Meet the Bursar

Julie Saunders started as Bursar in January 2026. The communications team took time at the end of her first full week to ask her a bit about her life, work, and life outside work.

Interview: Julie Saunders

Could you tell us a little about yourself?

I am an economist by training, one of the first two women economists at Gonville & Caius College, the University of Cambridge. I later went on to study a Master’s in Economics at the London School of Economics and an MBA from INSEAD business school outside Paris.

You’ve had various episodes in your career?

Indeed. I started as an economist and an econometrician, so very much a social scientist in action. I then spent some time in strategy consulting and investment banking, before completing my MBA.

After my MBA, I spent four years living in Kazakhstan, Bulgaria and Uzbekistan, running technical assistance projects to the governments there. This was in the early 1990s at the time when the former Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) and Eastern Bloc countries were opening up – I was supporting the governments in their privatisation efforts. It was a very interesting time in many aspects for me personally, but also for the world.

Once I came back to the UK from central Asia, I joined the International HIV/AIDS Alliance where I spent a decade working on the frontiers of that pandemic when its impact was the most devastating, early this century.

By the time I left, we were an organisation working in 40 countries and I was responsible for everything that wasn’t programmes, in effect, the Bursar. I set up country offices, managed grants, raised significant institutional funding, particularly from the US government which played a significant role in the HIV/AIDS response at the time. I worked hand-in-hand with the programme teams, fundraising team and with the comms team, I managed the risks of sending people across the world. And there was lots happening in finance, administration and IT too.

I then spent another ten years in international development. I set up my own NGO working in Africa and Asia, developing leaders to drive social change, connecting businesses with NGOs and government. I had an idea, raised money to support my idea and, in so doing, became an accidental entrepreneur, a social entrepreneur focusing on leadership in the healthcare sector. Since 2017, I have been a Bursar.

You’re also an accountant?

Yes, when I joined the International HIV/AIDS Alliance as the Finance Director, lead for finance and corporate services, I said to myself I’ll get qualified for this job before I stop doing it.

So, I trained as an accountant. I went on to spend four years in an independent school as a Bursar. I saw them through quite a big change programme, and in particular they wanted to revitalise the support services. I also oversaw the construction of a new sixth form build for them. And then I moved to Oxford where most recently I spent four years as Bursar at Pembroke College.

Why Green Templeton?

My instinct had been that I was done with Oxford. However, learning about the college I really began to think this could be a very exciting place for me. I liked the focus across a wide range of social sciences, including business and medicine, among other areas. Given my background in an HIV and a leadership organisation and the work I had done in both organisations to document interventions, measure results and influence policy, often in partnership with academic institutions – the fit felt really strong.

As we speak at the end of my first week, I already love the warmth of the community and the ambition at the time that I’m joining the college. It’s that personal engagement that everyone’s shown towards me, doing everything they can to make me feel included and welcome. There is definitely a buzzing sense of excitement that we’re going places.

How do you relax outside work?

Well – I’m not big on relaxing! That said, I like swimming, walking, and I do like reading. I have a lot of friends, so I like spending time with them. I like traveling, and spend quite a bit of time between Bulgaria, where my husband is from, and the UK. I also make sure there’s time for my family.