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Ingeus prides itself on employing Champions – someone who vigorously supports a person or cause – but if ever somebody in the skills and employability sector truly embodied that title, it’s our Senior Partnership and Integration Manager Paul Russell. It’s an endorsement that has been recognised recently by the South London Partnership, which has named Paul and his team an Employment and Skills Champion for their commitment to developing skills and employment opportunities across the region. 

 

In his role, Paul heads a team of community outreach officers and oversees partners forging relationships within the communities of Croydon, Kingston, Merton, Richmond, and Sutton. This includes working with local authorities, voluntary and charity organisations, faith groups, childcare and health services; working with and often co-locating with any organisation involved in the diverse and complex ecosystem of residents’ services. His approach is deceptively simple: 

 

“We’re not there to tell local organisations what they need to do or how to do it. Our role is to learn how we can work with their existing services to add weight to the help they offer people. We connect the dots to reach and support people, pulling together options often at a hyper-local level to combat people’s barriers to employment.” 

 

This work is central to the Connect to Work programme that Paul and his team help deliver. Launched in late 2025, it is a community-based, voluntary programme for adult South London residents struggling to source or sustain a job because of a health condition or disability. To date, more than 60 community organisations have referred participants onto the programme which, it is estimated, will support 5,000 people over the next five years. It is commissioned by the South London Partnership (SLP), which began its Champion network last year to recognise collaboration, shared learning and positive impact on its local skills and labour market. It’s No Wrong Door Integration Hub coordinates these activities and commented:  

“Paul has played a leading role in developing, launching and delivering the Connect to Work programme. His work demonstrates strong collaborative leadership, a commitment to inclusive employment, and a clear ability to build effective partnerships that bring together employers, community groups and public services to create opportunities for people who might otherwise be excluded from the labour market.” 

 

It’s a role Paul says he is passionate about having joined Ingeus seven years ago from a recruitment, then housing association, background. He has been heavily involved in two prior Ingeus employability programmes within SLP’s remit and is delighted at the validation this important accreditation gives: 

 

“This Champion status shows that we are engaging in the right way, that we’re a credible and proactive part of the local landscape,” says Paul. “We can now use this to encourage others to get involved as we’re eager to work with as many organisations as possible.  

 

“That’s probably what I enjoy most about my role; really understanding how employability and skills fit within the wider welfare issues of our communities. Debt, housing, mental health, digital inclusion, addiction, cultural barriers, they’re all facets our participants’ face in building a better outlook. 

 

“Large providers delivering significant contracts can be seen as rigid, driven by scale and contractual obligations. Ingeus works differently – our senior leaders give us space to be innovative, to try new things. The care we commit to helping people and our focus on community-led support is genuine – and this is the proof.”