Holly Grimes

Pronouns: She/Her

Job role: As People and Leadership Lead, my role centres around realising the power and potential of a movement of people that is reflective of the population to inspire, engage and support people to lead more active lives.

In particular, I focus on volunteering and how we can make this more accessible, meaningful, supported and reflective of GM communities, as well as the role of VCSE engagement, co-production and community leadership in achieving our shared ambitions.

I also connect system partners to identify opportunities to collaborate, build relationships and support each other's priorities around developing the knowledge and capabilities of their workforce in support of active lives for all.

Date joined: November 2022

Professional background: After graduating with a degree in Sport, Physical Education and Coaching Science and a Masters in Sport Business, Management and Policy, I spent the first two years of my career working on a national youth engagement programme.

Firstly, managing delivery of the programme locally through a football club community organisation, then working regionally supporting curriculum design and programme quality across the North-West.

Alongside this, I have been fortunate enough to hold a number of volunteering roles in football across the FA's Youth Leadership pathway, including being a member of the FA National Youth Council supporting County FAs to embed youth voice and volunteering.

These experiences only increased my passion for the significance of distributed leadership and the impact that volunteering can have on people’s lives.

Fun fact: I have a (slightly regretful) tattoo of Chloe Kelly celebrating the match-winning goal in the Women’s Euros final