Quality and Contract Management Team

I have worked in social care for 28 years in both the private and public sector, I started with the Local authority in 2013 in North Somerset, then transferred to Devon eight years ago. My career spans across both operations and commissioning, in roles such as, Care Navigator, Social Care assessor, Brokerage Advisor, Contracts and Compliance Officer, and Commissioning Development Officer. I am currently managing DCC’s Contract and Business Relations Team,  the team are committed to supporting the whole provider market to deliver high quality, safe services in line with contractual obligations.

Sandie has worked in health and social care for over 26 years within both strategic change and operational management. She also has a wealth of experience in the delivery of care services and the management of these. Sandi is enthusiastic in supporting providers in setting up quality assurance systems and be a sounding board for creativity and CQC compliance.

Lisa has over 20 years’ experience in Adult Social Cara, predominantly in Domiciliary Care, including Quality Assurance in both the public and private sector.

Whilst working at DCC Lisa has supported provider Quality Assurance, provided Covid outbreak response, worked collaboratively with NHS teams to support hospital discharge initiative and currently has a focus on provider contract compliance.

April has worked in for Adult Social Care for over 25 years and has experience of working across Care Homes and Domiciliary services in both the private and public sector.

April is one of Devon County Council’s Well-being Supporters.

Maria has worked for Devon County Council in Adult Social Care since 2016.

She has worked in a variety of positions including The Strategic Commissioning Team with a focus on engagement and communication with our provider market.

Before joining Devon County Council Maria worked in Local Authority schools as well as in the private sector where she worked with consultants and other professionals to implement and monitor quality assurance systems and processes.

Maria enjoys working collaboratively with Providers, Managers, and the wider workforce promoting quality assurance to achieve safe, good quality care in Devon.

James has worked with vulnerable adults and children for over 20 years. He has previous experience of managing a range of projects across the UK for the charity sector. He has been a registered Social Worker for 14 years. He is passionate about person centred practice and has a particular interest in Mental Capacity. He is well travelled and chose to settle in Devon with his young family in 2020.

Steve has over 10 years of experience of working within the Adult Health and Social Care Sector. This incorporates arranging support, assessing for, and commissioning care, project work, Safeguarding and Quality Assurance and Improvement.

Steve primarily covers the Northern and Eastern areas of the County. He works with providers on a range of issues including creating Service Improvement and Action plans, establishing Quality Assurance systems and refining Care and Support.

Emily is a Registered Nurse (ADULT BSc Hons) whose nursing career started in the acute sector, specifically in Colorectal Surgery & Gastroenterology and Trauma & Orthopaedics.

Emily moved into the Health and Social Care sector working in a Nursing Home with both Nursing patients and those living with advanced Dementia as Clinical Lead/unit Manager of the Advanced Dementia.

Emily joined DCC QAIT in 2020.

I have over 11 years’ experience in adult social care, having previously worked at North Somerset Council as a Brokerage Advisor and later Brokerage Manager. My role focused strongly on Direct Payments, alongside a wide range of commissioned services including care at home, care with accommodation, extra care housing, and hospital discharge pathways. I supported contract roll-outs, problem-solving at pace, and built strong, collaborative relationships with providers to ensure people received the right support at the right time.

Since December 2025, I have been working as a Senior Contract Officer, alongside our Contract and Business Relations Officers, we manage and monitor contracts, support providers to meet contractual and quality expectations, contribute to quality assurance and improvement activity, and work collaboratively to drive safe, sustainable, and high-quality services across the market.

I joined the team as a Senior Contract Officer in January 2026, focusing on Care with Accommodation and Bed-Based Care. I have worked in social care for fourteen years, including over ten years as an Arranging Support Team Manager in Care Direct Plus South and West, where I gained extensive experience in Bed-Based Care, Care with Accommodation, and Care at Home. This background gives me valuable insight into how support is arranged for individuals and how contracts operate in practice.

Prior to my career in social care, I worked for the Ministry of Defence, which helped me develop strong organisational and problem-solving skills that I continue to use in my current role.

My role as SCO is to work alongside our Contract and Business Relations Officers to enhance contracted services, support providers, monitor compliance with contract obligations, and ensure safe, effective care that meets individual needs. Since working for Devon County Council, I have worked closely with many of our partner providers and look forward to building new relationships and supporting with contract management queries.

My role as a Contracts Officer is to support Adult Care providers in the community monitoring contract compliance and ensuring the services they provide are delivered effectively and meet the needs of the people who require care and support.

I have experience in both the private and public sector and my most recent role was part of the Social Care Reablement team, a DCC in house service supporting people to regain their independence in a person-centred manner.

I am looking forward to working with providers and ensuring the quality of the care provided in Devon is of the highest level possible. You can contact me on 01392 388081 or email: jody.hooker@devon.gov.uk

As a Contracts and Business Relations Offices I work with Providers and DCC Colleagues to support the Domiciliary Care and Extra Care Markets across Devon. Working alongside my Colleague Jody Hooker we work to support providers through a range of challenges and always have a listening ear for our Provider Market. Having worked for Devon County Council for nearly 20 years I have a range of experience of working in Partnership with a range of organisations from the Private, Statutory and Voluntary Sectors across Children and Adults Services.

I have worked for the local authority for over 18 years and started my employment in Charging for Care, assessing how much individuals would contribute towards their care, assisting with benefit information, and explaining to operational colleagues the regulations for charging.

After 10 years I jointed the Complex Hospital Discharge Team based at the RD&E Hospital as a Social Care Assessor helping individuals and families at a critical time. I was joint working with health and social care staff and discharged individuals from the hospital to their own homes, places for rehab, or a residential/nursing home.

I joined the Market Management Team in 2021 supporting care homes, monitoring their contractual obligations, and looking at the market capacity. Following a restructure, the team is now called the “Quality Contract Management Team.”

My working days are Monday – Wednesday.

As a Contracts & Business Relations Officer I support Care Home providers in South and West Devon, monitoring contract compliance and ensuring the services they provide are delivered effectively and meet the needs of the people who require care and support.

I have worked in social care for 20+ years in the voluntary statutory and public sectors. Before that I worked in the private sector in Finance. Please see my LinkedIn profile if you would like to know more.

You can contact me on 01392 382412 or email kathryn.gilbert@devon.gov.uk

My Role as a Contracts Officer is to support Care Home providers. My initial focus will be on the Eastern area. I will be monitoring contract compliance, ensuring services provided are delivered effectively, meeting the needs of the people and to support colleagues in market development.

I have worked in Adult Social Care for 9 years, mainly as a Social Care Assessor. Prior to this I have worked with and supported young people under the age of 18.

I joined the Market Management Team in 2021 and look forward working with you all to ensure we continue to enhance our services for the people of Devon.

I joined the Local Authority in 2004 and have worked within Care Management Teams covering North Devon, mainly as a Social Care Assessor. I enjoyed supporting people to remain living well at home by carrying out assessments and support planning in line with the Care Act.

I joined the Quality Contracts Management Team in August 2024. My role as a Contracts and Business Relations Officer is to support providers, monitoring contract obligations and ensuring safe effective care is being provided to meet individual needs.

I look forward to working collaboratively with providers to meet the changing needs of our local communities and vulnerable people in Devon. You can contact me on 01392 380813 or email jodie.martin@devon.gov.uk

Darren supports the Quality and Market Management functions of the council by providing data and reports relating to supply and demand of services across multiple sectors, but predominately the personal care market. Additionally, he develops and maintains the personal care referral system used by AST.

Darren has worked for Devon County Council for seven years, initially working in the Brokerage team before moving to the current role approximately five years ago.

I joined the Local Authority in 2009 and I have worked within Adult Social care in the Arranging Support Team Brokerage covering Direct Payments, Bed based Care, Domiciliary and Enabling Care.  Prior to this I have enjoyed a very broad variety of roles within the private sector across Scientific Publishing to the Sports Health Fitness Sector.

I joined the Quality Contracts Management Team in August 2024.  My role as a Contracts and Business Relations Officer is to support providers, monitoring contract obligations and ensure safe effective care is being provided to meet individual needs.

My role is to support the team across the Quality, Contracts and Business Relations functions. After a long career in the voluntary sector, I joined Devon County Council in 2021 and have worked in the Arranging Support and Workforce Development Teams within Adult Social Care.   I previously worked for 13 years with Devon Carers which provides support, information and services to unpaid carers so understand the critical role that the care sector has in supporting people and their families to achieve a positive quality of life and am privileged to support our team to work alongside our care providers ensuring the provision of effective, high-quality care.