Showing the world the difference you make.
Meet The Impact Specialist
I am Rachel Dunford, The Impact Specialist. I help organisations of all sizes to capture, measure and demonstrate their impact, and then to use that insight to grow with confidence and integrity.
I founded Rachel Dunford Consulting after being made redundant while pregnant with my first child, and I have spent the last nearly fourteen years building a business I am genuinely proud of: one that is grounded in evidence, guided by values and focused entirely on the difference my clients make.
My clients range from start-ups and charities to SMEs, global membership organisations and large corporates. What they all have in common is a genuine desire to do work that matters, and a recognition that being able to prove that difference is one of the most powerful things they can do.
My background
I trained as a management consultant at PA Consulting Group, where I worked on large-scale change programmes for clients including the Home Office and the Department for Education. That foundation has never left me: I bring strategic discipline and clarity of thinking to every engagement, alongside the warmth and directness of someone who has spent years working closely with people who care deeply about what they do.
After my consulting career I moved into education, working for a small educational consultancy and then managing a programme at the London Development Agency to re-engage young people not in education, employment or training. It was during that role that I was made redundant, while pregnant with my first child. Rather than viewing it as a setback, I used it as the push I needed to build something of my own.
Nearly fourteen years later, I have worked with clients across the private, public and third sectors, delivering impact measurement, evaluation, research and strategic advisory work that has helped them understand, evidence and communicate the difference they make.
I am multi-award-winning, values-led and genuinely committed to my work.
What I believe
I believe businesses should be judged on the quality and the consequences of their actions: on the positive difference they make to the lives of the people and businesses they support.
Chasing turnover targets without pausing to consider the impact of your work is, in my view, the wrong approach to business. Evidence of impact is not a nice-to-have. It is the most honest measure of your value and the most powerful driver of sustainable growth.
I am especially passionate about supporting womento build impact-driven businesses. I know it is harder for women, who are often juggling multiple responsibilities and have to work harder to be noticed and taken seriously. That conviction shapes everything from the clients I choose to work with to the Impactful Community I have built.
The Ashdon Jazz Academy
I am proud to serve as Patron of the Ashdon Jazz Academy, a registered charity supporting vulnerable young women aged 11 to 21 in South London. Founded in 2015 by Patricia Muirhead in memory of her daughter Ashdon, the charity provides mentoring, emotional wellbeing support and a trusted female space to help young women build the confidence, resilience and self-belief to navigate some of life’s hardest challenges.
Ashdon Jazz Academy’s work sits close to my heart. It is impact in its most human form: quiet and consistent, but truly life-changing. I am honoured to support it.
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Ready to find out more?
I would love to have a conversation about what you need and whether I am the right person to help.
No obligation, no sales pressure.