Paul Buchanan

WORK HISTORY

EDUCATION

SKILLS

ABOUT PAUL BUCHANAN

For the past 20 years I’ve worked with public, voluntary and community organisations across the UK to help turn good ideas into practical change — through strategy, evaluation, business planning, governance and delivery support. I’ve recently stepped away from full-time work with Hall Aitken after two decades, and I’m now combining a small portfolio of freelance advisory work with non-executive and board roles. My current board roles include Public Services Delivery Scotland and Loreburn Housing Association. Much of my work has sat at the point where policy, place and people meet: economic and community development, heritage and culture, employability, tourism, public service reform and organisational strategy. Over the years I’ve supported everything from post-industrial regeneration and visitor economy development to complex evaluations, capital projects and organisational change. Earlier in my career, I worked on enterprise, tourism and regeneration in places dealing with industrial decline, and was fortunate to contribute to work that helped put Dundee more firmly on the tourism map. A weakness for interesting assignments also took me further afield from time to time, including the Baltic States and the Falkland Islands. Alongside consultancy, governance has been a constant thread. I served two terms on the board of Glasgow Colleges Regional Board, including as Vice Chair and Chair of its Audit and Assurance Committee, and before that chaired the board of a large HE/FE college for 12 years. Those roles taught me a huge amount about public accountability, leadership, risk, and the quiet importance of good decision-making. These days I’m most interested in helping organisations make sensible progress on the things that matter: clearer strategy, better evidence, stronger governance, sharper thinking and more confident delivery. Outside work, I’ve completed the round of 282 Munros, have a genuine talent for eating malt loaf on windy summits, and maintain an extensive collection of been-there t-shirts. My long-term career plan is still to become a geologist. I’m always happy to hear about interesting advisory, board and non-executive opportunities.