Getting to know: Nicki Davies-Jones, Managing Director

Nicki joined HealthLink360 as managing director in June 2023, having previously served on the board as a trustee. Residing in Northumberland in the north-east of England, Nicki lives with husband, Gareth, and has three grown up children. We sat down with Nicki to find out more… 

Tell us a bit about your career to date?  

My background is in HR. Most recently, I served as HR Director with Mission East, a Danish international relief and development organisation. Prior to that, I led the HR team at Traidcraft Plc and Traidcraft Exchange. 

What attracted you to the role of managing director?  

Through my work within the relief and development sector, I’ve been aware of HealthLink360 for a number of years. In August 2022, I had the privilege of joining the board and serving as a trustee. 

When the managing director post came up, I was excited to see a role that combined leadership and management within a faith-based organisation and with an opportunity to move into a more general leadership position. Within my HR roles, I’ve sought to provide support and service to enable people to fulfil their roles and I see the work of HealthLink360 as an extension of that: we care for those who care for others. 

What aspect of the role are you most looking forward to and what challenges do you think you may face?  

I’m looking forward to getting to know the team and the organisation all over again – but this time with an internal lens. I’m joining HealthLink360 just as we’re about to celebrate our 40th anniversary so I’m very much looking forward to contributing to our strategy and plans as we look forward! 

Of course, there have been a lot of changes in the world over our first 40 years, not least in the last few years as we’ve adjusted to new ways of working through the Coronavirus pandemic. But, we know that there remains a great need to provide medical and psychological support to those who work globally, and potentially those who are closer to home too. I’ll be working hard to make sure that those organisations and individuals know about and can access the great service that Healthlink360 provides.  

What do you think the future is for this sector as a whole? 

I see that there’s lots of change in the sectors we’ve supported to date, including that fewer people are travelling to live and work overseas and/or fewer people see the UK as their home base, so can’t easily travel to see us at our Carberry base. 

There's still so much work - globally and locally - that’s going on where people are giving of themselves to help improve the lot of others. For HealthLink360, the support we can provide remains relevant and necessary and we’ll be looking at how we can best ensure that our service remains accessible.  

How do you switch off? 

Lots of ways! I like to read, I like to create - arts, crafts, etc. I sing in a choir. I love spending time with my family and friends. I love to cook, to welcome people and show hospitality. In terms of being out and about, we love cycle touring and have spent many happy weeks travelling from place to place.