Specialisms
I specialise in the following areas:
- Career Coaching
- Environmental Services
- Executive Coaching
- HR Consultancy
- Leadership Coaching
- LGR Hub
- Organisational Development
Jo began her career with Nokia Telecommunications in logistics and communications, gaining first-hand experience of how large, complex organisations operate and communicate, especially during times of change and uncertainty. After completing her Chartered Institute of Marketing Diploma, she moved to Nokia’s global headquarters in Helsinki as a Communications Officer, later returning to the UK as Country Communications Manager.
In 2004, Jo founded Twist Consultants, initially offering strategic communications support. Her work quickly expanded into organisational change, including a major programme involving the TUPE transfer of more than 800 people. This experience shaped the direction of her practice, leading her to strengthen her expertise in leadership, coaching, resilience, and wellbeing through professional qualifications and experience.
Over the last two decades, through her consultancy Twist Consultants, Jo has worked with senior leaders and teams in public, private, and third-sector organisations across the UK and Europe. She has designed and delivered bespoke solutions on major transformation programmes for organisations including the BBC, Heathrow Airport, easyJet, and Mitie, as well as several local authorities.
Alongside this, Jo coaches leaders and teams as they navigate their own transitions and lead change within their organisations. This breadth of experience gives her practical insights into what really helps to drive successful change across diverse teams and complex systems.
Today, Jo combines leadership coaching and development, facilitation, and communication approaches to help leaders and teams navigate change with clarity and confidence. Bringing specialist climate and carbon literacy expertise too, she supports organisations to build capability and work collaboratively towards sustainable outcomes.
Key Skills/Areas of Expertise
- Leadership and organisational change specialist
enabling councils to navigate complex transformation with clarity, confidence, and measurable progress. - Exec and Leadership coaching and mentoring
strengthening decision-making, influence, and self-awareness so that senior leaders can effectively lead and embed high-impact change. - Empowering senior leaders to drive and embed transformational change
so that strategic priorities move from intention to implementation and deliver sustained, organisational benefits. - Building wellbeing, resilience and adaptability capability
so leaders and teams remain resourceful, adaptive, and focused during periods of continuous change and uncertainty. - Developing leadership communication capability
meaning that change is clearly understood, consistently articulated, and successfully adopted across diverse teams. - Helping diverse teams create aligned goals
enabling cross-functional groups to collaborate effectively and achieve shared goals, rapidly. - Supporting teams and organisations to embed climate-focused approaches
meaning environmental commitments translate into actionable programmes, collaborative partnerships, and community-positive outcomes.
(Recent work includes facilitating cross-council collaboration, strengthening a partnership identity, and enabling a unified climate action approach across multiple authorities.)
Professional Qualifications
A professionally accredited coach and change specialist with advanced qualifications in leadership, resilience, communication, and climate-focused capability-building, to support organisations and their teams through meaningful and sustainable change.
Leadership, Coaching & Organisational Development
- Level 7 Diploma in Executive Coaching & Mentoring, Institute of Leadership & Management
- Wellbeing Coaching, British School of Coaching (ILM endorsed)
- Master Practitioner – Workplace Resilience and Wellbeing (Wraw), The Wellbeing Project
- DISC Accredited Practitioner, Optimus Coaching Academy
- Mental Health First Aider, MHFA England
- Positive Psychology, Optimus Coaching Academy
Climate, Sustainability & Carbon Literacy
- Climate Change Coach, Climate Change Coaches
- Carbon Literacy Trainer, Carbon Literacy Project
Communications & Professional Accreditation
- Chartered Fellow, Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR)
- Member, Association for Coaching
- Diploma in Marketing, Chartered Institute of Marketing
- BA (Hons), University of Staffordshire
I am also an award-winning CIPR volunteer, recognised for my work around the mental health agenda and bringing important conversations about wellbeing to the forefront of the CIPR’s work.
Testimonials/Case Studies
Link to case study with Norfolk Climate Change Partnership (includes several testimonials)
https://www.twistconsultants.co.uk/blog/2025/5/23/case-study-norfolk-climate-change-partnership?rq=case%20study
Jo has been a facilitator at key team and management away days for us. She listened well, prepped thoroughly and took care to tailor Twist’s services to our individual needs. This generated terrific event outputs and feedback. I highly recommend talking to Jo ahead of key moments when you need something special to engage your teams to collaborate and direct positive change.
Wendy Teo, Bid Manager, VolkerLaser
“Working with Jo on the Agile EDI Retreat was an excellent experience. Her considerate, timely responses, thoughtful planning and creative facilitation, contributed to an impactful 1.5 day event on embedding equality, diversity and inclusion in research. The curiosity, care and decision that Jo brought to our collaboration left a strong impression with the Agile Initiative team and we are hugely grateful for her support.”
Stephanie Perrin, the Agile Initiative, Oxford Martin School, part of University of Oxford
Jo contributed to our leadership development program at the Change Institute.
We did not only benefit from her great change Management expertise and experience, but especially from the way she is able to communicate and deliver the key messages. On top of that is a was a pleasure working with somebody with such a positive, hands-on and cooperative attitude.
Simon Hala, the Change Institute
“If you’re looking for an engaging and energetic approach to getting under the skin of this topic [change and resilience] and making it relatable for your teams, then talk to Jo”
Dave Navarro, Bursar, King’s College School Wimbledon
Notable Achievements
- Led climate collaboration development work across multiple local authorities, enabling collective clarity, shared priorities and improved partnership working on high-profile climate goals.
- Enhanced the resilience, wellbeing and adaptive capacity of a council team through a targeted workshop designed to support sustained performance and healthier ways of working under pressure.
- Strengthened communication effectiveness within multiple complex change environments, helping leadership teams engage diverse stakeholders with greater clarity, consistency and confidence.
- Provided strategic coaching to senior leaders navigating transitions, role changes and evolving organisational or political expectations, leading to increased confidence, stability and impact.
- Designed and delivered masterclasses that build leadership capability in communication, emotional intelligence, conflict management and leading through change, tailored to organisational and team needs.
- Introduced and delivered my proprietary keynote model – The Four Fundamentals of Human Change – equipping leaders with practical insight into human behaviour and the conditions that drive successful change.
- Supported high-profile organisations such as the BBC, Heathrow Airport, easyJet and Mitie through several high-stakes change programmes, bringing cross-sector insight to strengthen leadership practice and organisational development.
- An award-winning CIPR volunteer, recognised for my work around the mental health agenda and bringing important conversations about wellbeing to the forefront of the CIPR’s work.
Relevant Sector Knowledge
- Experience working with parish, borough and county councils
- Understanding of public-sector accountability, budget pressures, governance and scrutiny
- Insight into political, partnership and cross-council environments
- Awareness of community and service-user impact during times of change and uncertainty
- Expertise aligned to leadership, resilience, communication and climate priorities
Training/Coaching Programs/Workshop Offers
Leadership & Change Masterclasses
- Leading change with impact and influence
- The Neuroscience of change & navigating transition
- Coaching as a leadership skill in times of change and uncertainty
- Recognising and addressing resistance to change
- Managing conflict constructively during change
Communication & Collaboration Workshops
- Effective communication in change programmes and projects
- Effective leadership communication in times of change
- Communicating successfully across generations
Resilience, Wellbeing & Emotional Intelligence
- Emotional Intelligence for Leaders
- Building a healthy relationship with stress in times of change and uncertainty
- Effectively navigating the emotional aspects of sustainability, climate and biodiversity work
Signature Keynote/workshop
- The Four Fundamentals of Human Change (my proprietary model)
A practical, human-centred framework that helps leaders understand the core drivers of change, strengthen engagement, and enable more successful transitions.
Talks & keynotes on key topics related to change and uncertainty
- Leading effectively through change
- Communicating effectively during uncertainty
- Wellbeing, resilience and stress in changing organisations
LGR Experience & Expertise
Although I have not worked on an LGR programme specifically, I bring extensive experience of supporting leaders and teams through large-scale organisational change of a similar scale. This includes helping organisations navigate complex transitions, strengthen leadership capability, and deliver clear, engaging communication that supports understanding, alignment and successful implementation.
Useful Links
https://www.linkedin.com/in/jotwiselton/ – Linkedin
http://www.twistconsultants.co.uk – Own Website
Summary of earlier research I conducted on wellbeing during organisational change, exploring what leaders can do to sustain morale and resilience:
Podcast interview exploring how leaders can move from chaos to calm and the essential role of coaching for leaders: