VODG Finance Director and Chief Executive's Event | Spotlight on VAT Novation

Jo Land

Chief Executive, Avenues

Jo began her career as an HR professional in the private sector, before seeking a role where values are acknowledged as more important than driving profit. Having moved to the voluntary sector over twenty years ago, she is now an experienced senior leader in social care. 

Jo cares passionately about the sector and believes that, collectively, we can achieve great things for the people we support and their families, the people we employ and for the wider communities in which we operate, and that, as providers, our reach and influence is underestimated.  

As a member of the VODG board Jo will contribute to raising the profile of the sector and influencing policy, research and decision making at all levels, along with providing support to others to share knowledge, intelligence and experience. 

Jo is Chief Executive of Avenues Group, a specialist provider of support services to people with learning disabilities, autism and acquired brain injury. She also sits as a Non-Legal Member of the Employment Tribunal service.  

Philip Middlewood

Project Director

Phil has been a freelance consultant since October 2022 and has worked with several large and small learning disability and autism charities. His role prior to this was 6.5 years as Chief Executive of Autism West Midlands.

Prior to Autism West Midlands Phil was Development Director at Affinity Trust for 8 years, where the charity grew considerably, taking on many new supported living services, in particular supporting many people to move from NHS campus reprovision into their own homes.  

Prior experience involves senior development and fundraising positions at the charities YMCA Training and Groundwork, and an early part of his career was 9 years working on contracts and strategy in local government.

Phil has been supporting United Response as an associate director since April 2022 to resolve challenging fee negotiations and reviewing service sustainability, and has over 3 decades of negotiations of all kinds under his belt.

Steve Veevers

Chief Executive, Hft

Steve has over 25 years of social care and health experience, having worked as a senior leader in national and regional not-for-profit care providers, local Government and consultancy work to the benefit of social care.

Before joining Hft, Steve was the Managing Director of a large, community-based care provider in the South West of England and Senior Executive in a national learning disability charity.

He brings with him a commitment to collaborative approaches across local communities, not-for-profit providers and statutory organisations to help people live their best lives.