Julie studied for a BA in Commerce at Napier University in Edinburgh, and is a Fellow of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA).
She began her career in finance before moving into research over 25 years ago, initially working with the British Geological Survey to commercialise its portfolio.
One of her main areas of interest is the sustainability of publicly funded research establishments, having worked with the original Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) team on the reform of the dual support funding system. Her work there included the introduction of TRAC (Transparent Accounting) and its implementation into the RCUK Research Institutes.
Julie then went on to work at the NERC Research Ship Unit, heading the Finance and Operation team – and, following a period as Deputy Director Finance at NERC Head Office, Julie then joined NOC in a Director role in 2013.
In addition to her Director role, she’s worked as the NOC lead (chairing the board on behalf of NERC for a period) on the Governance, Responsibilities and Ownership Programme which looked at the future independence of the Research Centres.