Ask OC for design, technology, delivery and commercial leadership.
Two decades across in-house public sector, agency leadership, and founder-operator roles, available by the day, sprint, fractional engagement, or full-time recovery.
When people call me
§ 01A GOV.UK Service Standard assessment is coming up, or the last one didn't go well.
I've worked inside blended civil-servant and supplier teams through Service Standard assessments, supporting first-time passes and recoveries after a failure. I can tell you what will get flagged, what's a polish job, and what needs a rework before the panel.
A delivery is stuck, over-engineered, or lost in detail.
You need a critical friend who can diagnose fast, reset the team's focus, and get delivery moving again without ripping it all up.
You're buying a lot of digital and you don't have the in-house senior to evaluate it.
I sit on your side of the table: reviewing what's being proposed, flagging what needs to change before you sign.
Teams are using AI tools individually. Nothing has been written down, and the practice leaves when that person does.
I can help you understand where AI practice has taken hold across the organisation, what needs to be captured before it disappears, and where the operating model needs to shift to make it last.
About
§ 02The rare advisor who has been the buyer, the builder, and the boss.
Twenty years across in-house public sector, agency leadership, and founder-operator roles. I have run digital services within a London borough, led experience and creative within a Crown Commercial Services supplier, and co-founded Gulp Digital, now fifteen years delivering to government and commercial clients across 50+ digital products and services. I still ship. I still sell. I am still in stand-ups. That compound credibility is what you get when you engage Ask OC.
Four capabilities, one operator
§ 03Design
Service design, user-centred interaction design, GOV.UK Design System. Former Head of Experience & Creative at a £50M+ Crown Commercial Services supplier.
Technology
Solution and service architecture across multiple technology and infrastructure stacks, aligned to the GOV.UK Technology Code of Practice.
Delivery
Discovery, Alpha, Beta, Live. GDS-aligned delivery, coaching teams to ship quality-assured products and services that meet user needs and business requirements safely at pace.
Commercial
Commercial strategy for agencies winning work, public sector teams shaping procurements, and scale-ups. Proposal writing, bid shaping, pitching, pricing, and relationship development.
Track record
§ 04How to engage
§ 05Responsibility & role
§ 06I work across SFIA levels 4 to 7 in design, technology, delivery and commercial roles. Rates are exclusive of VAT and expenses where applicable, and can be aligned to relevant procurement policies.
Rates are negotiable to support pay-grade alignment, margin on agency engagements, longer-term commitments, and employer NI contributions for inside-IR35 roles.
What to ask me for
§ 07Ask me for
- Design leadership, service design, interaction design, and GOV.UK Design System guidance.
- Technical strategy, roadmap, solution and service architecture; hands-on leadership.
- Rapid prototyping and concept validation.
- AI adoption, ways of working, and operating model change.
- Delivery coaching, sprint rescue, team shape.
- Bid shaping, pricing strategy, partner matching.
- Board-level digital strategy and roadmap.
- Fractional or interim roles with specific outcomes.
Don't ask me for
- Full-stack production build (use Gulp Digital).
- A junior rate for senior work: let's scope to the right SFIA level instead.
- Execution without access to the real context.
- Out-of-hours operational on-call.
- Advice that is outside my experience. I will say so.
Let's talk.
Message on LinkedIn for fractional and interim work (inside IR35), or via Gulp Digital for commercial engagements.
