Specialisms
I specialise in the following areas:
- Commercialisation of Services
- Consultation Support
- Governance
- LATCO Consultancy
- LGR Hub
- Organisational Development
- Programme Management
- Project Management
- Transformation
Lisa Grove has over 25 years of experience within the public and charity sectors, with the majority of her career spent serving in Local Government. She began her professional journey in audit and finance before rapidly progressing into transformation and corporate improvement roles, where she established a reputation as an effective organisational trouble‑shooter.
Her career later broadened into senior management positions, including eight years with the Fire and Rescue Service, where she led complex operational and organisational change initiatives. Lisa subsequently moved into a strategic leadership role overseeing customer services and digital transformation for a large district council, further strengthening her expertise in modernising public‑facing services.
She went on to hold Assistant Director positions across public sector Operations, managing portfolios spanning culture, leisure, environment, customer services, and wider operational disciplines. In these roles, Lisa became recognised as a skilled Subject Matter Expert in both customer service transformation and programme governance, often acting as a key advisor during major change programmes.
Throughout her career, Lisa has successfully led and coordinated multi‑disciplinary and multi‑agency teams, including colleagues from health, social care, community health, and specialist project areas such as social prescribing. Her work routinely involves delivering complex programmes requiring strong governance, effective stakeholder engagement, and collaborative partnership working across organisations.
In 2023, Lisa established her consultancy practice, drawing on her extensive strategic, tactical, and operational experience. She now leads projects and programmes with a strong focus on delivery, systems thinking, and effective governance, often working across multiple partners and stakeholder groups to enable sustainable, long‑term improvement.
Key Strengths/Area of Expertise
- Application of Systems Thinking to solve complex problems in the public sector
- Programme & Project management (including complex partnership governance modelling)
- Public sector transformation and organisation change (service design/improvement and review)
- Strategy and policy development
- Interim leadership (public sector) in Transformation, Operations (waste management, grounds maintenance, fleet and workshops) Customer Services/Public Access
- Business Continuity Planning and Preparedness
- Building capacity and leaving clients with the skills and knowledge they need to continue the work after I’ve left
- Political awareness and understanding political environments
- Effectiveness in a strategic, tactical and operational role
- Lived understanding and experience of Trustee and Governorship (having held both volunteer roles)
- Risk Management and mitigation
Professional Qualifications
- Association of Accounting Technicians (Level 4)
- ILM Certificate in First Line Management
- Prince 2 Practitioner
- Diploma in Management Studies
- Currently studying a level 7 MBA conversion – Leading & Commissioning in Complexity (public sector bias)
Testimonials/Case Studies
Cambridge City Council Senior Leader: “Lisa’s ability to create authentic and genuine connections in her role as the Programme Lead for Our Cambridge is nothing short of inspiring. She shows care, interest, attention to detail, problem solving and effective decision-making. Lisa has a people first focus with everyone she works with, she shows great empathy, respect and care, taking genuine care of her direct reports and those she works alongside.”
West Suffolk Council Senior Leader: “I have had the pleasure of working closely with Lisa during our time working together in the emergency services and at West Suffolk Council. Lisa is a great systems thinker and always brings new ideas to her leadership of services. She has excellent communication skills and a strategic mindset. I highly recommend Lisa for her dedication, professionalism and her ability to deliver results.”
Local Government Senior Manager: “Lisa came on board at a crucial time of the development of the Feel Good Suffolk service. Following several months of blue sky thinking, we needed structure and stability to ensure we had a deliverable service within 7 months and that’s exactly what Lisa provided us with. She connected effectively with our stakeholders, worked collaboratively with us to find the best possible solutions to operational gaps and was a brilliant facilitator, leading conversations with passion and a flare for doing things differently.”
Notable Achievements/Value Added
- Led a small partnership of local authorities and NHS colleagues in designing and implementing a brand new health behaviours service in Suffolk (feelgoodsuffolk.co.uk)
- People management and stakeholder engagement – I often get comments about how easy it is to work with me, how quickly I fit in and can “see” an organisation, and I enjoy the process of being somewhere new and meeting new people.
- Understanding people to the extent where I can advise and mentor them through change ; in a quiet and respectful way which achieves results and is tailored to the person.
- Designing and leading the recruitment process for the Headteacher position at the primary school where I was a governor at the time.
Relevant Sector Knowledge
- Public sector, including charity and Local Authority Trading Companies (LATCo’s)
- Blue Light, specifically Fire and Rescue, although some policing knowledge
- NHS – health behaviours
- Education (primary and secondary), including SEND and Safeguarding
- Charity sector governance
LGR Experience & Expertise
Experience in post-LGR support (e.g. service redesign, org change projects etc)
Preparation for LGR vesting day (from an org change/change management/comms perspective)