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Executive HR Director: Emily Boynton

About Emily 

Emily Boynton joined Kingston University in 2020. She brings a wealth of public sector experience acquired working across local government and healthcare settings to her new role.

Emily joined the University from the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, where she was leading on human resources strategy and organisational development in the wake of the Grenfell Tower fire. During a period in which the Council and its staff have been the subject of intense press and public scrutiny, she has been instrumental in driving change in organisational culture, supporting staff and the frontline workforce through a lengthy recovery period that has seen the implementation of a number of significant improvements.

Emily's achievements have included embedding new values and behaviours and rebuilding connections between staff and the Council leadership. She was responsible for designing wellbeing interventions to support staff required to give evidence at the public inquiry into the disaster and to sustain them in processing their own responses to the tragedy, as well as developing and implementing the Council's people strategy.

Well versed in working in complex, multi-faceted organisations, Emily was previously Director of Human Resources and Organisational Development at Central London Community Healthcare – an NHS community trust. She has also held senior roles in children's services, social care, environment and property services at Surrey County Council. She is passionate about boosting staff engagement, supporting health and wellbeing and strengthening equality, diversity and inclusion.

Responsibilities and portfolio areas 

At Kingston, Emily's leads in relation to staffing issues including:

  • Human Resources
  • Organisational Development
  • Equalities, Diversity & Inclusion
  • Pensions and Payroll
  • Health and Wellbeing

External work 

Emily is a Governor of Waldegrave School.

Major awards and qualifications 

  • Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development
  • CIPD Postgraduate Certificate in the Psychology of Organisational Development and Change from Herriot Watt University
  • Masters in Industrial Relations from the University of Warwick Business School
  • Economics and Social Studies Undergraduate degree from the University of Manchester