Ciara O'Dowd – Head of Research and Operations

Ciara provides financial support and strategic advice in all aspects of financial management, risk management, and best practice governance for the not-for-profit and charity sectors. 

She was the Theatre Adviser to the Arts Council of Ireland, assessing applications and providing advice on policy development and implementation in the theatre sector nationally for over ten years. She was a co-author of the groundbreaking 2016 research study Gender Counts: An analysis of gender in Irish Theatre 2006-2015, commissioned by #WakingTheFeminists. 

She has provided governance and financial controller services to The Care Trust DAC and Dublin City Council Culture Company. For The Care Trust, she worked with the senior management team to win two Carmichael Centre Good Governance Awards (Best Governance Initiative, 2018 and Best Annual Report, 2019). 

Ciara has a BA in Drama Studies & English from TCD (2000); a professional Diploma in Accountancy from DCU (2001) and trained with Deloitte & Touche in Dublin, qualifying as a chartered accountant (FCA). She has particular expertise in control processes, internal and external audit, and corporate governance matters. She previously worked with the National Treasury Management Agency as internal auditor, as well as with Rehab Group and National Learning Network, large not-for-profit companies providing training to people with disabilities in Dublin. She gained an MA in Writing (2010) and PhD in Theatre History from NUI Galway (2014).

Pronouns: she/her

Talk to Ciara at ciara.odowd@sciencegallery.com