Head of School Building | Scottish Government 

Associate Director | Scottish Futures Trust

Steven is an advisor in Scottish Future Trust’s Learning Estate team. He previously worked as an education-sector architect in private practice, informed client with sportscotland, and most recently in preconstruction with a Tier 1 contractor. As a former client, consultant and contractor on large-scale public projects, he brings his rounded knowledge in school design and procurement to the team providing additional technical expertise and a design focus to the development of education facilities across the country. Steven collaborates across the SFT workstreams developing our joined-up approach to the delivery of our Learning Estate Investment Programme.

Strategic Director, Curriculum Innovation, Design and Pedagogy | Education Scotland

Ollie has responsibility for curriculum, pedagogy and innovation at Education Scotland. This responsibility includes major national initiatives, such as the ongoing implementation of Curriculum for Excellence; Glow; STEM; Developing the Young Workforce; Digital Learning and Teaching; the Learner Journey; 1+2 Languages; Inclusion, Wellbeing and Equality and Curriculum Innovation (including pedagogy and assessment).

Immediately before re-joining Education Scotland he was Global Director: Connecting Play and Education at the LEGO Foundation where he led the Foundations work related to education improvement through the use of technology and play. Prior to joining the LEGO Foundation he was headteacher of Kingussie High School, Highland. He started his career at the Glenmore Lodge (the sportscotland national outdoor training centre) before becoming a geography teacher and going on to hold a number of promoted posts in East Lothian.

Director | Holmes Miller

Craig Heap is Public Sector Lead for Holmes Miller, with 20+ years experience of delivering innovative solutions in Education, Civic and Leisure Sectors. During this time he has overseen the delivery of public buildings designed with an appropriate sense of place and setting, built with a focus on economic construction, ease of operation and maintenance, with a style and delight that embraces community involvement.

Craig is also Director at Virtual-PHi, a digital information management consultancy helping clients thrive in the digital age of construction.

Strategic Development Director | Morrison Construction

Alan is the Strategic Development Director for Morrison Construction, responsible for future business opportunities.  As a respected professional, with over 30years experience in both public and private sectors, he continues to work extensively procuring and delivering a myriad of education projects across Scotland.

Passionate about building construction, he contributes and leads industry forums / working groups promoting contemporary initiatives such as Passivhaus and Zero carbon. In his role as a Construction / STEM ambassador he continues to work with clients and education bodies to maximise the potential of people wishing to enter the industry.

He began his career as a trainee civil engineer and believes his journey so far in the construction industry has been truly remarkable and rewarding, proudly playing a part in shaping the careers of future generations of young people by transforming Scotland’s education estate providing innovative and inspiring facilities.

Director of Design | Architecture & Design Scotland

Heather is a qualified urban designer and town planner, with a background in geography. Heather has extensive experience of working on large-scale urban regeneration, sustainability, and town centre initiatives. She is currently responsible for directing multiple design advice teams. Previously Heather worked for Glasgow City Council, where she supported local and creative partnerships within Glasgow’s Canal Corridor and helped grow internationally recognised initiatives to activate vacant and underused spaces. She played a leading role in delivering Glasgow’s greener legacy projects for the 2014 Commonwealth Games. She has contributed to multiple complex green and blue infrastructure projects in the east end of the city. Heather is a non-executive Board Director for the Academy of Urbanism, Charity Trustee of the Green Action Trust, an affiliate of the UN Habitat’s Planners for Climate Action, former Royal Town Planning Institute UK Young Planner of the Year and featured in the top 50 women of Influence for 2019 and 2020 in ‘the Planner’. 

Depute Chief Executive | West Lothian Council

Dr. Elaine Cook was appointed as Depute Chief Executive in August 2015. From 2011 until 2015 she was Head of Education in West Lothian with responsibility for secondary, additional support needs, professional learning and infrastructure.

From 2005 until 2011, she was Head Teacher at two secondary schools in West Lothian – West Calder High School and Deans Community High School.

Elaine’s career in education began in 1991 in England where she taught for 6 years before moving to Scotland. Prior to that she worked in Actuarial Finance in both Glasgow and London.

Director of Estates and Campus Services | University of Dundee 

Rose Jenkins is the Director of Estates & Campus Services at the University of Dundee and also the Regional Chair for the Scottish chapter of the Association of University Director of Estates (SAUDE). Rose has over 22 years’ experience in the property sector, starting her career as a designer. Rose has worked across a wide range of area but predominantly for the Public Sector. She has a firm belief that good design can be transformative and can influence behaviour. She has a wide ranging experience of developing estate strategy and delivering major capital projects having worked on projects as a designer, as part of the contractors team, and as the client throughout her career. Rose is currently delivering the University of Dundee Estate Strategy and is overseeing £125m of investment. In addition, she is leading on the institute’s Net Zero Strategy, and identifying the emerging issues and solutions to digitalise the estate assets. 

Associate Director - Place | Scottish Futures Trust

Diarmaid helps clients make well-informed decisions about place-based policy and investment challenges. He is a designer, educator, and communicator. With a multidisciplinary background, and over 20 years’ experience working across sectors in the UK and Europe, Diarmaid champions creative approaches to making better places.

Senior Associate Director | Scottish Futures Trust

Stephen is an architect who worked in both design and construction prior to joining SFT. Seeing things from a variety of viewpoints helps him to appreciate and communicate the opportunities and challenges within a programme or project and assist in developing holistic solutions. He currently works across the SFT Education Team.

Chief Executive | hub North Scotland

Richard provides overall strategic leadership and management of the Company and is responsible for the development and execution of the Company’s strategies and business plan.

Richard is a Chartered Surveyor who has held a variety of Director functions in contracting, consultancy and investment organisations. Richard is also a statutory Director across a number of special purpose investment companies, working closely with Government and funding institutions.  Richard has supported award winning transformational programmes and projects across the built environment, including social and economic infrastructure, from education and health to rail and roads.  

Richard’s background covers commercial, strategy, finance and programme delivery.

Head Teacher | Perth Grammar School

With over 20 years of experience in education, Fiona has been Headteacher at Perth Grammar with Perth & Kinross Council since 2016.  During her time there she has promoted the need to review spaces to best support learners, encouraging building users to love the school through the values of ‘Pride, Respect and Ambition’ and most of all recognising that the people are key.

She is excited to be invited as a member of the group in order to bring varied teacher experience to it, to learn more about Scotland’s Learning Estate and for ideas supporting continuous improvement.

Fiona has been involved in new build and refurbishment projects on a number of occasions throughout her career.  She has always been enthused by inclusive learning environments and the role of technology having demonstrated a clear interest in these themes through her time as a Depute Headteacher, Mackie Academy, Quality Improvement Officer with Aberdeenshire Council (including line management of nineteen primary schools in Alford and Banchory networks) and prior to that as a Principal Teacher at Aboyne Academy and The Gordon Schools, Huntly.