Rowan has spent close to 10 years directing and managing social policy research in central and local government and the voluntary sector.

Rowan’s previous role was Research Manager at Gradcore, a social enterprise start-up focusing on skills and employability in the graduate labour market. Before that she spent five years working on research and policy at the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). Her experience spans a range of employment and welfare policy areas including poverty, parents’ employment, skills and employability, and youth employment. Key projects at DWP included: leading on a national strategy to address the issue of young people not in education, employment or training, managing a programme of economic and statistical analysis, research and evaluation to support the Future Jobs Fund and Young Person's Guarantee, and designing a randomised control trial to test the impact of training on employment outcomes.

Rowan also has experience of working on research and performance management in local government and the charity sector.