Jemma Business Associates

Consultancy and Management of Heritage Projects

About

JBA Ltd is a boutique consultancy primarily providing freelance consultancy, project management and fundraising support to heritage projects in the Bath area.

Founder of JBA Ltd, Jemma Bartholomew, was Project Manager of the Friends of Smallcombe Cemetery voluntary group in Bath from 2014 until early 2018.  Key roles included: leading successful efforts to secure ~£50k from the Heritage Lottery Fund; development and implementation of contracting strategy, including contracts and contractor management; reviewing, managing and approval of all invoicing; responsible for reporting to secure further tranches of funding and responsible for end-of-project Completion and Evaluation reports.  Most recently, Jemma has worked as a freelance fundraiser on the ~£19m Bath Abbey Footprint Project, focusing on fundraising from Trusts and Foundations.

 

Jemma is a Trustee and Treasurer of Mentoring Plus, a youth-based charity in Bath, and a Trustee of Children of Choba, an inspirational educational charity in Tanzania.

Experience

Jemma is a former oil & gas executive with nearly 20 years’ experience in BP; specialising in international negotiations process, stakeholder management, project management, business planning and procurement. She has led and worked on the development of business cases and requests for funding for major international projects, including a crude oil pipeline with in excess of $4bn capital spend which unlocked tens of billions of dollars of value in Azerbaijan.  Jemma has led and worked in multi-disciplinary cross-cultural teams to develop complex commercial agreements and implement project plans.

Relevant Skills

  • Clear thinker, skilled in “un-packaging” and communicating complex issues
  • Experienced in working with multiple stakeholders at all levels
  • Designs clear and logical processes around wide-ranging challenges
  • Implementer of business decisions, plans and processes
  • Excellent at building consensus at all levels and across cultures
  • Has an eye for detail, both in words and numbers
  • Comfortable developing and interpreting data for financial decision making
  • Good working knowledge of legal and finance
  • Natural-born organiser of anything and everything, including work projects and people

Business Offer - Heritage Projects

JBA Ltd offers tailored business and project management support to local heritage projects, specifically the following activities:

  • Writing funding applications and reports required to support ongoing funding, including relating to the National Lottery Heritage Fund
  • Developing business cases and writing business plans
  • Project management and implementation
  • Stakeholder engagement and management
  • Writing Evaluation Plans, Evaluation reports and Completion reports
  • Reviewing business processes and identifying efficiencies

Business Offer – General Business Consultancy

How We Work

Whilst the main focus of JBA Ltd is heritage projects, Jemma has a broad, transferable and versatile business skill set, and is able to work effectively in a wide variety of sectors, offering tailored business, commercial and project management support to local businesses and not-for-profit organisations.  Examples of activities undertaken include:

 

  • Providing commercial advice and guidance
  • Supporting contractual negotiations; the more complex the better
  • Project management and implementation
  • Stakeholder engagement and management
  • Reviewing business processes and identifying efficiencies
  • Contracts and Procurement strategy and implementation

 

In addition, Jemma is uniquely well-placed to offer an “overflow” service to clients and other business consultants, who may have slightly more work on than they can comfortably handle. Operating on a freelance basis, Jemma is a skilled ‘safe pair of hands’ who delivers work to a high standard.

 

  • Part-time advisor, or direct project support as required
  • Will undertake discrete work products independently or with teams as required
  • Offers support to clients or other business consultants as “overflow” service as required

Testimonials

  • Steve Kerss

    Project Director, Smallcombe Cemetery Project

    Project Manager

    Smallcombe Heritage Lottery Project 2014-17

     

    Having just completed our three year Heritage Lottery funded project which successfully restored the five acre grounds of Smallcombe Cemetery a most rewarding task is to provide testimonials for members of our team who want to continue their involvement in other future community projects in the Bath area. The high praise that the project has received from our local sponsors is exemplified by this recent quote by Tony Crouch BathNES World Heritage Site Manager:

     

    “A great project. Surely a ‘best practice’ model of how a community run,

    HLF-funded project should operate. Well done all.”

     

    ROLE AND SCOPE OF ACTIVITIES

    Jemma took on the role of project manager for the Smallcombe cemetery preservation project in Bath from 2014 through to 2017, reporting to me as Project Director. The Project was funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF), BathNES Council and a number of local trusts, and its purpose was to restore the five acre site which was in a near derelict state and to provide improved public access and heritage information. Her initial role embraced the preparation of the funding proposal which was submitted to the HLF. She then set up and implemented suitable project procedures, which she used for the ongoing project through to its successful conclusion at the end of 2017. Jemma was the primary interface with the HLF during the three year duration of the project and was responsible for monitoring and reporting progress against the original plan submitted to the HLF. She reported progress to the quarterly Steering Committee chaired by the Vicar of St Marys, with membership from BathNES Council and Bath National Trust. Jemma was also responsible for invoicing approvals and administrative matters for all contractors involved in the project and monitoring ongoing expenditure on a monthly basis.

     

    PERSONAL QUALITIES AND ACHIEVEMENTS

    Without a doubt Jemma is a well organised and efficient project manager who can be fully relied upon to deliver against her commitments. She did not miss any deadlines and also prompted others to ensure timescales were achieved. She was highly respected by team members, the Steering Committee and contractors alike and her personal style played an important part in the very positive team dynamic which was established during the early stages of the project.

     

    The quality of her reports did much to engender a high level of confidence and trust at the outset with the HLF and our funding partners. She is well able to tailor her report content and presentation to a range of readers. For example her funding proposal and the final sign off reports for the HLF received unconditional approvals on first submission. Her reports and presence at our quarterly the Steering Committee were the foundation of the high degree of delegated authority given to the project by the Committee.

     

    Jemma is a self starter, calling on her extensive past project management experience in industry. She is thus able to identify issues early and take appropriate action. A good example of her proactive management was the fine tuning of the finances and management information which played a key part in the project coming in £300 under budget within a total spend of £75,000 and the project completing by our original forecast of December 2017.

     

    CONCLUSION

    Having worked with Jemma for over three years on this project I have no hesitation in recommending her for a project management role in other heritage and community project environments where I know her skill set will be invaluable. Equally, Jemma would be well suited to provide a mentoring service where, for example, she could guide a project seeking HLF funding from inception through implementation and successful conclusion.

     

    Steve Kerss

    Project Director

    Smallcombe Cemetery Project

     

  • Cath Foxwell

    Development Manager, Bath Abbey Footprint Project

    Coming soon...

Contact

Mobile : 07920 785 871