Professional Services Conference
About this Event
Everyday Impact: The Power of Professional Services: A day of connection, collaboration and celebration. With keynote speakers, workshops, networking, discussions and more, this is an event celebrating all things Professional Services at the University of Chester.
We are delighted to welcome two amazing keynote speakers to the event this year:
Jane Tomkinson OBE
Chief Executive Officer, Countess of Chester Hospital
Jane Tomkinson OBE is Chief Executive Officer of the Countess of Chester Hospital NHS Foundation Trust. She first joined the Trust as Acting Chief Executive in December 2022, before being appointed to the substantive role in February 2024. Alongside this, she has also provided senior leadership support to Liverpool Heart and Chest Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, where she served as Chief Executive for over a decade.
Jane has worked in the NHS since 1990 and has held a number of senior executive roles during that time. Earlier in her career, she was Director of Finance at the Countess of Chester Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, where she was recognised as Finance Director of the Year by the Healthcare Financial Management Association. She later held a senior finance leadership role at the North of England Strategic Health Authority.
In recognition of her significant contribution to NHS finance, Jane was awarded an OBE in the Queen’s New Year Honours in 2016. In addition to her executive role, she chairs the North West Coast Clinical Research Network and is an independent governor at Liverpool John Moores University.
Jane is also a Governor of the University of Chester. As part of her keynote, she will reflect on recognising when change is needed, maintaining a future-focused approach, and leading with strong values, integrity, and a commitment to excellent service.
Jacqueline Devonish
His Majesty’s Senior Coroner for Cheshire
Jacqueline Devonish is His Majesty’s Senior Coroner for Cheshire, with a distinguished career spanning law, public service, and the judiciary. She began her professional journey with a business studies background before converting to law and qualifying as a solicitor in 1991, practising in civil litigation, family law, and conveyancing. Early in her career, she became a managing partner in a London law firm, where she established and led a litigation department.
She went on to build extensive experience across both disciplinary and criminal law, including serving for 14 years as a chair of the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal and working as a criminal prosecutor for a government agency. She was appointed as an assistant coroner in 2011, combining her expertise in legal analysis with leadership of complex cases and hearings.
In her role as Senior Coroner, Jacqueline leads investigations and inquests to establish the circumstances of a death, with a focus on understanding what has happened and identifying lessons that may help prevent future deaths. Her approach is widely recognised for its professionalism, clarity, and commitment to public service.
Jacqueline received an honorary Doctor of Laws (DLaws) from the University of Chester in 2025 in recognition of her outstanding contribution to the county of Cheshire. As part of her keynote, she will share her perspectives on leadership, improvement, and the role of values in driving effective and meaningful change.
The event will comprise keynotes, in conversations, networking (with optional quiet space), development opportunities, info stands and more! We will also have a range of workshops and informal round table discussions to choose from, topics including:
- Coaching
- Making the most of development opportunities
- Enhancing use of technology (Power BI, Adobe Creative and JISC Discovery tool)
- Resilience
- Conference updates
- Apprenticeship successes and their impact
- Kindness
A more detailed overview of each workshop is below- delegates have been contacted to choose which workshop they would like to attend:
The benefits of coaching with Amanda Owen-Meehan, Consulting Director, AHEP Consulting
Overview pending
Your Development, Your Move: Making the Most of What’s Already Available with Donna Allan, HR Business Partner, Organisational Development
This practical and engaging session will explore the wide range of development opportunities already available across the University – from job shadowing and apprenticeships to bite-sized and self-directed learning. The workshop will challenge you to think differently about what’s already within your reach. Through real examples, reflection, and discussion, you’ll leave with simple, actionable steps to take ownership of your development and make meaningful progress over the next few months.
How the JISC discovery tool can improve your digital capabilities with Stewart McElmeel, Digital Capabilities and Technologies Manager
This interactive session introduces the Jisc Digital Capabilities Discovery Tool and how it can support your personal and professional development. Through a short self-assessment, you’ll explore your current digital strengths and identify practical opportunities to build your confidence across key areas. The session will guide you through your personalised report, helping you understand what it means for your role and how to take meaningful next steps. You’ll leave with a clearer sense of your digital capability and simple actions to support your ongoing development.
Adobe Express: Getting Started with Mark Sargison, Assistant Director of LIS
This one-hour session provides an introduction to Adobe Express, a browser-based creative platform designed to support the creation of engaging digital content such as presentations, graphics, videos, and web pages.
Participants will be guided through the essentials of accessing the platform and navigating its interface before exploring the range of tools available to support everyday activities. The session will include practical demonstrations of how to use pre-built templates to quickly create polished outputs, as well as an overview of AI-powered features, including Adobe Firefly, to enhance and accelerate content creation.
Attendees will also learn how to manage and organise their assets within Adobe Express, and how to share content effectively with colleagues and collaborators. The session will conclude with signposting to a range of additional resources, training materials, and support channels to enable continued learning and adoption.
The Power of Power BI with Darius Austin, Senior Planning Officer
This session will provide an overview of where to find data supplied by the Planning team and other Professional Services colleagues, how to use the Power BI landing page to easily manage reports, and how to navigate the Power BI web interface itself.
Mental Toughness: Building Resilient, High-Performing Teams with Dr Peter Sewell – Senior Employability Adviser
In today’s fast-paced higher education environment, professional services teams face growing pressure to deliver excellence while managing change, competing priorities, and complex stakeholder relationships. This interactive workshop introduces the Mental Toughness model (Clough & Strycharczyk, 2015), developed by AQR International, a Chester-based business and sports psychology consultancy. Mental Toughness can be understood as the combination of resilience and a positive mindset, shaping how we respond to challenge, pressure, and opportunity. The model explores four key components; Control, Commitment, Challenge, and Confidence, and how these can strengthen performance, wellbeing, and team collaboration. Through guided discussion and reflection, participants will gain insight into their own mental toughness profile and leave with practical strategies to build more resilient, optimistic, and high-performing teams.
Suitable for anyone working in professional services who leads, supports, or contributes to a team.
Title: Work Smarter, Not Harder: Saving Time with Teams, Copilot, and Outlook AI with Peter Scorey, LIS Officer, Assistive Technology
This talk explores how Microsoft Teams, Copilot, and Outlook can dramatically reduce everyday workload and boost productivity through built-in AI capabilities. There will be practical examples which will demonstrate how these tools can work together to streamline tasks, cut down manual effort, and help users focus on higher-value work.
Agenda
🕑: 09:15 AM - 09:30 AM
Arrival and networking
🕑: 09:30 AM - 09:45 AM
SET Welcome to the day
🕑: 09:45 AM - 10:05 AM
Keynote: His Majesty’s Senior Coroner for Cheshire, Jacqueline Devonish
🕑: 10:05 AM - 10:25 AM
Keynote: Chief Executive Officer of the Countess of Chester Hospital, Jane Tom
🕑: 10:25 AM - 11:00 AM
Dr Helen Galbraith in conversation with Jacqueline Devonish and Jane Tomkinson
🕑: 11:00 AM - 11:30 AM
Break
🕑: 11:30 AM - 12:00 PM
Small Group networking (with optional quiet space/s)
🕑: 12:00 PM - 12:30 PM
What AHEP can do for you - Amanda Owen-Meehan, AHEP Consulting
🕑: 12:30 PM - 01:30 AM
Lunch and networking
🕑: 01:30 PM - 02:00 PM
Round table discussions
🕑: 02:30 PM - 03:30 PM
Workshops
🕑: 03:30 PM - 04:00 PM
Celebration of the day
🕑: 04:00 PM - 04:00 PM
Close
Where is it happening?
Event Location & Nearby Stays:
GBP 0.00
