Rea Gill - Business Administrator

Rea joined Optima Training in 2007 as a Business Administrator. She is responsible for ensuring that all of our clients get the best possible service and manages our team of Language Associates.

Many of you will be speaking with Rea as she handles many aspects of Optima Training's services including the processing of timesheets, invoicing responsibilities and handling initial enquiries. Rea is often involved in special projects for Optima to improve and extend the range of services offered, and has already introduced a number of new processes and systems that have improved our administrative efficiency.

We are proud to be associated with a small number of valuable colleagues and consultants. They bring a wealth of experience and diversity of skills that enables Optima to extend its reach beyond the capabilities of a Small family business.

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Margaret Allan - Language Consultant

Margaret has been associated with Optima through her work with Jo Small on the National Teaching and Learning Change Programme since 2006. Margaret was the Modern Foreign Languages (MFL) Regional Subject Lead (RSL) for London and the South East regions. A key component of her role was the planning and delivery of Continual Professional Development (CPD) to education providers' staff.

Since 2002, Margaret has been an Inspector for OFSTED/ALI (Adult Learning Inspectorate) evaluating and reporting on the quality of provision in the post-16 sector for a number of disciplines including MFL. She has also consulted on a diverse range of important education programmes, including her work with the QIA (Quality Improvement Agency), preparing providers of adult learning for inspection and acting as Project Manager on the Success for All programme for the MFL Standards Unit.

Prior to becoming a consultant, Margaret was Head of Languages at Bracknell and Wokingham College for five years, where she was responsible for business planning and monitoring of annual budget, cross-curricular and MFL specific observations of teaching and learning, planning and delivery of cross-curricular and MFL-specific CPD programme, mentoring of language tutors and teaching French and German.

Jo Lyons - Language Training Associate

Jo has worked with Optima Training as a Language Training Associate since 2008. She specialises in Spanish language for both business and social use and has delivered a number of successful programmes to our clients. Jo has also helped to develop the Spanish Language Club, which was launched in January 2009.

She has been teaching Spanish since 2003 and before that held the position of English Language School Manager at the Wall Street Institute in Barcelona. There she taught English as a Foreign Language (EFL) to adult learners at all levels.

Jo also worked as a Sales Training Consultant in the Utilities industry enabling her to offer business development training for sales professionals that are likely to be operating in regions where Spanish is the primary language.

Pierrette Humphreys - Language Training Associate

Pierrette has been working with Optima Training delivering French programmes since 2008. She is trilingual but specialises in French language training for business and social use. She has quickly become an important part of our extended team and has developed a suite of materials specifically matched to the existing language needs of our business clients.

Before becoming a French tutor in 2006, Pierrette held a number of support roles working in companies as diverse as Geest, DHL Africa and Heckler & Koch. This gives her a great insight into the importance of customer service and standards of delivery, enabling her to make a contribution to your organisation that extends beyond enhancing language skills.

Stefanie Hey - Language Training Associate

Stefanie has been working with Optima Training since 2008 specialising in the delivery of German business language. She has been teaching both German and French since 2003 at all levels and currently lectures business strategy and operations management for a local college.

Before entering the world of education, Stefanie gained considerable experience in project management and consultancy. Whilst working for SerCon she developed and delivered training materials for their clients, which included a secondment to SAP Global HQ. This allowed her to secure a position at Cap Gemini where she managed a number of SAP implementation projects for their blue chip clients. Stefanie then spent four years in Houston with Accenture where she was a Management Consultant managing a range of implementation projects.

Her business acumen enables her to deliver programmes that are contextualised to the current operating environment of the client company.

Jacqui Gray - Business Training Consultant

Jacqui is a highly experienced trainer who has worked with us for the past three years delivering General English course and Business programmes. Before joining Optima, Jacqui worked as an English trainer in Japan and was responsible for the development of new teachers; conducting teaching observations; and counselling for new teachers settling into life in Japan.

She is an international marketing professional with 12 years customer service and sales experience and has fluent Japanese language ability.  Jacqui holds a Bachelor of International Business (major in Japanese and Marketing) and an English teaching qualification.