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Jenni Whitfield

  • Position: Departmental Business Manager
  • Areas of expertise: Continuous Improvement; Project Management; Operational Excellence; Change Management
  • Email: J.L.Whitfield@leeds.ac.uk
  • Location: 2.16 Charles Thackrah
  • Website: LinkedIn

Profile

Throughout her career, Jenni has been passionate about fostering inclusive, efficient, and forward-thinking environments. She thrives in collaborative settings, supports staff development, and leverages data and innovation to drive meaningful change, with a strong emphasis on continuous improvement.

With over 15 years of experience in the education sector, including roles at the University of Leeds and other institutions, she has led numerous process improvement initiatives, supported complex change projects, and implemented data-driven solutions using tools such as Excel, Power BI, and Power Automate. Her contributions played a key role in her previous organisation’s attainment of ISO9001 accreditation, delivering measurable enhancements in service quality and operational efficiency. Prior to that, she led the Lifelong Learning Centre at the University of Leeds to achieve Customer Service Excellence accreditation, maintaining it for seven consecutive years and earning recognition for exceeding standards in 13 areas.

She has also volunteered as a Continuous Improvement Coach, delivering training across the institution and helping to embed a culture of efficiency and innovation. Currently, she is pursuing a Chartered Manager Degree Apprenticeship to further deepen her knowledge and expertise.

In her current role as Departmental Business Manager at Leeds University Business School, she leads and supports a dynamic administrative team, ensuring the delivery of comprehensive support to the Management and Organisations Department. She is committed to driving continuous improvement across operations and collaborates closely with other Departmental Business Managers to share best practices and develop cross-Faculty solutions that enhance efficiency and collaboration. Additionally, she provides strategic and operational support to the Head of Department, manages departmental meetings and events, and ensures alignment of departmental processes with Faculty and University policies.

Responsibilities

  • Driving continuous improvement to enhance administrative efficiency and effectiveness
  • Providing comprehensive administrative support to the Management and Organisations Department
  • Assist in strategic planning and projects to achieve departmental objectives

Qualifications

  • PRINCE2 Foundation and Practitioner

Professional memberships

  • Association for Project Management
  • Chartered Management Institute