Samiksha Jaiswal (Editor)

Jeff James (public servant)

Updated on
Edit
Like
Comment
Share on FacebookTweet on TwitterShare on LinkedInShare on Reddit
Preceded by
  
Oliver Morley

Nationality
  
English

Battles and wars
  
Cold War

Service/branch
  
Royal Navy

Citizenship
  
United Kingdom

Children
  
Three

Rank
  
Chief petty officer

Full Name
  
Jeffrey Daniel Dominic Walker

Born
  
11 March 1968 (age 48) Solihull, West Midlands (
1968-03-11
)

Spouse(s)
  
Joanne Knight (m. 2010)

Alma mater
  
Open University University of Hertfordshire

Education
  
University of Hertfordshire, Open University

Jeffrey Daniel Dominic "Jeff" James (né Walker; born 11 March 1968) is a British public servant and executive, and former Royal Navy sailor. Since 2014, he has been Chief Executive and Keeper of The National Archives.

Contents

Early life and education

James was born on 11 March 1968 in Solihull, West Midlands, England. His surname at birth was Walker, but it was changed to James when he was later adopted by Edwin and Edith James. From 1979 to 1984, he was educated at Park View Comprehensive School in Chester-le-Street, County Durham.

James did not attend university straight after leaving school. Later, he studied for a degree with the Open University, a part-time distance learning university, and graduated with a Bachelor of Science in 2001. He studied history as a postgraduate at the University of Hertfordshire, completing his Master of Arts degree in 2010.

Military service

In 1984, James joined the Royal Navy as a rating. He trained as an electronic engineer, and specialised as a Weapons Engineering Artificer. He worked on the Resolution-class and Vanguard-class submarines, which operate the Polaris and Trident nuclear programmes respectively. In 1992, he was promoted to chief petty officer. He left the navy in September 1998 after 14 years of service.

Public service

After leaving the Royal Navy, James joined the University of Leeds as an IT technical support officer. He was later appointed Network Group Manager. From 2003 to 2004 he was operations manager of Swift Research Ltd, a Yorkshire-based market research agency. In 2004, he joined the British Library and worked in various operations management positions for the next three years. He ended his time at the British Library as Head of Operations.

In 2007, James joined The National Archives as Director of Operations and Services. From June 2013 to July 2014 he was Deputy Chief Executive of the Chartered Institute of Housing, and was "responsible for leading on strategy development, operational excellence, business performance and change management". In May 2014, he was announced as the next Chief Executive and Keeper of The National Archives. He took up the appointment on 29 July 2014.

Personal life

In 2010, James married Joanne Knight. Together they have three sons, including a set of twins.

References

Jeff James (public servant) Wikipedia