Heading up the delivery of key strategic programmes within Big Issue Group. Supporting the design and development of new programmes that will empower and enable marginalised individuals to overcome barriers to employment, education and training. Emphasis on innovation, enterprise and collaboration, taking an asset-based approach to co-create opportunities that work 'with' people and not 'to.' Development and delivery of Big Issue Group Diversity, Equality and Inclusion strategy.

Our mission is to dismantle poverty by creating opportunity, through self-help, social trading and business solutions.In my role of Head of Partnerships and Programmes I am focused on building meaningful and creative partnerships that seek to extend the opportunity of earning a legitimate and flexible income to a wider demographic, allowing the organisation to grow it's reach and provide support to more people facing poverty. The other element of this role is to establish pathways for current and future Big Issue sellers to move on into education, training and employment. A major responsibility within this role is to develop and implement a financial and digital inclusion strategy across the organisation which will include the national roll out of cashless payments to all vendors.

My role within the organisation involved the multi-site management of a team across Wales and the South West of England. The main elements of my role involved strategic development, building and maintaining key partnerships and relationships, and strong leadership and staff development. I was responsible for the strategic development of the region to build a sustainable business by identifying new and innovative opportunities for the organisation. As Regional Manager, I developed strategy from the point of insight through to planning and delivery. On a daily basis, I worked collaboratively with partners across all sectors including voluntary, public and private to build strong services, promote and raise awareness of the organisation, and create commercial opportunities. I was also responsible for identifying new markets and partnerships for the various facets of the wider group.As Regional Manager, I demonstrated strong leadership by communicating a clear vision and mission for the region, reinforcing the wider goals of the organisation. I enjoyed watching team members develop, and a key part of my role was to identify and create staff development and progression opportunities to ensure a highly motivated and skilled workforce. Another duty as leader was to, empower and enable team members to develop their own ideas and build their own relationships with stakeholders. I am proud to have created an office culture within the Welsh HQ which continues to demonstrate the importance of equality and diversity and challenges negative attitudes and stereotypes. Our inclusive approach has been further confirmed with the an award from Chwarae Teg as a 'Leading Employer' for our work within equality and diversity.

A new role within the organisation, requiring the planning and adoption of a new way of working. The focus of this role was to build and manage relationships with external stakeholders to extend the vending opportunity to their clients and service users. Another key element was developing strategic partnerships with organisations to create training and education opportunities for vendors. Innovation was key to this role in order to identify new and alternative opportunities, as well as maintaining relationships with more traditional providers.

As Sales and Outreach Worker I was responsible for all elements of the day-to-day running of the central distribution office in Wales. This included:Effective engagement of vendors to foster a professional relationship and encourage them to achieve their own personal sales goals. Identifying and developing potential new business opportunities within the sphere of distribution.Building and maintaining relationships with external stakeholders to educate and ensure that our vendors have a fair opportunity to sell The Big Issue.Recruiting, training and managing a team of volunteers. Overseeing the pitch management system, ensuring best utilisation and resolving any queries.