Dame Julia Unwin (born 6 July 1956) was chief executive of the

Joseph Rowntree Foundation The Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF) is a charity that conducts and funds research aimed at solving poverty in the UK. JRF's stated aim is to "inspire action and change that will create a prosperous UK without poverty." Originally called the ...

(JRF) and the

Joseph Rowntree Housing Trust {{Use British English, date=January 2018 The four Rowntree Trusts are funded from the legacies of the Religious Society of Friends, Quaker chocolate entrepreneurs and social reformers Joseph Rowntree (Philanthropist), Joseph Rowntree and Benjamin ...

"Julia Unwin CBE," Guardian, 17 May 2011. Retrieved 10 August 2011(JRHT).

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

in 2007 described her as a "major player in the voluntary sector."
Benjamin, Alison "In search of evils," The Guardian, 16 May 2007. Retrieved 10 August 2011 In 2012 she was appointed by the Scottish Government as a member of the Expert Working Group on Welfare and Constitutional Reform.

Early life

Unwin is the daughter of Peter William Unwin, a retired diplomat. She studied History at

Liverpool University , mottoeng = These days of peace foster learning , established = 1881 – University College Liverpool1884 – affiliated to the federal Victoria Universityhttp://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukla/2004/4 University of Manchester Act 200 ...

and graduated Bachelor of Arts (BA) in 1978. She then went on to undertake

postgraduate studies Postgraduate or graduate education refers to academic or professional degrees, certificates, diplomas, or other qualifications pursued by post-secondary students who have earned an undergraduate ( bachelor's) degree. The organization and stru ...

in Social Policy and Planning at the

London School of Economics , mottoeng = To understand the causes of things , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £240.8 million (2021) , budget = £391.1 millio ...

, graduating Master of Science (MSc) in 1991.

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 Julia 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. She is a member of the Council at the

University of York , mottoeng = On the threshold of wisdom , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £8.0 million , budget = £403.6 million , chancellor = Heather Melville , vice_chancellor = Charlie Jeffery , students ...

."National honour for York charity chief Julia Unwin," The Press (York), 11 June 2010. Retrieved 10 August 2011

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 The Greater London Council (GLC) was the top-tier local government administrative body for Greater London from 1965 to 1986. It replaced the earlier London County Council (LCC) which had covered a much smaller area. The GLC was dissolved in 198 ...

* 1986–1992 Director, Homeless Network * 1995–1998 Chair of

Refugee Council The Refugee Council is a UK based organisation which works with refugees and asylum seekers. The organisation provides support and advice to refugees and asylum seekers, as well as support for other refugee and asylum seeker organisations. The R ...

* 1998–2003

Charity Commission for England and Wales , type = Non-ministerial government department , seal = , seal_caption = , logo = Charity Commission for England and Wales logo.svg , logo_caption = , formed = , preceding1 = , d ...

Charity Commissioner
Mehra, Nina, "Friends Provident boosts ethical committee," Financial News, 10 May 2000. (Registration required). Retrieved 10 August 2011 * 1992–2001 Board member,

Housing Corporation The Housing Corporation was the non-departmental public body that funded new affordable housing and regulated housing associations in England. It was established by the Housing Act 1964. On 1 December 2008, its functions were transferred to two n ...

* 2001–2006 Board member,

National Consumer Council National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...

"Julia Unwin," Food Standards Agency. Updated April 2006. Retrieved 10 August 2011 * 2003–2006 Deputy Chair,

Food Standards Agency , type = Non-ministerial government department , nativename = , nativename_a = , nativename_r = , logo = Food Standards Agency.svg , logo_width = , logo_caption = , seal = , seal_width = , seal_caption = , picture = , picture_width = , ...

In January 2016 Julia 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.

Honours

Unwin was appointed

Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(OBE) in the

2000 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 2000 for the United Kingdom and New Zealand were announced on 31 December 1999, to celebrate the year passed and mark the beginning of 2000. The ''Honours list'' is a list of people who have been awarded one of the various or ...

for services to the housing corporation,

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(CBE) in 2006 as deputy chair of the Food Standards Agency for services to consumers, and

Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(DBE) in the

2020 New Year Honours The 2020 New Year Honours are appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The New Year Honours are awarded as part of the New Year celebration ...

for services to civil society. 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."

Family life

She is married and has two children. They reside in

York York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...

, England.

Publications

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

References

External links

jrf.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Unwin, Julia Living people 1956 births Alumni of the University of Liverpool Dames Commander of the Order of the British Empire Public housing in the United Kingdom British chief executives British charity and campaign group workers Women nonprofit executives Fellows of the Academy of Social Sciences