on expectations
- Managed budgets and resources
- Developed long-term strategic partnerships
- Promoted the Trust locally, nationally and internationally at conferences and events
- Delivered internal and external training, Trust’s Learning Programme, and master classes as keynote speaker at International ABCD Festival (ABCD)
- Influenced public sector bodies
- Member of ‘Good Help Advisory Panel’, chaired by Julia Unwin, focusing on understanding self-efficacy
- Expert witness to inquiry on housing for older people

Associate (Secondment) - Nurture Development (June 2014 - Sept 2015)

Development of a stewardship development programme aimed to build capacity of leaders who are interested in Asset Based Community Development. This was a one day a week secondment from my role as Director of Learning at Barnwood Trust.

Nurture Development offers a unique blend of cutting edge thought leadership combined with extensive practical experience as social innovators. The organisation worked as trainers, mentors, facilitators, researchers and consultants with communities, charities, NGOs, think tanks, and local and national governments in over 30 countries, seeking to work in ways that are citizen-led, relationship centred, place based and that start with the strengths of local people.

Specialist Fellowship with Nesta - Clore Social Leadership Fellow 2011 (Feb 2011 - March 2012)

Identified as an emerging social sector leader by the Clore Social Leadership Programme, which incorporated a fully-funded personalised development programme, supporting CSLP’s initiative to build leadership capacity in the social sector.

My Fellowship year included:
- Identified opportunities to accelerate professional development
- Published research report and film documentary on social sustainability with the Future Communities Project at the Young Foundation
- Secured a role with Barnwood Trust, producing a research report on community spaces, introducing new concepts, including social sustainability
- Completed MBA module on Social Entrepreneurship and Leadership Programme with Disney Institute

Playing for Success & Study Support Service Manager - Gloucestershire County Council (Jan 2004 - Feb 2011)

Initially appointed as Centre Manager and Tutor; a role I led for 5 years before transitioning to the role of Service Manager in 2009.

The Playing for Success Service was a provider of out-of-hours education activities and alternative education for children and young people, including those who were at risk of underachieving or faced exclusion within a mainstream school. The programme reached over 1000 students each year, objectively improving standards across all core modules (numeracy, literacy, and ICT) at key stages 2 and 3.

Some of my responsibilities during my entire tenure, included:

- Managed 14 staff over 4 sites
- Driving innovative learning opportunities
- Determined programme vision and mission
- Developed and executed strategic plans
- Organised funding arrangements
- Built partnerships with local and national government, and schools
- Generated private sector sponsors
- Sourced new income streams
- Monitored and measured service performance
- Created a regional support charity to support 21 learning centres across South West
- Delivered keynote presentations at local/national conferences

London Business School - Elective module MBA programme Social Entrepreneurship in 21st Century 2011

University of Gloucestershire - MEd Professional Studies (Distinction)

Canterbury Christ Church University - PG Cert Educational Studies

University of Gloucestershire - BA (Hons) Leisure Management with Tourism Management