Gabrielle Nicholson is a senior manager for Francis Group, with a strong consultation, facilitation and training background and significant project and programme management expertise in the health and education sectors.
Her experience includes developing and implementing national policies and strategies, with a focus on supporting improved outcomes for stakeholder groups, and managing large scale, multi agency change or policy development and implementation programmes. In undertaking work of this kind, Gabrielle has developed skills and expertise in managing public consultation, including facilitating public workshops, smaller, targeted focus groups and one-to-one interviews. She also has extensive experience in running communication and training sessions aimed at assisting in either the development or implementation of new policies or processes.
Since joining Francis Group in 2004 Gabrielle has successfully led a number of national initiatives for New Zealand government departments and agencies, such as the Ministry of Health, the New Zealand Health Information Service, the Accident Compensation Corporation and the Tertiary Education Commission. Prior to this, she was based in Australia in the Rural Health Team of the New South Wales branch of the Commonwealth Department of Health and Ageing, which involved extensive travel and intense work with local, multidisciplinary health teams.
Gabrielle was, until recently, based in London where she was establishing Francis Group in the UK. While there she also managed some significant projects for the Department of Health in the Healthcare Associated Infection Improvement Programme, supported a London primary care trust in their move to a new method of primary care delivery – via networks of GP practices, which involves organisational development support and training for the practices in question, and completed a project for the Higher Education Funding Council for Wales. She returned to New Zealand in June 2011.
