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James DarnbrookJD

Average response time: 1 hour

About James

I help organisations translate strategy into leadership behaviour and measurable performance—enabling them to operate effectively in complex, uncertain, and fast-changing (VUCA) environments.

With over 25 years of international experience across high-stakes contexts—including £1.7Bn transformation programmes and £80M capability delivery projects—I specialise in designing and implementing leadership and organisational development solutions that drive real, sustained change.

As founder of the CLIMB Leadership Program, I bring a distinctive approach that integrates systems thinking, behavioural science, and experiential learning. My work focuses on helping leaders and teams navigate complexity, make better decisions under uncertainty, and adapt their behaviour to evolving organisational challenges.

I work with organisations to:

• Strengthen leadership capability for complex and uncertain environments
• Design and deliver high-impact leadership development programmes
• Enable behavioural change that improves decision-making and performance
• Build organisational agility, alignment, and collaboration
• Develop scalable learning and capability systems

My approach is practical, engaging, and results-focused—grounded in real-world application and measurable outcomes. I have worked internationally across Europe, the Middle East, and Australia, supporting organisations to build adaptive, resilient, and high-performing cultures.

If you are looking to move beyond traditional training and equip your leaders to succeed in a VUCA world, I would be glad to support you.
  • English

    Native or bilingual

  • Portuguese

    Conversational

  • German

    Fluent

  • Arabic

    Conversational

Can work on-site
Basel (up to 50km), Zurich (up to 50km), Lucerne (up to 50km), Bern (up to 50km), Zug (up to 50km)

Experience

  • Airbus (GPT Special Project Management Limited)
    Program Founder, Designer and Director
    TELECOMMUNICATIONS
    January 2018 - January 2020 (2 years)
    Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
    (Project Value £80M)
    Engaged within a high-value, complex international programme to design and deliver a technology-enabled learning capability for communication engineers, aligning advanced training solutions with strategic operational requirements.

    Key consulting contributions:

    Designed and delivered a bespoke technology-enhanced learning system that exceeded client expectations, translating technical and operational requirements into a scalable, high-impact capability.
    Developed and implemented an innovative behavioural learning model (“Performance Avatar”), increasing learner engagement and assessment outcomes by up to 40%, demonstrating measurable performance improvement.
    Integrated real-world equipment with simulation and emulation environments, creating a national-class-leading technical training ecosystem that significantly enhanced applied learning and operational readiness.
    Operated at the intersection of technology, learning design, and organisational capability, ensuring that training solutions were not only technically robust but also aligned with long-term workforce development and performance outcomes.
    Collaborated with international stakeholders in a complex delivery environment, maintaining alignment between client expectations, programme objectives, and delivery execution.
    delivering sustained organisational performance Taking a complex systems' view of organisations creating organisations that can adapt both form and function in real time Embracing leadership at all levels Highly experienced as a trainer, coach, facilitator and adult teacher
  • Foreign Language & Culture Academy
    Program Capability Delivery Manager (Educational)
    EDUCATION AND E-LEARNING
    July 2012 - December 2014 (2 years and 5 months)
    Oxford, United Kingdom
    Annual budget: £5.5M

    Led the strategic transformation and operational delivery of a national-level language and cultural training academy, aligning learning capability with organisational performance requirements in a complex international context.

    Key consulting contributions:

    Drove organisational transformation of a large-scale learning operation, increasing agility by 50% and expanding international collaboration by 200%, positioning the academy as a high-performing, outward-facing capability.
    Delivered significant cost optimisation and structural redesign, reducing per capita training costs by £1.5M annually through strategic relocation and resource realignment, while simultaneously enhancing capability.
    Redesigned and scaled learning delivery to achieve ‘best-in-class’ national capability, leveraging infrastructure changes and integrated on-site resources to improve both quality and efficiency.
    Aligned learning strategy with organisational objectives, ensuring that training outputs directly supported operational effectiveness and international engagement requirements.
    Led multidisciplinary teams and stakeholders through change, maintaining delivery continuity while implementing significant structural and cultural transformation.
  • Learning & Development
    Head Learning & Development Consultant – Technical Training Academy
    DEFENSE AND MILITARY
    June 2010 - July 2012 (2 years and 1 month)
    Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
    Programme value: £1.7Bn

    Led the design and transformation of a national-scale technical training capability within a major defence procurement programme, aligning workforce development with long-term operational and strategic objectives.

    Key consulting contributions:

    Conducted end-to-end training system analysis (Systems Approach to Training), identifying inefficiencies and redesigning delivery to reduce training wastage by over £10,000 per trainee while significantly increasing organisational capability.
    Delivered major cost and capability transformation, reducing reliance on external OEM training support from years to weeks, enabling a more self-sufficient, skilled, and motivated workforce.
    Led the first national-level evaluation (EXVAL) of training effectiveness, establishing and redefining performance KPIs and aligning learning outputs with operational requirements and future capability needs.
    Generated substantial efficiency gains through strategic workforce and supplier optimisation, resulting in the removal of 15 contracted support roles while improving training outcomes and delivery effectiveness.
    Positioned the organisation as a national ‘best-in-class’ technical training provider, through the integration of structured analysis, robust programme management, and capability-focused design.
    Advised senior stakeholders within a complex, high-value international programme, ensuring alignment between training strategy, procurement objectives, and long-term organisational performance.

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Education

  • MSc Educational Practice and Innovation
    University of Southampton
    2015
    Modelling effects of tertiary education by country
  • MSc International Security
    Cranfield University
    2014
    modelling conflict propensity in oil rich states

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