Lesley O’Keeffe

Lead Consultant

Lesley brings over 20 years of leadership experience in Higher Education, with a specialist focus on student support, registry operations, and institutional transformation. She is currently Interim Academic Registrar at SOAS University of London, where she is leading improvements to day-to-day operations, managing the implementation of a new student record system, and supporting structural changes to the academic year.

Previously, Lesley held a variety of senior roles at Brunel University London, including Registrar. Her responsibilities spanned student services, the Library, academic support, and apprenticeships—where she played a key role in achieving an Ofsted ‘Outstanding’ rating as Safeguarding Lead. She has a proven track record of driving service enhancements that improve outcomes for both students and staff.

Lesley has also held national sector leadership roles, including serving on the executive committees of AMOSSHE and the Academic Registrars’ Council (ARC), where she led professional development initiatives such as the Aspiring Academic Registrars programme.

Collaborative and solution-focused, Lesley works with institutions to identify efficiencies, streamline processes, and enable positive change across student-facing services.