
21 September 2021

"Judith’s flexible and innovative approaches helped us through a difficult period of decommissioning, restructure and redundancies."

CEO NOMAD Opening Doors (Local Housing Charity)

"Judith used her excellent understanding of the voluntary sector to help us plan for the future in a refreshingly practical manner."

CEO, York Mind (Local Mental Health Charity)

"Judith brings a committed and focused way of working. Her knowledge and expertise ensured projects continued at a time of crisis and enabled them to develop their long-term potential."

CEO, BYDP (Local Youth Charity)

"Judith is very good at drawing consensus from wide-ranging views. Her approach is efficient, effective and enjoyable."

Director, Kirklees CHAS (Local Housing Charity)

"Judith is dynamic and engaged, and delivers a high quality service. She works with passion, peppered with humour and true generosity of spirit."

CEO, Pioneer Projects (Local Arts and Wellbeing Charity)

"Judith’s in depth understanding of the sector allows her to provide a unique and invaluable perspective."

CEO, Craven CVS (Local Infrastructure Organisation)

Judith Courts B.A. Hons, PGCE, MIoEE, Dip. Man.

History

I have always worked in and with the UK not for profit sector. My commitment to and belief in the power of people to make change for themselves comes from my experiences in the 1980s as a trustee of a city farm, director of a women’s centre and extensive work as a front line debt advisor.

I am an approved NCVO consultant, a qualified teacher, SFEDI enterprise mentor, member of the Institute for Learning and the Institute of Enterprise and Entrepreneurship and an approved 'Big Assist' Supplier. My early management career included holding posts with Citizens Advice and the Community Fund (Big Lottery Fund). I’ve been directly working with not for profit organisations to help them achieve their goals since 2000.

My Clients

My clients are all not for profit organisations and include household names such as Age UK and Citizens Advice, a wide range of regional and local charities and community groups, regional infrastructure organisations, local authorities, health care trusts, universities and increasingly, social enterprises. Most of my local work is based in Yorkshire and the Midlands.

My Work

I help organisations to identify and achieve their goals through activities such as research into needs, business viability, strategic and financial planning, change management, facilitation, management and leadership training, enterprise mentoring, project management and evaluation.

Current Interests

Collaborative working
Including facilitating multi-agency partnerships to develop compatible visions, assess the viability of mergers and design effective delivery structures for collaborative activities.
Building Social Businesses
Creating stronger, more resilient and independent nfp organisations by supporting them to transform themselves into effective and profitable social businesses.

Associates

Governance Experience

I have extensive hands on experience of governance as a director and trustee, including:

1996 – 2001 Trustee of Yorkshire Water Charitable Trust, a charity supporting individuals in water debt.
2001 – 2016 Director of Incommunities, a housing association with 22,000 social housing units.
2010 to date Director of Your Consortium, a nfp contract management company bringing funding into the sector.
2010 to 2014 Trustee and adviser to Craven Community and Voluntary Services.

Charlie Cattell

Legal Structures Specialist

With 30 years’ international problem solving experience for organisations with a social purpose, Charlie’s core work comprises technical consultancies relating to legal structures.

This includes guiding groups through the intricacies of designing and forming unique companies (limited by guarantee or by shares), charities, community interest companies, subsidiaries, and co-operatives and providing technical input into mergers, consortia, collaborative ventures, due diligence exercises and governance issues.

Kathryn Fitch

Coach & Specialist in Workplace Stress & Conflict

Kathryn is a qualified coach, specialises in organisational and management development, designs and delivers leadership training and is committed to reducing stress and conflict at work.

She has particular expertise in the health and well-being of workers and organisations and has worked in Yorkshire and nationally with individuals, teams and organisations such as the Police, NHS and a wide range of charities.

She is training to be a psychotherapist.

John Sargent

Social Entrepreneur

John specialises in the strategic consolidation and sustainable development of third sector organisations.

In a career spanning more than thirty years and the private, public and third sectors, he has developed a particular interest in the sustainable consolidation and development of social businesses.

His specialism is innovative multi-agency project management and delivery, usually working at Board and chief executive level to achieve mutually successful outcomes.