Gabriella Van Beek Msc

Currently running the Healthwatch West Northamptonshire (formerly North and West Northamptonshire) organisation, which includes overseeing a team of staff. This role involves many skills and responsibilities, including:

Leadership & Management

• Line management and delegation of a team of staff members
• Overseeing all organisational projects and research initiatives
• Making executive decisions for Healthwatch West Northamptonshire across the local authority and health and social care systems.
• Contract Oversight and Compliance: Ensuring a full delivery of statutory requirements by monitoring and reporting on our contract quarterly, responding to consultations and regular reviews to maintain compliance.
• Organisation Development: Identifying and applying for bids to secure funding for commissioned research and project work, expanding our organisational impact.
• Facilitation and Chairing: Chairing strategic planning and advisory board meetings, engaging both internal and external stakeholders to support effective plan delivery and align on organisational goals.

Stakeholder Engagement and Relationship Building

• Representing the organisation at local stakeholder and partner meetings, fostering and strengthening relationships to enhance collaboration within the community. A member of the local authorities' Health and Wellbeing Boards and the ICB Board.
• Strategic Relationship Management: Developing and nurturing productive relationships with key stakeholders to support organisational goals and aligning projects with community needs.

Project Management and Delivery

• Comprehensive Project Oversight: Leading on all phases of project management, from procurement and planning to delivery, data collection, analysis, and report preparation.
• Report Preparation and Presentation: Developing and presenting detailed reports, strategies, and actionable recommendations to guide decision-making.

Community Insight and Advocacy

• In-depth Knowledge of Local Health Needs: Building a greater understanding of Northamptonshire’s health and social care landscape, with a focus on health inequalities and areas of deprivation, to inform and guide project focus and stakeholder engagement.
• Managing Community Feedback: Generating reports and overseeing the feedback the organisation receives from the community in regards to health and social care.

Started as a Senior Projects Officer and was then promoted to Manager. This role involved leading on all projects and community engagement for the organisation, report writing and building relationships with local VCSE organisations and local authority health departments.

• Successful in leading and maintaining the organisation's campaigns.
• Supported the procurement and development of all research projects conducted within the organisation.
• Data analysis, project planning and report writing (annual, quarterly monitoring and research projects).
• Liaising with community stakeholders, and attending community meetings to represent Healthwatch Northamptonshire as an ambassador for our organisation.
• Finalising marketing and engagement strategies.
• Head of the Young Healthwatch Volunteer Programme.

Supported the company's growth and increase in NHS clients for their CBT-based sleep therapy platform. This included managing long-term stakeholder relationships and contracts, supporting new contracts and clients and supporting the corporate push for a growth in business revenues.

• Worked one on one with stakeholders to maintain the relationships
• Compiling data for monthly and quarterly monitoring reports
• Hosted informational sessions for new NHS clients
• Experience with Slack, Notion, Outlook, and Excel
• Regularly conducted research to gather background information
• Helped lead on digital/ promotional materials for the promotional campaigns

In this role I was responsible for the procurement and development of all research projects conducted within the branch, as well as the delivery of our statutory functions, such as Enter and Views, with a focus on community engagement.

• Data analysis, project planning and report writing (annual, quarterly monitoring and research projects)
• Liaising with appointed project stakeholders to assure the overall direction and integrity of the project
• Designed research projects and Healthwatch campaigns
• Assessed the needs of the community, which focused on patient and community member advocacy
• Organisation, responsible for others, task delegation, and adopting any task delegation and use of support roles to successfully complete projects
• Leader of the Volunteer Programme
• Responsible for all social media campaigns and communications, including the organisation's website

Delivered mandated learning outcomes and provided regular and detailed feedback on students' work to promote academic development and raise attainment levels. Managed student's needs with learning disabilities and autism and ensured learning needs were met inclusive of their learning plans.

• Established and led weekly extra-curricular STEM science club/ Robotics meetings.
• Shared strategies to elevate effective teaching standards across departments.
• Enforced strict behaviour management and health and safety procedures.
• Planned and organised classrooms that consistently facilitated positive learning experience.

Hospital PCT , working closely with the care team and external providers to meet patient care continuity needs.

• Managed daily service operations through strategic care planning.
• Monitored, tracked and conveyed important patient information to healthcare staff to help optimize treatment planning and care delivery.
• Obtained patient vital signs and reported results to staff nurse or physician, noting changes from prior measurements.

Delivered mandated learning outcomes and provided regular and detailed feedback on students' work to promote academic development and raise attainment levels.

• Combined subject expertise and passion for teaching to enthuse, motivate and excite secondary school pupils.
• Tailored lesson plans to target student needs, learning difficulties and examination specifications.
• Maintained updated curriculum knowledge for expert student guidance.
• Collaborated with teaching assistants and mentors to deliver additional support to struggling students.

A Student Internship with Stanley Steven's BSF lab at the University of South Florida. The research focused on understanding the effects of alcohol induced changes in hepatic histone modifications, while utilizing Mass Spectrometry.

• Loaded and unloaded laboratory analysers, identifying samples requiring further testing. Research included the use of cell lysis, cultures, sample processing, proteomics, FASP, Mass Spectrometry, Western blots, loading controls, gel electrolysis, accuracy tests
• Over 2000+ hours (non-compensated)

Working PRN during my undergraduate degree with a local media and marketing company to collaborate and promote local companies and brands.

• Worked to support professional, lasting relationships with local companies.
• Collaborated effectively with clients and stakeholders, ascertaining campaign goals and working tirelessly to achieve mutually beneficial outcomes.
• Planned and organized sampling events by working hand-in-hand with retail store managers and leaders.