At the invitation of General Synod Standing Committee, Doug Martin has agreed to chair an independent group that will monitor the next stage of the St John’s College review, working with College managers and governors as they put review recommendations into place.

Doug Martin is the founder of Martin Jenkins, a company founded in the 1990s that has a strong track record in supporting public, not-for-profit and philanthropic organisations to operate at their full potential through collaborative external evaluations and practical guidance in the implementation phase.

Mr Martin came to understand the St John’s Theological College well as a member of the team that carried out the Independent review into culture at the College, working closely with reviewer Miriam Dean QC, supported by Nura Taefi.

In a previous project, Doug has worked with disability sector employers to advocate on the ‘sleepover’ disability workers’ claim, supporting a shift to fair pay for people working overnight in disability support roles.

The company which Doug founded, MartinJenkins, has worked to help Social Service Providers Aotearoa detail the impact of Government underfunding in services to young people and children as they advocated for greater resources, and has worked with tertiary institutions, Māori, Pasifika and refugee and migrant groups to help them achieve their goals.

One MartinJenkins project helped Māori land owners to identify structural limitations to their aspirations for their land, and led to a challenge of the regulatory frameworks used under the Te Ture Whenua Māori Act.

General Secretary Rev Canon Michael Hughes reported that Standing Committee members were keen to see the review’s improvements put in place, and believe Doug Martin has the skills to support the College in that process,

“General Synod Standing Committee has strong confidence in Doug Martin as he takes up this role of chairing the group that will monitor College in the implementation phase. Doug will be a valuable partner in helping Standing Committee to see that the review’s recommendations are put in place in a timely and thorough way.”