Raj Jethwa
Chief Executive
Raj Jethwa was appointed Chief Executive of UCEA (the Universities and Colleges Employers Association) in February 2020, where he leads the association’s work representing the UK higher education sector in all employment matters and in the collective negotiations on pay and related issues.
Raj was previously the Director of Policy at the BMA (British Medical Association) where he led its professional activities, policy development and collective bargaining functions. Raj has also worked as Head of Research for the Police Federation of England and Wales and as a policy advisor at the TUC (Trades Union Congress). He is a graduate of the London School of Economics, where he was a member of the Court of Governors. Raj is a Visiting Fellow at Kingston University and a member of the Prison Service Pay Review Body.
Roshan Israni
Deputy Chief Executive
Roshan has been UCEA’s Deputy Chief Executive since August 2017. In her role, Roshan leads on work relating to UCEA’s strategic priority aimed at supporting HE employers in enhancing the employee experience and engages with members and various stakeholders on a range of employment matters alongside being responsible for UCEA’s organisational effectiveness, business operations and governance. Roshan’s previous experience in the areas of employee relations, HR and organisation development was gained through work in the not for profit and private sectors, local government, the NHS and Probation Services. She has undertaken extensive consultations and negotiations including in Higher Education as part of UCEA’s National Negotiating Team, and has led on successful employee engagement, cultural transformation and restructuring programmes. Roshan is a Chartered Fellow of the CIPD and possesses a Master's degree in Management Studies and a first degree in Chemistry.
Andy Fryer
Head of Communications & Membership
Andy is responsible for membership satisfaction as well as developing and delivering an effective external relations strategy for UCEA and its members. Andy provides communications advice and support to members and plays a key role in managing UCEA's public profile and its membership development. He previously held senior posts at a number of further and higher education institutions and his qualifications include a Masters in Communications Management.
Ashleigh Rigden
Communications Officer - Digital & Membership
As part of the Communications team, Ashleigh is responsible for digital communications and assisting Andy with membership across UCEA. Since starting in August 2024, she manages UCEA’s social media channels and online presence. Before joining UCEA, Ashleigh previously worked as a Senior International Communications Officer in book publishing and has a BA (Hons) degree in Multimedia Journalism from Bournemouth University.
Armelle Griffin
Communications Officer - Pensions
Armelle joined the UCEA communications team in November 2024, specialising in Pensions communications. Armelle is a graduate of the University of Strasbourg (France), where she achieved a Masters Degree in Humanities. She brings with her over 20 years’ experience in communications, including the last 17 years in the HE sector.
Simon Sumner
Head of Employment Policy & Advice
Simon joined UCEA in December 2021 as Deputy Head of Employment Policy & Advice, and was promoted to his current role in July 2023. He is responsible for oversight of UCEA's HR employment advisory services to members. This includes guidance on employee relations and industrial action; employee experience; developments in employment practice in HE; and changes in employment law. The advisory team is also responsible for UCEA's work on clinical academics and health and safety in HE. He is part of the UCEA team that works on the New JNCHES multi-employer pay bargaining rounds and is Secretary to New JNCHES. Simon has HR experience from both the private and higher education sectors and prior to joining UCEA, he held the role of Head of Employee Relations and Policy Development at City, University of London.
Alison McGrand
Senior Employment Policy Adviser
Alison joined the team in 2018 and works with Simon, Elaine, Hazel and Nicola on the delivery of UCEA's HR advisory services to members. This includes guidance on employee relations and industrial action; immigration; clinical acaedmics; employee experience; developments in employment practice in HE; changes in employment law and equality, diversity and inclusion.
Elaine Schegar
Senior Employment Policy Advisor
e.schegar@ucea.ac.uk
Elaine re-joined the team in January 2023 and works with Simon, Alison, Hazel and Nicola on the delivery of UCEA's HR advisory services to members. This includes guidance on employee relations and industrial action; developments in employment practice in HE; changes in employment law; and health and safety. Elaine also has experience of working in an HR role in a number of universities in the South East, as well as other sectors. Elaine is a Chartered Member of the CIPD.
Hazel Lindley-Milton
Senior Employment Policy Advisor
h.lindley-milton@ucea.ac.uk
Hazel re-joined the team in October 2023 and works with Simon, Alison, Elaine and Nicola on the delivery of UCEA's HR advisory services to members. This includes guidance across a full spectrum of employment policy areas, such as changes in employment law; employee relations and industrial action, developments in employment practice in HE; equality, diversity and inclusion and employee experience. Hazel has experience of working in HR roles in a number of higher education institutions and is a Chartered Member of the CIPD. Prior to joining UCEA, Hazel held the role of Head of HR Strategy, Policy and Equality and Diversity at Birkbeck, University of London, which included leading and delivering on equality and diversity priorities.
Nicola Carter
Senior Consultant (Employment Policy)
Nicola joined UCEA in 2011 and has worked on a wide range of employment policy areas, including industrial disputes, New JNCHES, health and safety, employment law and clinical academics. Nicola currently supports UCEA on specific projects, including New JNCHES issues, and continues to lead on clinical academic employment policy.
Emelda Nicholroy
Head of Pensions Policy
Emelda oversees UCEA's work on pensions, guiding and representing higher education institutions as employers in relation to all pensions matters. She represents higher education on the public sector schemes offered within HE institutions. Emelda brings to the role wide ranging experience from both in-house pensions arrangements and consultancy, and has a background in providing technical pensions expertise to employers and Trustees of large DB, DC and hybrid pensions arrangements.
Richard Paul
Senior Pensions Technical Adviser
Richard is responsible for providing UCEA members with technical support on the issues that affect pension provision within the HE sector, as well as engaging with schemes in relation to policy and operational issues. Richard's previous experience includes project managing pension schemes through the Pension Protection Fund assessment period and providing secretarial and governance consulting services to Trustee Boards of FTSE250 company DB and DC pension schemes.
Andrew Tweedie
Head of Reward and Research
a.tweedie@ucea.ac.uk
Andrew leads the Research team and is responsible for developing effective pay and benefits research and services for UCEA and members. He has held senior roles in UK HE human resources and in global talent management for international research institutions. Andrew has experience in labour market research and lectured in People Strategy. His qualifications include a Master’s degree in Government, Policy and Politics. Andrew is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Personnel Development.
George Starling
Senior Research Analyst
George is responsible for UCEA's pay and workforce benchmarking, including the Senior Staff Remuneration Survey, and provides research and analysis on HE reward and employment issues. Previously, George was a Senior Teaching Fellow at SOAS, University of London and provides expertise in quantitative research and insights into practices within the academic workforce. He holds a PhD in Linguistics & English Language from the University of Edinburgh.
Matthew Sims
Research Analyst (Development Programme)
m.sims@ucea.ac.uk
Matthew works in the Research team, providing support on a variety of projects. Since starting in early November 2023, he has assisted with data analysis for UCEA’s sickness absence survey and the Benefits of HE report for 2023. Before joining UCEA, Matthew studied at the University of Warwick, where he achieved a BSc in Mathematics.
Sharron Powley
Head of Events
Sharron carries overall responsibility for UCEA's learning and development programme for members plus other events. She develops and oversees delivery of UCEA's annual programme comprising conferences, seminars, master classes and workshops. Sharron has a background working in HR in the HE sector and also in membership services. Sharron is a Chartered Fellow of the CIPD and holds an MA in Strategic Human Resource Management.
Marc Whittaker
Communications and Events Manager
Marc's role is split between our communications and events functions. He monitors and responds to media coverage of industrial relations and pay and pensions in the sector, supports members with their communications messaging and manages the production of UCEA publications. He also works on development and delivery of the UCEA programme of conferences and other members' events. He has previously held marketing, communications and events focused posts in HE, FE and the private sector. He is a Chartered Member of the Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM).
Lucy Thompson
Business Administrator (Events)
Lucy is the administrator for UCEA's programme of conferences, seminars, workshops and other events. She manages delegate bookings and liaises with speakers and venues.
Samira Tamboura
Events/Business Support officer
s.tamboura@ucea.ac.uk
Samira is our Business and Events Support Officer. She helps the organisation by providing administrative support to all UCEA departments and our Board and committees. She assists the events team with venue-finding, speaker communication, invitations and promotion. Previously she has worked in events management for various law firms and other organisations in the private sector. Samira holds an Event Management & Tourism degree and recently obtained a postgraduate diploma in English-Spanish translation.
Matt Lloyd
Head of Business Support
Matt is responsible for ensuring the operational effectiveness of UCEA, including its financial, administrative and IT management and delivering some of our member services. He has overseen the upgrade and transformation of UCEA’s technological infrastructure in order to help us deliver an even better service to members in the digital age, and to work remotely, both effectively and securely, during the coronavirus pandemic. Matt began his career in the IT industry before spending 14 years working at membership organisations in the health and care sector in a variety of communications, membership and senior operational roles. He holds a BSc in Environmental Studies and is a member of the Association of Higher Education Professionals.
Victoria Gillespie
PA and Business Support Officer
Victoria is responsible for providing administrative support to the JNCHES secretary and Research team. Victoria also assists with in-house design and publication production.
Graeme Drury
Finance and Business Support Officer
Graeme is the Finance and Business Support officer and is responsible for membership and organisational finance administration. Graeme supports UCEA officers across the team and assists with enquiries. He provides the team with IT management and support and has recently completed his Association of Accounting Technicians (AAT) Advanced qualification.
