While at Middlesex University, Kate Douglas re-designed the careers service and created a suite of innovative employability support solutions for students, graduates and academic colleagues which contributed to a 9% rise in the University’s employment performance indicator rate over a three year period. Kate Douglas was the author of Middlesex University’s Strategic Employability Plan; under her leadership the number of students in receipt of support increased by 8,000 without any increase in staffing resource.

Prior to joining Middlesex University, Kate Douglas was Director of Employability at Exemplas Holdings Limited where she was responsible for the strategic growth and development of the Employability Business Unit which she founded. A co-author of the Employability Business Unit’s Strategic Plan, Kate Douglas created a self-employment tool – Employment through Enterprise – and a range of other services to support the long-term unemployed and individuals from under-represented groups to enhance their skills and secure employment; these groups included women returners to work, individuals from the disability community, individuals from the BME communities and ex-offenders. While at Exemplas Holdings Limited Kate Douglas wrote more than 100 business development proposals and secured commercial employability contracts worth in excess of £20m.

In the 1990s Kate Douglas had a successful career in the City which culminated in her being awarded the degree of Master of Business Administration in Management, which she gained from City University in 1998, and becoming the youngest female Director of the London operation of the Dutch merchant banking group MeesPierson. In this institution, as Group Compliance Director and Group Company Secretary, Kate Douglas was responsible for ‘anything vaguely complicated’ which included key projects such as managing the merger and integration of two disparate groups of companies, directing complex client transactions including joint ventures, developing a flexible and modular training programme for 500 staff and ensuring institutional compliance with the rules and regulations of 12 different regulatory exchanges and bodies.

Kate Douglas began her career working for the Chairman of Mail Newspapers Group PLC to whom she provided personal support including managing income and expenditure into and from Trust funds.

Kate Douglas is an accomplished musician and held the position of Principal Baritone Horn of the National Youth Brass Band. Kate Douglas has spent more than 30 years as a member of the Welwyn Garden City Band where, in addition to undertaking senior playing positions, she has held the posts of Chairman, Secretary and Assistant Musical Director. Kate Douglas holds a Diploma in Integrative Counselling and in August 2019 will attend a Bishops’ Advisory Panel on Selection for training for Ordained Ministry in the Church of England.