maxineJ

Maxine James HND Business Studies, Dip. Economic Development CMC

Maxine is a management consultant with several years experience in small business development, support and capacity building for community groups and charities, management and personal development training for clients in the public, private and voluntary sectors. She is one of the original partners who set up Equinox 28 years ago to provide consultancy, training and research services focused on black and minority ethnic communities and inner city communities.
She has worked with many voluntary and community groups helping to sort out their objectives and develop organisational strategies for them. She leads on operational reviews, management development and leadership in community organisations and has led teams on market research projects. She has designed and implemented a variety of courses for voluntary and community organisations as well as statutory and commercial organisations.
Maxine has led on field surveys to compile directories of Black and minority ethnic-owned businesses, feasibility studies on various issues affecting the BAME communities such as their view of the services provided by Banks, their needs in respect of health and social care services as well as for community based facilities such as centres providing a range of services. She has been involved in working with various statutory organisations to ensure community engagement in the development of community facilities across the UK including Rotherham, Peterborough, Manchester and Wolverhampton.

Maxine has extensive contacts with a wide range of community and business organisations and has been involved in these organisations at a local, regional and national level. She represented the voluntary and business community on the Challenge Programme Board set up in Lambeth known as the Brixton Challenge. She has served on the Education Business Partnership Board in Hackney and also on the London East region Training and Enterprise Council’s strategic forum on the National Education and Training Targets. She has served on a number of Black Business associations Boards as well as the Board of a London business advisory organisation.

Maxine is a former Non Executive Director of:
• Business Link London Central
• Brixton Challenge Company
• Capital Community Foundation (formerly South East London Community Foundation)
• Haringey Refugee Consortium Ltd.

She has also been a trustee of
• Black Roof Community Housing Association
• VOUCH UK

She has served on statutory organisations including four years on the Board DTI’s Ethnic Minority Business Forum, a body that advised the Small Firms Minister. She chaired the Procurement group on the EMBF and lead a fact-finding mission to the USA into procurement initiatives and how these could be adapted for use in the UK. Presentations were made to then Small Firms Minister and Chief Secretary to the Treasury to develop a procurement pilot in the UK. She has also been the recipient of a CRE Bursary to the USA to research women in business.

She is a Non Executive Director of Kings College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust where she chairs the Board Committee on Equality and Diversity and is Vice Chair of the Audit Committee. She also serves as Vice Chair of a primary school in Lambeth.

Maxine presents at conferences on health, enterprise and equality and diversity issues; most recently at the NHS Employers “Strength in Diversity” conference. She has worked with organisations on recruitment, retention and progression strategies for their staff as well as helping to establish and support diversity staff networks.
She is a member of the Institute of Management Consultancy and has an HND in Business Studies and a Post-Graduate Diploma in Economic Development.

She has contributed to many leadership programmes including the NHS Top Talent Programme. These programmes have had a significant impact upon the careers of the people who attend them and upon the organisations in which they work.

Maxine James bio
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