RCN Executive Team
The Executive Team is collectively responsible for the delivery of the RCN's strategic and operational plans. They provide leadership, strategic direction and financial rigour to the management of the RCN's operations and staff.
Dr Peter Carter, Chief Executive and General Secretary
Dr Peter Carter assumed the post of Chief Executive and General Secretary in January 2007. Before this, he spent almost twelve years as Chief Executive of the Central and North West London Mental Health NHS Trust, one of the largest mental health trusts in the UK. He commenced his NHS career by training as a psychiatric nurse. He is also a general nurse and has held a number of clinical and managerial posts in Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire and London.
Peter is a graduate, and a member, of the Chartered Institute of Personnel. He also has a Masters Degree in Business Administration and a PhD, both from the University of Birmingham. He was awarded an OBE for services to the NHS in 2006.
Jane Clarke, Director of Governance Support
Jane joined the RCN in 2006 and became Director of Governance Support and a member of the Executive Team in 2007. Her remit includes UK-wide governance of both the trade union and the charity and she is UK Returning Officer. Jane is also in the process of setting up a new charity unit and oversees the day to day operation of the Chief Executive & General Secretary's office.
Jane previously worked as Secretary to one of the UK's largest charities, the National Trust where she was responsible for all governance and constitutional issues. Jane also led the implementation of the National Trust's new governance structure.
Before that Jane worked in a similar role at the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, a self-regulating professional membership organisation.
David Cooper, Director of Human Resources
David joined the RCN in September 2007 and took on the newly created role of Director of Human Resources (HR). As well as heading up the organisation-wide HR, Organisational Development and Diversity teams, David's role involves leading the RCN's organisational change and development agenda.
David previously spent his working life within the NHS but was on secondment to Unison immediately before joining us. He was Executive Director of Human Resources at East London and The City Mental Health Trust for seven years and this included periods as acting and deputy Chief Executive. David is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Personnel Development.
Chris Cox, Director of Legal Services
Chris was appointed Director in 2009, having worked for the RCN since 1991 as a regional solicitor and later assistant Director of Legal Services. He qualified as a solicitor in 1985, and has spent most of his legal career in law centres and trade unions, including a year as a legal adviser at the Immunity Legal Centre, representing people affected by HIV and AIDS.
Chris is a regular speaker on employment law and medico-legal topics and has also been a visiting lecturer in health law at a number of universities. He has contributed legal articles to nursing and health journals, and currently teaches Occupational Health law for a postgraduate diploma accredited by Glasgow Caledonian University.
On a personal note, Chris has recently completed Post Graduate Masters’ Degrees in Philosophy and Theology.
Janet Davies, Director of Nursing and Service Delivery
Janet became Director of Service Delivery and in 2005 taking on the Director of Nursing role in 2007. She has the strategic lead for nursing and services to members. Prior to joining the RCN Janet was Chief Executive of Mersey Regional Ambulance Service NHS Trust where she was instrumental in overseeing an extensive programme of change and development.
Janet started her nursing career in Manchester and gained experience in acute mental health and community settings. She later moved on to director of nursing roles where she obtained extensive experience in leading and developing the nursing profession. She also pioneered good partnership working with other health care organisations, as well as social services, the police, the fire service and the wider community.
Tina Donnelly, Director, Wales
Tina became Director of the RCN in Wales in August 2004. Tina is a registered nurse who trained at The Ulster Hospital, Belfast. She later undertook midwifery training and specialist training in cardiac nursing, critical care nursing, palliative care, clinical teaching/teaching.
Tina has held senior management posts in the NHS and senior academic posts in higher education. She has also worked in the Welsh Assembly Government as a Nursing Officer within the office of the Chief Nursing Officer and advised on health and nursing policy, regulation, human resources, research and education.
Tina has a Diploma in Nursing, a BSc (Hons) in Nursing and a Post Graduate Certificate in Education and MSc (Econ). Tina has a profound interest in health care, clinical governance and maintains clinical practice in intensive care nursing and has worked internationally in areas of conflict and humanitarian aid.
Theresa Fyffe, Director, Scotland
Theresa was appointed as Director of the RCN in Scotland in 2007. Theresa is a registered nurse who began her nursing career in Dublin. She later worked within critical care nursing, in the fields of intensive care and neuroscience.
Prior to her appointment as Director of the RCN in Scotland, Theresa was Director of Practice Development and Research within Tayside University Hospitals Trust and Head of Nursing Services. In 2000 Theresa joined the Scottish Executive Health Department as the Nursing Officer responsible for policy, practice development and research. Within a wide ranging role, Theresa had responsibility for research, quality, safe and effective care, clinical leadership, practice development, acute services and strategy development. She went on to become the Deputy Chief Nursing Officer (Interim).
In her current role Theresa is Co-Chair of the Scottish Partnership Forum and works with colleagues in Scotland and across the UK to influence public health strategy and policy.
Tim Golbourn, Director of Finance and Corporate Services
Tim joined the RCN in 2007 and has UK wide responsibility for finance, information systems and estates, health and safety, marketing and events, operational planning, risk, and internal audit.
Prior to joining the RCN Tim was Director of Finance and Information Management and Technology at Waltham Forest Primary Care Trust. He worked in the NHS for 21 years and held board-level director positions in a number of different organisations. In a voluntary capacity was also a trustee of Virtual, a London based mental health charity.
Tim is a member of the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA).
Fiona Johnson, Director of Communications
Fiona joined the RCN in 2011 as Director of Communications. Fiona's remit is UK-wide communications, including public affairs, member and internal communications and digital communications.
Fiona was previously the Director of Communications for the General Teaching Council for England. Prior to this Fiona was head of media relations for the British Medical Association and before that, was senior press and public relations officer for the RCN.
Rhonda Oliver, Managing Director/Publisher, RCN Publishing
Rhonda has recently joined Royal College of Nursing Publishing as Managing Director. She was previously Managing Director of Portland Press Ltd for 10 of her 23 years with the Biochemical Society.
Rhonda originally trained as a microbiologist and worked in medical research for several years at the Strangeways Research Laboratories, Cambridge. She is a past Chair of the Copyright Committee of the Association of Learned and Professional Society Publishers (ALPSP). From 2008 to 2010 she was Treasurer of the International Association of Scientific, Technical and Medical Publishers (STM); and from 2009 to 2010 she was a member of the Publications Committee of the London Mathematical Society.
Tom Sandford, Director, England
Tom joined the RCN in 1992 as a Policy Adviser. He then became a Regional Officer and London Regional Director before becoming Director of the RCN in England in 2004. Tom was previously general manager of mental health services in the London boroughs of Camden and Islington.
Tom trained as a general and mental health nurse and held a variety of posts in the fields of family therapy and acute and liaison psychiatry. He was Head of Professional Development in Bloomsbury health authority and was a member of the ministerial task force co-ordinating the development of the mental health national service framework. He has served on several public untoward incident inquiries and has taught mental health programmes at universities in Germany, and case management programmes at the University of Barcelona.
Janice Smyth, Director, Northern Ireland
Janice joined the RCN in 2005 as Deputy Director and Head of Employment Relations and was appointed Director of the RCN in Northern Ireland in May 2009.
In a career that has spanned the statutory and independent sectors, Janice spent several years as director of nursing in the independent sector, before moving to the Northern Health and Social Services Board as a Registration and Inspection Officer. Before joining the RCN, Janice was a Nursing Officer at the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety where she had responsibility for education, professional regulation, workforce and leadership.
In April 2009, Janice was appointed by the Minister for Health, Social Services and Public Safety as a Non-Executive Director on the board of the Northern Ireland Patient and Client Council.