Tamara Essex is a freelance consultant working for Local Authorities, for Health Authorities, and for the voluntary sector. In a voluntary capacity she is a Trustee of Swans Trust in Shaftesbury, north Dorset, and the organiser of the Shaftesbury Local Food Festival.  She completed a 4-year term as a Non-Executive Director of the Dorset & Somerset Strategic Health Authority in 2006, having previously been a Non-Exec with Merton Sutton & Wandsworth Health Authority.

Tamara was an NCVO Approved Consultant 2003/04, for 2005, for 2006, and is again for 2007.

She has an MA in Social and Public Policy, and appeared on the television series "Voluntary Matters" as the consultant advisor on contracting and partnerships.

Tamara has developed and managed community-based care services, and has extensive experience of community care policy development and inter-agency working. For over seven years she was the Director of Southwark Community Care Forum. As a consultant Tamara has worked for Local Authorities and Health Authorities on inter-agency partnerships, user and carer involvement, and service development. She has specialist skills in supporting voluntary sector organisations to engage constructively with the mixed economy of care, and is the founder of the Federation of Voluntary Sector Care Providers (winner of the 1996 "Third Sector" innovation award).

Tamara carried out a series of 'provider development' training courses commissioned by Newham Social Services in 1998 which led her to set up her consultancy company. Since becoming wholly freelance early in 1999 she has run extensive training courses, worked on ten Healthy Living Centre bids, assisted Croydon Social Services to develop early intervention services within the voluntary sector, and worked in Birmingham and Cheltenham on developing home care purchasing models.

During 2000, Tamara developed Healthy Living Centre proposals on behalf of Enfield Council, Kentish Town Health Centre, and Haringey Council, and completed successful stage two bids for Brent and Tooting. She began a piece of work with Southwark Social Services on externalising their home care unit.

During 2001, her contracts included completing the Southwark home care externalisation, completing a successful stage two HLC bid for Kentish Town, and work on stage two HLC bids for Bedfordshire Health Promotion Agency and Merton Horizons. She began some work with Care Equation to assist St John Ambulance to develop new services in some of their county branches.

During 2002 Tamara completed work with Merton Horizons, continued work with St John Ambulance, and carried out an options analysis for Carr Gomm Housing Association on developing new care and support services.

In addition to some time out for travelling in 2003, Tamara finalised the work with St John Ambulance. In the autumn she worked with Save the Children on an evaluation and business plan for the Oxfordshire Children’s Rights Development Team, and with Richmond CVS on some user and carer involvement training and some joint commissioning board development work.

In 2004, Tamara worked locally in Dorset where she is now based - with Dorset Community Action on developing a model for community resource centres across the county, with The Springhead Trust on putting on two arts residencies, and with Toby’s (the youth centre for Shaftesbury) on a major capital fundraising appeal.

With the advent of Change-Up in 2005, she worked as the lead Change-Up consultant for both the Dorset Consortium and the Bournemouth & Poole Consortium of voluntary sector organisations. During 2006 Tamara worked with DART (Dorset Accessible & Responsive Transport) on a conference on health and accessibility, and in partnership with Care Equation to support the Suffolk One Voice Consortium.

Now in 2007, she is the "Valuing Volunteers" project consultant for Christchurch Community partnership, is working with Dorset Agenda 21 on developing a county-wide network of sustainability organisations, and is researching funding options for the arts and environment charity Common Ground.  She has completed a 5-year funding strategy for South West Forum, the infrastructure body for the voluntary & community sector in the south west of England.

General Background

NCVO Approved Consultant 2003/04, 2005, 2006, and 2007;

Non-Executive Director of the Dorset & Somerset Strategic Health Authority (April 2002 - June 2006);

Trustee of The Swans Trust, the community development trust for Shaftesbury, North Dorset;

Director of Southwark Community Care Forum from 1992 to 1999;

Extensive voluntary sector policy development and management experience;

MA in Social & Public Policy (Brighton Univ), now part-time PhD student (Middx Univ);

Non-Executive Director of the Merton Sutton & Wandsworth Health Authority (1998 to March 2002);

Board Member of East Merton Primary Care Group (1999 to March 2002);

Special Trustee for St George's Hospital Trust (1999 to March 2002);

Winner of 1996 "Third Sector" Innovation Award for the creation of The Federation;

Specialist in developing voluntary sector providers towards ‘best value’.

Academic & Teaching Work

Teaching sessions on MA courses on Social Policy at Brighton University and on Health and Welfare at Middlesex University.

Research papers presented at NCVO Research Conferences ‘96 & ‘98, at the International Research Symposium on Public Sector Management ‘97, and at the Quasi-Markets Conference ‘99 at Bath University.

Also taught on CPN courses at the Maudsley Hospital Professional Development Centre, and on DipSW courses at South Bank University.