The Open University

Professional biography

Liz is a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and obtained her MBA from Strathclyde Graduate Business School. She added postgraduate qualifications in marketing from the CIM, IDM and is a trained management coach and expert facilitator. Her undergraduate degree is a Bachelor of Education and she has 25 years’ experience as a manager in the private sector, education and voluntary organisations. She has researched and developed her consultancy knowledge in the areas of employee engagement, change management, customer relationship management and account management. She joined the OU as an academic in August 2014.

Liz has proven experience in the design and delivery of corporate development programmes for diverse groups of learners across industries in the private, public and third sector. Having worked with and within senior teams and boards to support strategy and performance development, facilitate strategic planning and change programmes she has worked with many organisations as diverse as the British Council, UK Commission for Education and Skills, Investors in People, Womens Aid groups, financial services, sporting bodies and has built and managed her own companies and their employees.

Liz has an excellent understanding of the issues involved in executive education, management development and continuing professional development having worked with organisations from financial services, charities, local and national government departments, regulatory bodies, hospitality, health care and others.

Research interests

Her recent scholarship activity has focused on the role of curiosity in work-based learning and how this supports lifelong learning and how interdisciplinary approaches to leadership development may be increasingly needed to find solutions to complex business challenges, and uncertainty. Recently she created and piloted a new programme to support employability of students to enable development of commercial awareness.

Building on her knowledge of the financial services sector, Liz retains an interest in Fintech and how this can support social mobility through both personal finance education and fairer business practice.

Teaching interests

Her experience of designing work-based learning spans workshops,short online CPD courses, leadership programmes, face to face lecturing and individual support interventions. As an experienced facilitator her philosophy is to build competence and confidence through developing skills and knowledge to support individuals and organisations to reach their potential.

Impact and engagement

Liz has developed a number of resources relating to entrepreneurship including a free Badged Online Course and open educational resources to support student entrepreneurship. During her tenure as faculty Open Media Fellow she also provided academic input to a number of business related broadcast projects and supported the promotion of these at locally organised events. She is a regular contributor to the Campaign for Learning activities, and has produced blogs, presented webinars and videos, awards to winning employers in support of Learning at Work Week, including presentation of the OU Business School award for the best employer schemes celebrating learning at work week and contributing to their organisation#s strategic objectives.

External collaborations

As Director of Executive Education Liz has an extended network of employer and professional body contacts. Working in partnership, co-creating learning and collaborations on commercial ventures is a key feature of her work.

International links

Many client organisations that Liz works with have international presence. A number of projects have involved staff based in several timezones and have brought together learners from very different cultures. In addition Liz regularly attends international conferences as a speaker, delegate and panel Chair. More recent international visits include trips to Germany, Italy, Ireland, Taiwan, USA and Canada. However, the digital reach of programmes has included Australia, China, the middle East, India and beyond.

Publications

Other

Tackling inequalities in rural areas and changing the discourse of ‘rural deficit' (2024-02-26)
Hill, Inge and Moody, Liz
The Open University, Milton Keynes.