Our Team
Senior Leadership Team
Jane van Zyl, Chief Executive
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Jane joined Working Families as CEO in September 2018. She has held senior leadership positions at a number of UK charities, including Samaritans and Sands. She believes in the value of a fulfilling, balanced working life and its transformative power to create social connections, build self-esteem, and impact the wider community. She is a passionate advocate of equity of opportunity for all.
She spent her childhood in the UK (Norfolk) and South Africa (Cape Town & Johannesburg) and is a University of Cape Town graduate (Industrial Sociology and Industrial Psychology).
Joanne Waterworth, Head of Employer Services
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Jo is Head of Employer Services at Working Families. She leads the team working with employers, providing insight, knowledge and practical interventions to help employers to develop family-friendly, flexible, high-performing inclusive workplaces. Jo joined Working Families in 2016. Prior to this, she worked in senior client relationship management and business development roles within the professional services sector.
Jo holds a BA in Modern Language Studies from the University of Nottingham and an MA in Sociolinguistics from Queen Mary, University of London.
Simon Kelleher, Head of Policy and Influencing
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Simon joined Working Families in 2021 and leads the charity’s influencing work, amplifying the voices of both working parents and progressive employers to push for pragmatic changes to the world of work.
Prior to joining Working Families, Simon was Head of Education and Skills at the cross party think tank Policy Connect where he worked for 7 years to improve policy and raise the profile of further education in Westminster. Simon began his career teaching in the secondary sector and has extensive experience in the voluntary sector, most recently volunteering with Pembroke House as part of the charity’s response to the pandemic and food poverty in Southwark. Simon studied History at UEA and holds a Diploma in Management Studies from LSBU.
Katy Salt, Head of Legal Advice Service (job share)
Katy joined Working Families in November 2020 and leads the charity’s Legal Advice Service providing free employment law and benefits advice to working parents and carers. Katy and the Legal Advice Service team are committed to delivering clear, accessible, and practical legal advice to working parents and carers, especially those who are most vulnerable and who may not ordinarily be able to access legal advice.
Katy has specialised in employment law since she qualified as a solicitor in 2002 and has worked in both the private sector (advising both employers and employees) and the public sector at the Government Legal Department. She has extensive experience of both litigation and advisory work covering a broad range of employment law issues.
Sarah Murray, Head of Communications and Fundraising
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Sarah has worked in communications and PR for over two decades. Previously working within corporate agencies, Sarah is enthusiastic about contributing her skills to a cause she wholeheartedly believes in through Working Families. Sarah has previously led the PR and Communications for national brands within childcare, retail and hospitality sectors, including Busy Bees Childcare, Yale, Marco Pierre White, Merchant Gourmet, and CALA Homes. As well as driving positive national and local-level brand awareness campaigns and events, Sarah has received specialist training in media and crisis communications.
Collaboration is at the heart of Sarah’s work philosophy; she believes that collective thinking is essential to a robust communication plan, as it brings diverse perspectives and expertise to the table.
Joining Working Families and being part of amplifying our values, mission and achievements aligns with her passion for making a positive impact through communication.
Sarah holds a BA(hons) degree in Public Relations from Leeds Beckett University.
Dr Rebecca Jones, Head of Research
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Rebecca leads the charity’s research, our partnerships with academic researchers, and our work to tell the stories of a diverse range of working parents and carers, and their employers.
Rebecca began her research career as an academic; she was a Lecturer in the Department of African Studies and Anthropology at the University of Birmingham, before joining Working Families in 2020. Rebecca’s background is in qualitative research, with a focus on literary and cultural studies; in 2019, she published her first book, At the Crossroads: Nigerian Travel Writing and Literary Culture in Yoruba and English. Alongside this, she gained quantitative research skills working as a postdoctoral researcher on a project on inter-religious relations in Nigeria, also at the University of Birmingham. Rebecca’s role at Working Families brings together these research skills and allows her to make a practical contribution to the lives of working parents and carers, an area close to her heart.
Alongside her research career, Rebecca teaches literature at City Lit, and she edits a travel writing journal called Fortunate Traveller. Rebecca holds a BA in English from the University of Cambridge, an MA in African Studies from SOAS, and a PhD in African Studies from the University of Birmingham.