Assistant Chief Officer Lisa Stitt

Born in Scarborough, North Yorkshire, Lisa read Business and Management at Hull University, graduating in 2002 with a 1st class honours degree. Joining the Ministry of Defence in 2003, Lisa began her career as a Commercial Officer responsible for various large-scale Defence procurement contracts. Diversifying her career, Lisa carried out tours in finance, programme and project management and as a Chief of Staff for the MOD’s logistics and support function which included outsourcing a proportion of the organisation.

A policy professional since 2008, Lisa specialised in operational policy, in particular in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Counter Terrorism and Counter Piracy. She has deployed to Afghanistan on a number of occasions, including to Helmand in 2010 and Kabul in 2014 where she provided policy advice to senior NATO military personnel as well as Afghan Ministers and Officials. In 2017, she deployed alongside the global coalition responsible for defeating Daesh in Iraq and Syria for which she was awarded the Queen’s Commendation for Valuable Service for her work facilitating humanitarian assistance into Syria.

Lisa became a Senior Civil Servant in 2017 and was appointed as Head of Policy & Strategy for the Levant, North Africa, Afghanistan and Pakistan at the headquarters of the Ministry of Defence in Whitehall. She completed a year’s academic study at the prestigious Royal College of Defence Studies in 19/20 including completing a Masters in Public Policy at the London School of Economics, graduating with distinction.

Following this, Lisa was tasked with devising the plan for rolling out the Diversity and Inclusion Strategy for the Ministry of Defence, including holding to account the senior leadership across Defence for their delivery of the strategy. Promoted to Director in 2021, Lisa created and led the Directorate responsible for relocating and resettling Afghans to the UK, working across government departments, with local authorities, Ministers and the international community to ensure the safe and secure evacuation of those Afghans and their dependents who supported the UK in Afghanistan over two decades, a humbling role she was proud to hold.

Passionate about supporting women into leadership roles, Lisa also coaches and mentors those from a lower socio-economic background into a career of public service. As a Diversity & Inclusion advocate, ensuring everyone can bring their whole self to work is of particular importance to her.

Lisa is thrilled to take up the role of Assistant Chief Officer for North Yorkshire Police, North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service as part of enableNY, is excited about the challenges ahead and also working with such a diverse and skilled team.