Shauna Dunlop

Shauna Dunlop is currently the Director of Strategy, Research and Evaluation with SOLAS. In this role Shauna has strategic responsibility for implementation of the national 5 year Further Education and Training (FET) Strategy 2020 – 2024. She leads the national Skills and Labour Market and Research unit, which develops and authors national labour market and information bulletins, skills forecasts and publications. Shauna also heads up the Data Analytics unit in SOLAS.

Shauna was previously the Director of Apprenticeship and Work Based Learning in SOLAS with responsibily for the national craft apprenticeships, as well as supporting the development of new apprenticeship programmes and traineeships across the Country. Previously she held the post of Northern Ireland Regional Manager for the UK Information Commissioner.  In this role Shauna led on specific Northern Ireland privacy and information rights issues within many key areas and sectors, including the General Data Protection Regulation. 

She has significant strategic leadership, stakeholder engagement and project management experience and expertise as well as a track record of successfully developing and implementing sector strategies to drive and influence positive change across Ireland, Northern Ireland and the UK.

Shauna has over 20 years senior management experience in many sectors both in an Irish, Northern Ireland and UK wide context including in education, transport and the community and voluntary sector and has worked within complex and high profile legislative and policy environments for many years.

She is a graduate of Queens University Belfast, is a Chartered Marketer, a qualified coach and holds professional qualifications in information management.