Emma Hughes is a Partner and Head of HR Services at Browne Jacobson with a 20-year career in HR spanning significant change and organisational transformation across multiple sectors. A specialist in employee relations and trade union matters, Emma brings extensive practical experience of collective consultation, dispute resolution and ACAS conciliation, both as a former in-house HR Director and in her advisory work with clients. She has established and managed JNCCs and supports clients across all aspects of the machinery for consultation and negotiation with trade union colleagues. With a keen interest in employee engagement and culture, Emma has in recent years focused significantly on coaching senior leaders through the complexity of people leadership, trade union disputes and delivering training to leaders at all levels on managing staff relationships. She is a keynote speaker on Browne Jacobson's HR Visionary Pathway, a CPD programme for strategic leaders in education. Emma has been with Browne Jacobson for nine years and is a member of the firm’s Education Board. She is a Trustee at Education Support and at the Institute for Employment Studies (incorporating IPA). A former Chair of Trustees for a 16-school trust in Worcestershire, she previously served as HR Director at Academy Transformation Trust and led HR for Ark Schools' regional schools in Birmingham.