Epilepsy Society

Board Trustee

LifeArc

Accountable for setting LifeArc’s portfolio strategy in line with charitable objectives and delivering the portfolio through effective project leadership and management. Develop and lead the Translational Challenges as a core element of strategy; these programmes accelerate healthcare innovation by transforming promising life science ideas into life-changing medical breakthroughs for patients. They consider the entire patient pathway – from diagnosis through to treatment and lifestyle support in complex areas of healthcare need. LifeArc provides translational insight, spanning our core offerings of science, funding and advice and connect these collective strengths and resources with the expertise, capabilities and funding of other life sciences partners to catalyse the translation of innovation.

Chief Project and Portfolio Officer

Accountable for LifeArc’s Translational Challenges to accelerate healthcare innovation by transforming promising life science ideas into life-changing medical breakthroughs for patients.

Head of Translational Challenges

Accountable for ensuring effective governance, processes, systems and resource are applied across the entire company including our scientific research programmes, IT improvements, strategic and infrastructure, together with those utilising LifeArc’s offerings of advice and funds.
Developing and implementing strategy, translating LifeArc’s strategic ambitions into well-crafted and achievable operational plans, managing the portfolios, ensuring focus on the highest-level company priorities. Leading major change initiatives to support integration of emerging technologies and adapting operating model design for delivery and agility.

Head of Corporate and Portfolio Project Management

Accountable for building and maintaining productive collaborative relationships with major research partners. Managing the Tech Transfer of antibody technology platforms into LifeArc (transgenic mice, B cell sorting and screening, and in silico bioinformatics for candidate selection) ensuring all facilities, equipment and resources in place to optimise use for therapeutic discovery.

Consultant, Alliance Manager

KQ Labs

Accelerator programme run by the Francis Crick Institute, supporting innovative early-stage data-driven health start-ups to validate their ideas and put their exciting companies on the path to receive further investment.

Governance Board Member

PIPMG

The aim of PIPMG is to support development of the Project Management profession in the global pharmaceutical, biotech and associated industries by:
1. Encouraging recognition of the key role of project management in the industry
2. Enabling learning and sharing of best practices in portfolio, programme and project management
3. Providing Training, Coaching and Continual Professional Development
4. Providing a forum for communication and information exchange between members
5. Introduction, participation in and support of initiatives intended to improve the practice of project management internationally

Executive Committee Member

BTG plc

Global Head of Immuno-Oncology 
Accountable for the strategic direction and commercial success of our Immuno-Oncology platform, managing collaborative partnerships with global pharmaceutical companies, leading research institutions and societies. 
Lead a broad portfolio of pre-clinical and clinical research projects investigating the ability of our interventional oncology therapies (selective internal radiation, ablation solutions, embolics) to drive immune responses, both alone and in combination with immunotherapeutics (check point inhibitors, next generation immunotherapies).

VP Immuno-Oncology

Head of Global Project Management organisation  
Managed R&D governance process, annual portfolio review, and business analytics to track and improve performance, prioritising budget and resource on a risk-balanced pipeline of R&D projects that maximise business value.

VP Project Management

Head of Global Project Management organisation 
Line management of a global team (US, EU, APAC), set project management vision and strategy, ensuring effective project management resource, processes and systems applied across the business, with high standards for delivery.

Group Manager of Project Management

Clinical lead of multiple out-sourced clinical trials with small molecules, peptides, biologics and medical devices (spanning Phase I, II, III and IV).

Clinical Development Executive

Merck

Directed exploratory neuroscience research project teams, selecting multiple candidates for clinical development using pre-clinical models.

Research Manager

Directed learning and memory disorder program, heading GABA α5 inverse agonist pre-clinical research project for the treatment of mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer’s disease.

Project Director

Headed an exploratory research team of technical personnel running electrophysiological assays for Neuroscience disorders (CHO cell lines, Xenopus oocytes, mouse brain slices) for structure-activity relationship assessment of novel small molecules and drug candidate prioritisation.

Team Leader

Conducted exploratory research, characterising the pharmacology of tachykinin receptors in the brain (nucleus tractus solitarius, dorsal motor nucleus of the vagus, amygdala, entorhinal cortex).

Senior Research Biologist

Karen Skinner is Chief Project & Portfolio Officer at the medical research organisation, LifeArc with accountability for their portfolio of Translational Challenges. These ambitious programmes focus primarily on Rare Disease (including ultra-rare diseases, MND and rare dementias, rare respiratory conditions and childhood cancer), and Global Health. In addition to her role at LifeArc, Karen is a Board Trustee of the Epilepsy Society and member of PIPMG Executive team. 

She has over 30 years of experience within the life sciences industry, having held numerous leadership roles in blue chip big pharma, specialty pharma, biotech and nonprofit organisations. 
She is passionate about biomedical science and technology, applying that knowledge to create innovative products that make a real difference for patients. She believes that collaboration is the key to accelerate the progress of scientific discoveries to create medical breakthroughs that transform the lives of those living with disease. 

Life Sciences | Director | Transformational Leader | Portfolio Management | Keynote Speaker

Karen Skinner

SJA Management Consultancy Ltd 

Finance Transformation Consultant / Finance Director  

LifeArc is a leading UK medical research charity, self-financing, using their investment portfolio of circa £1.3bn to support charitable activities, specialising in early-stage translation.

Leading a programme of works within LifeArc IT & Business Change Portfolio. Responsible for design, scoping, implementation, change management and communication aspects of the following projects:
•	Implementation of end-to-end Procure-to-Pay (P2P) Coupa solution. 
•	Scoping, procurement, and implementation of iPaaS solution as part of Digitalisation strategy. 
•	Scoping and implementation of companywide funding framework including the Grant Management solution selection.

Finance Transformation Programme Consultant

Johnson & Johnson

Managing finance transformation programme for Global Pharmaceutical Organisation including strategy, design, implementation, and optimisation of Global Business Services for global pharmaceutical company:  
•	Development of the current state (as-is), creating consistent granularity between Switzerland, Ireland, Belgium and Netherlands 
•	Development of the overall future operating model of “One GBS” organization
•	Alignment on the similarities and unique nuances between the sites – dictating the future structure 
•	Alignment with the existing standardization initiatives 
•	Organisation Intelligence (Financial Planning and Analysis and associated analytical tools)

Finance Transformation Programme Management Consultant 

As part of the large finance transformation programme of migration from a number of legacy systems to SAP 4 HANA: 
•	Acting as main contact between the project implementation team, the key R2R stakeholders and end users within the business
•	Developing implementation plan, change impact assessment, readiness and leading the overall Change & Engagement plan for RTR business process area 
•	Converting complex finance systems / processes into easily digestible collateral for decision making and engagement purposes 
•	Building and maintaining strong senior manager level relationships both internally and externally as applicable to ensure the delivery of the change
•	Directly influencing and challenging leadership team thinking from a change management and team engagement perspective
•	Providing insight on change management methodologies and of how people go through a change and the change process to ensure this is appropriately reflected in any business requirements and planning

Finance Transformation Change Consultant 

Mitie

Leading finance transformation programme across Mitie PLC. 
•	Implementation of change and improvement of P2P, R2R, O2C processes
•	Review, implementation and roll out of RPA across finance processes 
•	Leading and coordinating all change management activities with focus on stakeholder management, communication strategy, resistance management.

Finance Transformation Consultant 

Skanska

Lead a team of senior stakeholders and delivered a successful company turnaround change initiative to enhance the company financial performance 
•	Lead a business turnaround program to increase the business’ ability to generate industry leading operating margin of 3%+ by setting and managing the Project Management Office. Applied change management processes to increase the stakeholder engagement and to ensure change sustainability. 
•	Managed the implementation of a communication strategy specifying clear and unified change objectives that drove the change agenda, minimized resistance and resulted in a significantly improved uptake of new processes.

Business Transformation Lead 

Worked alongside a business’ MD and had overall control and responsibility for all financial aspects of company strategy. Responsible for analyzing figures and implementing recommendations based on these findings, ensuring profitable outcomes. Overall responsibility for financial governance, monthly, quarterly and statutory reporting.
•	Provided strategic and expert financial advice to the leadership team and management teams through timely provision of accurate critical finance information that enabled the effective decision making

Finance Director (Divisional FD) 

Reporting directly to CFO lead a 12 months programme to set up FP&A Function in Skanska UK. The programme was designed to assist the company executives to analyse and interpret the consolidated financial results and create a suit of leading indicators to enable the business performance monitoring and timely business critical decision making.
•	Lead finance transformation programme through development of number of change projects that resulted in improved financial processes, transparent reporting, improved cost efficiency and improved IT systems 
•  Set up financial forecasting, budgeting and cost modeling activities, including annual budget and quarterly forecasting process through variance and forecast analysis to enable senior stakeholders identify issue and introduce early interventions ted in streamlined, coordinated companywide monthly and quarterly reporting

FP&A Manager 

Reporting to CFO lead and co-ordinated Finance transformation programme to move the finance function from financial control to true business partnering. The programme included the following projects:  improved finance processes, create finance analytics capability, improve finance involvement in tendering process, great people, education of finance & non finance managers. 
•	Assisted CFO in the definition of projects and priorities, facilitated the definition of scope, goals and deliverables 
•	Led the planning and implementation and maintained issues log and tracked issues to resolution, coordinated change management activities

Finance Transformation Programme Manager 

Reported to Finance Director responsible for review, standardization and delivery of the new financial reporting for eight businesses in Skanska UK
•	Implemented a companywide change program to improve the forecasting and reporting process which enhanced reporting transparency and efficiency and minimized financial losses on construction projects

Financial Reporting Project Manager

Reported to UK Procurement Director and closely working with personnel at all levels in the UK Group responsible for establishing a simple, effective and thorough set of spend management controls
that enabled other purchasing professionals in Skanska UK to be more effective in their roles

Strategic Procurement Manager

Skanska Malta JV 

Responsible for preparation, examining, and analyzing accounting records and financial reports and for the reconciliation of all accounts, closing of books, monthly and annual reporting

Senior Accountant

Skanska Malta JV

Responsible for monitoring of budget, forecast and actual figures, development and compiling of regular weekly, monthly, and quarterly reports. Responsible for claims management with Government Cost Controllers.

Quantity Surveyor / Claims manager 

Skanska Konstrukcija SIA

Divisional Manager PA

Daugavpils Wastewater Treatment Plant project, USD 25 mil
General administrative duties, translation and interpreting

Project Manager Assistant/Office Manager

Helping businesses to improve and achieve their potential through change management and process improvement.
Highly skilled experienced finance and change management professional with a special expertise in business change, finance function transformation, target operating model and process improvement. 
Demonstrable success in managing change and transformation across UK and global operations. Core skills include finance leadership, change management, organisational re-design, process development and improvement in Global Business Services (GBS) and Shared Services (P2P, R2R, O2C); ERP (SAP/Oracle) implementation, P2P solution (Coupa /Ariba) end-to-end implementation; FP&A and financial reporting, communication and influencing.  

Energetic, motivated by challenge and work effectively under pressure.

A keen rock climber, mountaineer, skier and alpinist. Passionate about being active and advocate of healthy life style

taplio

The Battle

Karen Skinner

Sarmite Jankovska, ACCA, MBA

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