I help people to show up big in their game of life or business and shift to the next level, even if uncertain what that is!

I am responsible for helping people from Aberdeen City to find suitable employment or training / education opportunities leading them into employment. This involves interviewing prospective clients, determining training or educational needs and locating suitable courses and funding. I assist clients in preparing CV’s and coaching them on interview techniques. I also liaise with other voluntary agencies to provide support services to clients who may have other issues to address. As part of my development role I liaise with local employers to keep abreast of suitable job vacancies or opportunities for work trials.PROJECT LEAD - Progress Through Positive Partnerships (PTPP - European Social Fund Project)I was responsible for the recruitment and training of a team of door-to-door canvassers who were tasked with completing questionnaires on all aspects of living and working as part of the PTPP Project. I managed the team on a day to day basis, recording responses and preparing call back sheets for the next day. I reported daily and weekly responses to the Project Manager and liaised with the main contact at Aberdeen City Council.Social Return On Investment (SROI) (2013)Pathways was selected to trial a SROI project as part of an initiative from Aberdeen City Council. Myself and the Pathways Manager were tasked to work with the SROI team to work through the process and forwarding the necessary information which led to the final SROI Report where for every £1.00 of investment, Pathways generated £4.79 for SROI.

Supervising a team of 18 Door Staff at Aberdeen University Student's Union.

Marketing & Projects Manager – Great Northern Community Enterprise (1996 – 1999)Management: Responsible for operations of Great Northern Development Company, including sales targets, cash flow and profit and loss.Personnel: Interviewed, hired, trained and supervised staff. Monitored performance in line with company policies, procedures and targets.Sales – Account Management: Responsible for sales of services to clients. Established growth plans for individual accounts and personally managed account calls, presentations and negotiations. Grew client base from zero to 41 in first year of operations. Marketing & Research: Prepared feasibility studies, researched and investigated opportunities for expansion of services and new business within the group. Developed innovative marketing strategies to solicit and increase business. Conducted research programme on behalf of the Scottish Office.Business Planning & Development: Researched and prepared company business plan on an annual basis. Developed and implemented marketing plans for group and individual business units.Finance: Managed, analysed and projected cash flows and budgets, monitoring variances to plans and initiating aggressive controls of expenditure.Skills Development Manager – Great Northern Community Enterprise (1999 – 2000)Management: Overall responsibility for day-to-day operations for New Deal Training Centre. Also responsible for all group staff training. Training & Skills Development: Developed effective training programmes for New Deal clients. Delivered and monitored impact of training achieving 47 people into work over a 2-year period. Conducted all group staff training.Executive Management Team: Member of group Executive Management Team advising members and Board of Directors on marketing and training issues.

I advised clients on all forms of marketing; Market Research, Marketing Plans, Promotional Campaigns, Direct Sales, Developing Unique Selling Propositions and Business Relationships.

Starting as a Junior Sales in 1975 I graduated from the Burton Retail Management Training Scheme in 1983 as a Branch Manager.