Jane McDermott

Jane has a portfolio career which involves working across a number of organisations as a strategic relations and impact lead, senior programme manager and consultant collaborator in the fields of healthy ageing, policy research and social inclusion.  In addition to these roles, she also works as a leadership and executive coach, open space and thinking environment practitioner.

A member of the Healthy Ageing Research Group within the University of Manchester’s School of Health Sciences, Jane has over 25 years’ experience of working in complex programme leadership, project management, policy influencing and delivering impact.  Her work spans a number of local, regional, national and international networks all of which is underpinned by her lifelong commitment to equality, diversity, inclusion and belonging.

Currently working (part-time) within the NIHR funded Older People and Frailty Policy Research Unit (OPFPRU) a collaboration led by the University of Manchester in partnership with Newcastle University and London School of Economics.  The OPFPRU is one of 15 national policy research units whose purpose is to advise the Department of Health and Social Care, answering questions on the lives of older people to inform government policy.

She has previously worked with the Centre for Ageing Better supporting the work of the Healthy Ageing priority theme, contributing to the vision of creating a society where everyone enjoys a good later life.  Jane has worked extensively across Europe, as a member of the European Innovation Partnership on Active and Healthy Ageing (EIP AHA) within Action Group 2 – Falls Prevention, and programme lead for European Commission funded Prevention of Falls Network for Dissemination (ProFouND).  A founder member and key lead for the European Falls Festival she also led the University of Manchester’s contribution to the Greater Manchester Active and Healthy Ageing EIPAHA Group Submission, awarded 4 star reference site status in 2019.

Based in Manchester, Jane works extensively across the Greater Manchester Combined Authority and with the GM Ageing Hub through collaborations with key Greater Manchester eco-system leaders, public and private sector organisations, voluntary, community and mutual aid organisations based throughout the city-regions 10 local authorities.   Her work and focus has spanned health, wellbeing, digital inclusion/exclusion, all-age inclusion, creative media and widening participation.   This work extends across the wider social drivers of individual and community prosperity, including health, housing, access to good employment, wider environments and green spaces, as well as education and lifelong learning.

Jane works extensively as a knowledge broker and strategic relationship lead and represents on a range of high level strategic groups, from regional, pan-northern, national and international.  She has a Masters in people and organisational development and is a lead tutor and contributor on the World Health Organisation international healthy ageing for impact in the 21^st centrury programme, working with stakeholders based in Government, Public Health, Health and Social Care and NGOs globally.

An experienced service level evaluator and implementation science researcher Jane is deeply committed to the principles and practices of co-creation, co-production and co-research.  Her work as a leadership and executive coach, supporting senior figures from across charitable, public and third party organisations is both problem and client based, supporting incremental growth and transformational change.   A highly skilled facilitator Jane actively integrates her training an open space and thinking environment practitioner, to enhance and enable learning and development.

Outside of work, Jane and her family have acted as foster parents to early career Paralympic swimmers based at the British Para-Olympic National Performance Centre in Manchester.  She is a keen fell walker, wild-swimmer, cyclist and cook.