Julia Unwin

Julia Unwin DBE FAcSS
Born	(1956-07-06) 6 July 1956 (age 69)
Alma mater	Liverpool University; London School of Economics
Occupation	Business executive
Father	Peter Unwin

Dame Julia Unwin DBE FAcSS (born 6 July 1956) is a British businessperson who was chief executive of the Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF) ^[1] and the Joseph Rowntree Housing Trust (JRHT). ^[2] The Guardian in 2007 described her as a "major player in the voluntary sector". ^[3] In 2012, she was appointed by the Scottish Government as a member of the Expert Working Group on Welfare and Constitutional Reform. ^[4]

Early life

Unwin is the daughter of Peter William Unwin, a retired diplomat. ^[5] She studied history at Liverpool University and graduated Bachelor of Arts (BA) in 1978. ^[3] She then went on to undertake postgraduate studies in Social Policy and Planning at the London School of Economics, graduating Master of Science (MSc) in 1991. ^{[3] [5]}

Career

She was chief executive of JRF and JRHT from January 2007 to December 2016. Previous roles include being a freelance consultant between 1993 and 2006 – during this time Unwin undertook policy analysis, governance support and project evaluation. She has been a member of the peer review of Cabinet office (2000), a member of the Capability Review at DCLG (2006), Social Policy Adviser at NatWest Bank, and Senior Adviser to the Baring Foundation.^{[ citation needed ]} She is a member of the Council at the University of York. ^[6]

Former roles

• 1978–1980: Field worker, Liverpool Council for Voluntary Service
• 1980-1982: Community Liaison officer, London Borough of Southwark social services
• 1982–1986: Head of Voluntary sector liaison team, Greater London Council
• 1986–1992: Director, Homeless Network ^[7]
• 1995–1998: Chair of Refugee Council ^[2]
• 1998–2003: Charity Commission for England and Wales Charity Commissioner ^{[2] [3] [7]}
• 1992–2001: Board member, Housing Corporation ^[2]
• 2001–2006: Board member, National Consumer Council ^[8]
• 2003–2006: Deputy Chair, Food Standards Agency ^[2]

In January 2016, Unwin was appointed as an independent non-executive Director of Mears Group Plc. In January 2017, she was appointed as a non-executive director at Yorkshire Water. She is also a non-executive director of the Financial Reporting Council. She chaired the independent inquiry into the future of civil society, which concluded and published its findings in late 2018. ^[9]

Honours

Unwin was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2000 New Year Honours for services to the housing corporation, ^[10] Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 2006 as deputy chair of the Food Standards Agency for services to consumers, ^[8] and Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) in the 2020 New Year Honours for services to civil society. ^[11]

She received an Outstanding Leadership Award, at the 2010 Charity Awards. The presenter said: "...it's hard to overstate the impact that her work has had on social policy in the UK." ^[6]

Family life

Unwin is married and has two children. ^[3] They reside in York, England. ^[12]

Publications

• Lending money, the issues for grant making trusts, Baring Foundation, 1995
• Trends, Myths and Realities: Funding Policy and the Local Voluntary Sector, with Peter Westland; Association of Charitable Foundations, 1996
• Who Pays for Core Costs?, ACEVO, 1999
• Speaking Truth to Power, Baring Foundation, 2004 ^[13]
• The Grant Making Tango: Issues for Funders, Baring Foundation, 2004 ^[14]
• The Voluntary Sector delivering public services: Transfer or transformation?, with Will Paxton, Nick Pearce and Peter Molyneux; Joseph Rowntree Foundation, 2005 ^[15]
• Fruitful Funding: A guide to levels of engagement, NCVO, 2005 ^[16]
• The role of kindness in public policy, Carnegie UK Trust ^[17]

References

1. "Julia Unwin CBE". Joseph Rowntree Foundation.
2. "Julia Unwin CBE", The Guardian , 17 May 2011. Retrieved 10 August 2011.
3. Benjamin, Alison (16 May 2007). "In search of evils". The Guardian. Retrieved 10 August 2011.
4. Expert Working Group on Welfare and Constitutional Reform, Government of the United Kingdom
5. "UNWIN, Julia". Who's Who 2014. A & C Black. December 2013. Retrieved 6 July 2014.
6. "National honour for York charity chief Julia Unwin (From York Press)". Archived from the original on 10 October 2012. Retrieved 10 August 2011."National honour for York charity chief Julia Unwin," The Press (York), 11 June 2010. Retrieved 10 August 2011
7. Mehra, Nina, "Friends Provident boosts ethical committee," Financial News, 10 May 2000. (Registration required). Retrieved 10 August 2011
8. 1 2 "Food Standards Agency - Julia Unwin". Archived from the original on 18 October 2010. Retrieved 10 August 2011."Julia Unwin," Food Standards Agency. Updated April 2006. Retrieved 10 August 2011
9. "Home page". Civil Society Futures. Retrieved 27 June 2019.
10. "Order of the British Empire", BBC News, 30 December 2000. Retrieved 10 August 2011.
11. "No. 62866". The London Gazette (Supplement). 28 December 2019. p. N8.
12. "Julia Unwin CBE", Civil Society, Charity award winners. 4 May 2011. Retrieved 10 August 2011. Archived 29 July 2012 at archive.today .
13. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 November 2013. Retrieved 10 August 2011.
14. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 June 2011. Retrieved 10 August 2011.
15. "The voluntary sector delivering public services: Transfer or transformation?". 26 August 2005.
16. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 September 2011. Retrieved 10 August 2011.
17. "Julia Unwin report examines role of kindness in public policy". Carnegie UK Trust. 1 November 2018. Retrieved 27 June 2019.

External links

• jrf.com, Joseph Rowntree Foundation.