Initiative is being run in partnership with leading women in West Cheshire public and private sectors
A new initiative to support and promote women in leadership roles is being launched by Storyhouse in collaboration with key partners across the region.
The idea for the West Cheshire Women in Leadership programme came from a panel discussion at this year’s Storyhouse Women weekend.
It aims to make the region one in which women in leadership can thrive, supporting women to increase the number in leadership positions and in the process strengthening the quality and diversity in the public, private and voluntary sectors in West Cheshire.
The six-month programme, which starts in October, is aimed at women working in any of the three sectors in Cheshire West & Chester who are either early in their career in a leadership role or looking at stepping into a leadership position.
It is free to access and will involve an introductory session followed by six monthly 90-minute masterclasses led by West Cheshire leaders, along with three one-to-one mentoring sessions and access to a peer support network.
Those involved will also be expected to contribute, as an alumnus, to future programmes.
Storyhouse chief executive Annabel Turpin is spearheading the programme in partnership with six women leaders of major organisations within local government, education, business, banking and health.
They are: Elyn Corfield, Chief Executive Business & Corporate Banking at Lloyds Banking Group; Cheshire West & Chester Council’s Chief Executive Delyth Curtis and Council Leader Councillor Louise Gittins; Eunice Symmons, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Chester; Louise Stewart, Chief Executive of Chester Racecourse, and Countess of Chester NHS Foundation Trust Chief Executive Jane Tomkinson.
The initial West Cheshire Women in Leadership programme has 18 places.
The deadline for applicants is 16 September, and anyone who is interested in applying to join will need to submit a CV or link to a LinkedIn profile or similar, along with a short statement explaining where they are in their leadership journey, why they want to take part in the programme and what they would bring in terms of their professional and personal experience.
All applications will be considered by a panel of three women and the final decision will take into account personal experience, where applicants are in their leadership journey, and whether in the public, private or voluntary sectors to create a balanced cohort of participants.
The idea for the programme emerged following a panel discussion during May’s Storyhouse Women festival titled The Future of Chester is Female which charted positive transformation of the city led by women and in which panellists discussed pivotal moments in their own lives, what is needed to be a leader, overcoming fears and supporting other women.
Storyhouse CEO Annabel Turpin said
“I feel privileged to be in a leadership position in such a fantastic city. As someone new to the area, I have been so warmly welcomed by other leaders. I wanted to find a way to help other women develop their careers, and thanks to the willingness of our brilliant partners, this programme has been born!”
Professor Eunice Simmons, VC of the University of Chester said:
“The promotion of women to leadership positions cannot be taken for granted even in the 2020s. I am delighted to be part of an initiative which recognises and seeks to change this!”
For more details including full terms and conditions, additional support, or to arrange a call prospective applicants should email exec.support@storyhouse.com
ENDS
For more information, contact:
Nancy Davies
Storyhouse
About Storyhouse
Storyhouse is one of the UK’s foremost cultural centres incorporating a library, theatres and a cinema. It is one of the country’s most successful arts buildings, with more than one million customer visits each year.
The pioneering new library within Storyhouse, where members of the community work alongside city librarians, boasts the longest opening hours of any UK public library and is open every day until 11pm. It runs over 2,000 sessions a year for marginalised communities
The company also runs a highly successful theatre company and the country’s most successful regional open-air theatre, in the city’s Grosvenor Park and Moonlight Flicks open air cinema.
Storyhouse currently holds the official title as the UK’s Most Welcoming Theatre and was the overall national winner in the 2018 Guardian Public Service Awards
Website: www.storyhouse.com To subscribe, visit https://www.storyhouse.com/subscribe Twitter: @storyhouselive Facebook: www.facebook.com/storyhouselive Address: Hunter Street, Chester, CH1 2AR To become a member: https://www.storyhouse.com/storyhousecard
About Annabel Turpin
Annabel is Chief Executive of Storyhouse, one of the country’s largest arts centres, incorporating theatres, a cinema and the city’s library, and welcoming more than 800,000 visitors a year. She is also Co-Director of the 160-strong Future Arts Centres national network, championing the role of arts centres in driving social, economic and cultural change. In December 2023, she was appointed as North Area Council Chair and National Council member of Arts Council England.
Prior to her 15 years at ARC, she was Director of Norden Farm Centre for the Arts in Maidenhead from 2002-2008.
She is a long-term advocate of purposeful strategic collaboration, and horizontal and vertical sector partnerships. She played a significant role in securing £20million+ investment in local creative industries as Deputy Chair and Strategic Lead for Creative Place for the Tees Valley Combined Authority’s Business Board. She has previously held a number of board positions including North East Culture Partnership, North East Screen industries Partnership and Sunderland Culture.
Women in Leadership partners
Elyn Corfield
Elyn is the CEO for Business and Commercial Banking responsible for serving all micro, small and medium sized business customers. Elyn has held a number of key leadership roles including her most recent as Managing Director of Consumer Finance, responsible for the Group’s Credit Card, Unsecured Personal Loan, Motor Finance and Leasing portfolios in the UK.
Prior to her appointment in July 2022, Elyn has held a number of key leadership roles including her most recent as Managing Director of Consumer Finance, responsible for the Group’s Credit Card, Unsecured Personal Loan, Motor Finance and Leasing portfolios in the UK.
Following the successful acquisition of MBNA by Lloyds Banking Group in June 2017, Elyn held the position of Managing Director for MBNA Credit Cards and has been a Board Director of MBNA Ltd since 2012 and is the current Chair of the Board.
Elyn lives with her family in the North West and acted as Lloyds Banking Group’s Ambassador for the North for three years. Elyn is a member of the MasterCard Advisory Board for Europe, was a non-exec Director for Marketing Cheshire, a long-standing school governor and continues to be a trustee of the MBNA Foundation, a charitable trust.
Delyth Curtis
Delyth was appointed to the post of Chief Executive Officer in May 2023 having been employed by Cheshire West and Chester Council as Deputy Chief Executive since 2017. In May 2022 Delyth also took on the NHS Place Director role working across the Local Authority and Cheshire and Mersey Integrated Care System.
Within the role of Deputy Chief Executive, Delyth held the designation of statutory Director of Adult Social Services, and had overall responsibility for Children’s Social Care, Education, Public Health, Commissioning and Early Intervention.
Prior to this, Delyth held the roles of DASS and DCS with Blackpool Local Authority, finishing her time there as Deputy Chief Executive and Director of People. She led on a significant programme of change in Blackpool around adult service transformation and provider services. Delyth started her career in the NHS and has worked in Acute Hospital Trusts as well as a number of PCTs.
Delyth has extensive experience of problem solving and managing significant programmes of change. She has developed new teams, integrated health and social care services, redesigned provider services and externally commissioned services. Her key focus is always to drive up quality and improve outcomes for patients and residents.
Councillor Louise Gittins
Louise was first elected to Cheshire West and Chester Council in 2011, to serve Little Neston and Burton. A year later, she became the Shadow Spokesperson for Culture and Leisure, and was subsequently appointed as the Shadow Deputy Leader in 2014.
Following the 2015 election, which saw Labour take control of Cheshire West and Chester Council, Cllr Gittins was named Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Communities and Wellbeing – and in May 2019, was elected as Leader of the Council and continues in this role to date.
Cllr Gittins portfolio responsibilities as Council Leader – include Devolution, Public Service Reform, Climate Emergency, the local Health Economy and wider External Partnerships. External appointments include a number of regional and national leadership roles, including Vice Chair of Transport for the North (TfN); Chair of the LGA Children and Young Peoples board, Chair of Growth Track 360; Chair of the Cheshire and Merseyside Health Partnership, elected member lead for developing Cheshire and Warrington as a Marmot region, chair of Coop Councils innovation network and is current leader of the Cheshire and Warrington sub regional leaders’ board.
Professor Eunice Simmons, BSc, MSc, PGCE, PhD, FRSB, FRSA, PFHEA
Eunice leads the University of Chester as Vice-Chancellor and Professor of Sustainable Environments. She is also Chair of Mersey Forest Partnership, one of the UK’s most successful community forests and the founding Chair of TASO; the national research centre for student access and outcomes in Higher Education.
Her current priorities include addressing the financial challenges facing the Higher Education sector whilst ensuring the university delivers social value and economic uplift in Chester and in its University Centres in Warrington, Birkenhead and Reaseheath.
Louise Stewart
Louise is an experienced CEO in the culture, tourism, events and leisure sector. Louise became CEO of Chester Race Company in March 2022 responsible for leading the company, which operates Chester, Bangor-on-Dee and Musselburgh racecourses as well as a hotel, city centre bar, and significant catering and gaming divisions.
Previously CEO of Alexandra Palace, one of the country’s largest independent event venues, she oversaw the successful delivery of a £30m restoration programme, the growth of own brand events, increased revenues and significant improvements in visitor experience, organisational culture and reputation. Prior to that Louise was Deputy CEO of the National Tourist Board overseeing national and regional growth programmes. Louise worked in Regional Development between 2001 and 2010 in the North East and Yorkshire on tourism and culture led economic development and regeneration and has worked across the UK and overseas in a range of leisure and tourism roles.
Jane Tomkinson
Jane has been Chief Executive Officer of the Countess of Chester Hospital since February 2024.
Jane first joined the Trust as Acting Chief Executive Officer in December 2022 and held the position until she became the substantive Chief Executive Officer in February 2024. During this time, Jane provided senior leadership support to the Trust as well as to Liverpool Heart and Chest Hospital NHS Foundation Trust where she had been the Chief Executive Officer since 2013.
Since joining the NHS in 1990, Jane has held a number of executive level positions including Director of Finance at the Countess of Chester Hospital NHS Foundation Trust between 2004 and 2011. Whilst working at the Trust, Jane was awarded the prestigious Finance Director of the Year award by the Healthcare Financial Management Association.
Following this role, Jane moved to work as a Finance Director at the North of England Strategic Health Authority. Jane was awarded an OBE for services to NHS finance in the Queen’s New Year’s Honours in 2016.
In addition to her NHS role Jane chairs the North West Coast Clinical Research Network and is an independent governor for Liverpool John Moores University.