John Kirwan of JK Associates Oxford

John is adept at developing constructive and pragmatic solutions, working with organizations, individuals and groups to maximise potential, enhance communication and enable well informed transitions.

A highly experienced career management and HR practitioner, John gained senior professional experience at Oxford University. He is a Chartered Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), a qualified Executive Coach, and a registered Advanced Practitioner of the Institute of Careers Guidance (ICG).  A skilled user of psychometric assessments, he is accredited by the British Psychological Society at Levels A & B.  An experienced consultant, recruiter and facilitator, he also helps embed continuous quality improvement (CQI) in organisations as an Assessor of Information, Advice, Guidance and Learning (IAGL) providers for matrix, the UK national quality standard. As a qualified workplace mediator he helps people resolve disputes and achieve 'win-win' solutions.

John’s early career was in the aviation industry where, after building experience as a flying instructor, he qualified as a commercial pilot. An increasing fascination with human performance and motivation led him to study at Oxford University, where he gained an Honours Degree in Experimental Psychology. He then entered the field of HR management, where he worked successfully in a variety of challenging roles in both local government and higher education, including Oxford University, developing expertise in recruitment and selection, employee relations, organisational development, career management (including redundancy counselling) and occupational testing.

In 2000 he joined Oxford University Careers Service, where he was responsible for designing and implementing a new internal career support service for c. 2,800 researchers (research staff and postgraduate research students), making significant contributions to University-wide initiatives on career and employability skills development. Latterly, as an Assistant Director in the Oxford University Careers Service for five years, he had lead responsibility for developments in careers guidance, HR & continuous quality improvement, as well as managing staff teams on a variety of projects. From 2008 to 2010 he was the Company Secretary and a charity trustee of the Association of Graduate Careers Advisory Services (AGCAS) – the voice of graduate careers advisory services in England, Wales and Scotland.

John is based in Oxfordshire and is married with two grown up sons at university. He is actively involved in church and community work, which included serving as a school governor for over 13 years.