Laura-Jane Baxter

Business Transformation & Continuous Improvement with experience leading operational transformation, governance, systems implementation and service improvement across property, finance and education environments. Experienced translating complex financial and operational processes into practical guidance, toolkits, playbooks and learning resources that enable teams to adopt new ways of working quickly and consistently. Experienced designing and embedding governance frameworks, reporting structures and future-state operating models to integrate finance, operational and stakeholder processes across growing organisations.

Strong background in operational governance, SOP development, stakeholder engagement, reporting systems, financial modelling and embedding sustainable organisational change.

HEAD OF OPERATIONS, FINANCE IMPROVEMENT & CAPITAL - More Than Bricks - Sheffield (hybrid)

(2022-09)

Directed operational transformation, governance and business improvement initiatives across a growing property investment business, designing scalable operating systems, reporting frameworks and delivery processes that improved organisational effectiveness across multiple concurrent projects.

• Designed and embedded finance reporting frameworks providing visibility over cashflow, debt positions, project budgets, KPIs and investment pipeline performance.
• Established financial modelling and appraisal frameworks supporting strategic investment decisions, forecasting, capital allocation and project viability assessment.
• Mapped existing operational processes and designed 400+ SOPs, workflows and future-state operating models that improved governance, delegation, process consistency and reduced reliance on founder-led intervention.
• Established stakeholder governance through structured reporting, KPI reviews, workshops and performance metrics, improving decision-making, transparency, implementation tracking and continuous improvement across projects.
• Directed delivery across five concurrent finance and operational improvement projects, coordinating monthly investor reporting, lender relationships, contractor delivery, an external consultant and a team of 10 to ensure successful implementation against milestones, budgets and project priorities.
• Analysed existing operational processes, identified process bottlenecks and redesigned operational workflows that increased recurring project revenue by 101% through improved process efficiency and execution.

OPERATIONS & LEARNING SYSTEMS LEAD: FINANCE PROCESS IMPROVEMENT - The Property Coaching Academy (PCA) - London (hybrid)

(2023-07 - 2025-08)

Improved the effectiveness of finance and investment training programmes by redesigning complex learning materials into practical operational guidance that accelerated user understanding and adoption.

• Converted complex property investment and finance concepts into structured operational workflows and practical implementation guidance
• Partnered directly with 20+ paying learners through workshops, interviews and coaching calls to identify operational barriers, gather feedback and continuously refine learning resources, improving usability, engagement and adoption of new ways of working.
• Restructured training materials into usable toolkits, templates and operational playbooks following user feedback.
• Improved process standardisation and knowledge-transfer systems to support consistent adoption across learners and programme users.
• Standardised complex finance and operational processes into practical resources that improved accessibility, consistency and learner confidence.

PROCESS IMPROVEMENT & OPERATIONS ANALYST FOR WORKLOAD REDUCTION - Horizon Lets - Sheffield (hybrid)

(2024-09 - 2024-11)

Supported operational improvement across lettings and compliance functions by redesigning workflows, strengthening process consistency and reducing administrative effort.

• Mapped end-to-end lettings workflows before designing CRM automation tools and optimisation models, including automated workflows and route optimisation across a 400+ property portfolio, reducing manual administration by approximately 3 hours per employee per day and creating scalable operational improvements for future growth.
• Identified operational bottlenecks and built practical tools to support workload reduction, compliance and service consistency.
• Supported portfolio expansion by strengthening compliance processes, stakeholder communication and operational frameworks, leaving scalable systems capable of supporting future growth and diversification.

STRATEGY ANALYST & SYSTEMS TRANSFORMATION LEAD - PhilonoUS (The University of Sheffield) - Sheffield (fully remote)

(2018-09 - 2023-11)

Led the design and early-stage implementation of a future-state operating model, transforming an informal student-led publication into a structured, scalable organisation capable of long-term sustainability despite complete leadership turnover every two years.

• Led organisational transformation that tripled team capacity while introducing governance structures capable of sustaining annual leadership turnover.
• Designed and embedded onboarding, training and knowledge-management systems to improve continuity despite regular team turnover.
• Built SOP frameworks across multiple functional areas, enabling consistent delivery and easier adoption of new ways of working.
• Identified structural barriers affecting knowledge transfer, collaboration, inclusion and organisational sustainability, introducing governance and operational improvements that strengthened continuity despite complete leadership turnover every two years.
• Embedded the future-state operating model through governance, documentation, onboarding and knowledge-management processes, improving organisational resilience and continuity.

University of Sheffield

BA (Hons) Philosophy with International Experience — First Class

Additional Qualifications

A-Levels: AAAA* including Mathematics

GCSEs: 10 A*, 2 A