Hello, I’m Julia Beart.
I launched Pragmatic Radicals as a place for people and organisations who want to nurture and transform systems, structures and teams, but are looking for practical tools and entry points to move from brave ideas to purposeful action to inclusive impact.
I am an experienced leader, collaborator and consultant passionate about social justice and equity. As a deep generalist with twenty years’ experience in the social enterprise and charity sectors, my experience spans collaborative leadership, strategy, systems mapping, organisational change, shifting power, resource mobilisation, practice development, programme co-design, impact and learning, and partnership building. I’m also handy around a spreadsheet and working on knotty social enterprise business modelling challenges.
I offer consultancy support to charities, social enterprises, academia and purposeful businesses who share a commitment to sustainable and ethical social impact work rooted in equity and justice. I take a highly facilitative, participatory approach and approach all of my work with kindness.
Before jumping into freelance adventures with Pragmatic Radicals in October 2022, I served as CEO of Primary Care International, where I spent seven years with an incredible team growing the start-up into a leading global social enterprise in primary healthcare which has won numerous awards and accolades for its work including finalist in the International Impact category at the Social Enterprise UK Awards. Working particularly in humanitarian and refugee settings, I was proud to count the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) amongst our partners. Prior to this, I worked across mental health, disability, community development and child rights for a range of organisations from large international agencies to small charities.
It was a big decision to step away from a front-line leadership role into the world of consultancy. But I know that my past experience enables me to bring deep insight into the daily realities of delivering results, creating sustainable impact and motivating teams under a multitude of internal and external pressures. It drives me to create practical and lasting value for my clients by being bold and ambitious, by actively listening to what is said and unsaid, and co-creating pathways for transformative change. Whether at the level of a team, a project, or a whole organisation, I love to develop creative strategies, solutions and partnerships to create impact, evidence it, and communicate it.
I am committed to anti-racist practice, shifting power, centring lived experience across leadership, design and delivery, and ensuring inclusive practice is embedded in my work.
I enjoy collaborating with other freelancers and agencies when a project would benefit from several skillsets or perspectives and have a wide network to draw from. If I don’t have the expertise you are looking for, I can probably signpost you to someone who does!
Alongside my work as Director of Pragmatic Radicals, I am an Associate with the PG Collective and the Sheila McKechnie Foundation, as well as a Member of the Fair Development Collective. I am also a Trustee for the Aplastic Anaemia Trust and a Non-Exec Director at Shared Assets.
I’m a big believer in lifelong learning, and alongside an 18-month stint volunteering at the Coventry Refugee and Migrant Centre, I also completed post-graduate courses on refugees and migration from the University of London and Sciences Po in Paris in 2022. I hold a BA in French with International Politics and an MSc in Development Management. With experience in leadership development and coaching, I am also a Clore Social Fellow.
I’m a mum to two football-mad kids, and am a bit obsessed with my big, fluffy, tabby cat. In my very occasional spare time, I love reading, yoga and coffee with friends. Drinking wine and putting the world to rights on weekends and bank holidays!