Resident Director (voluntary)

Annual contract from September to December working on a schools outreach event for Oxford and Cambridge admissions, managing college and corporate ticket/hospitality packages at Twickenham for the annual Varsity Rugby Matches, and supporting various other operational matters. Directly responsible for ticketing for up to approximately 3,000 people at each of the 2017, 2018 and 2019 events.Sadly curtailed owing to Covid-19.

Management and development of the CIVI database; provider of custom reports and information to support the Red Lion campaign fundraisers.

My main achievements in this role were:- co-managing a period of change during which the Schools Science Partnerships programme has undergone a transformation from a fluid to a defined programme where standards of reporting, bidding, structure, expectation, data-gathering, evaluation and network support have been formalised or introduced for the first time- continued expansion and development of the 'Teach Physics' internship programme so that it is now open to eligible undergraduates at all universities in Great Britain that offer physics courses; this yields approximately 60 interns per year of which (past figures indicate) about one quarter will go on to train as physics teachers- organising a widely-praised two-day conference for physics teachers and academics (approximately 100 delegates and an additional 30 speakers) to celebrate the Ogden Trust's 15th anniversary- I also came up with the logo strapline!These were my specific responsibilities:- co-manage the direction and administration of the Schools Science Partnerships programme and, through evaluation, develop a model for its longer-term success- assess funding bids, advise on revisions and make awards as appropriate- manage and develop all processes connected to the successful 'Teach Physics' internship programme from recruitment through to final payments, including building relationships with teachers- write copy for the Trust’s publications and oversee its online activity via its website and social media- organise events for teachers, academics and undergraduates (usually two per year)- oversee the office IT systems and website maintenance, and provide guidance and training for staff

My main achievement in this role was the creation of the Trust's alumni association in itself. This was a new concept and a new role and, tasked with providing current and former scholars with opportunities to enhance their knowledge, experience and career prospects, I created a programme of activities and assorted communications to engage the Trust's alumni in a way that had not been done before.Specifically, I set up and organised the following: - the 'Teach Physics' and the academic/commercial internships programmes, devising all methods of policy, recruitment, payment and administration; 'Teach Physics' was offered more widely than just to our alumni- 3-night trips for undergraduates and school-leavers to visit CERN/Geneva tourist attractions ; I put the itinerary together, made all necessary bookings and led three of these trips- social/networking events, such as a dinner, a lecture and a science communication workshop; managed student volunteers whom I invited to organise Freshers' Week alumni socials at their universities - regular e-newsletters, social media accounts, a blog-writing competition and coding/management of the database- an advisory alumni board and informal mentoringIn addition, I supervised the website redesign and coordinated significant improvements to the office IT equipment, software and procedures.

This was a personal project of mine that I was keen to undertake when my children were younger because of the benefits it would bring them (and me) in terms of regularly experiencing life in another country. Having conducted all the research myself into buying and selling in France, tax and inheritance laws and local regulations, I bought a property in northern Brittany and ran it as a holiday lets business when we were not staying there ourselves.I thought very carefully about the kind of holiday experience I wanted my guests to have and kitted the house out accordingly. I created the promotional material, information for guests, advertising, website copy and social media posts, and managed the bookings, finance, French and UK tax. I did some of the property maintenance myself and engaged local housekeepers, a gardener and tradesmen to work for me as necessary. Most of the time, everything ran smoothly, though I was rather unfortunate to suffer three burglaries , quite difficult to manage from afar. I certainly had not expected to become on quite so familiar terms with the local constabulary!After eight enjoyable and profitable years, I decided the time was right to sell it, a project in itself with limited time to clear the house and deal with legal matters. My visitors' book is a treasured reminder of that time and I am very pleased to have contributed so positively to so many other people's holidays.

My main achievement was rebuilding staff morale after a period of six months with no manager in place. I led a period of significant change, through which we sought to:1. move out of an overcrowded portacabin into a professional working space2. widen the appeal of the Trust by targeting a younger, family audience For the first, I project managed the conversion of a barn into a modern office with large kitchen/volunteer room. This included liaison with Trustees and contractors, internal refurbishment, upgrade of all IT systems and the purchase of a new CRM membership database (donorflex).The second was addressed through the creation of a programme of seasonal events that encouraged people, especially families, to visit the Trust's properties; the employment of two new education officers; and the creation of signed walks round the Cambridge farm punctuated by wildlife boards. These initiatives broadened awareness of the issues the Trust regarded as important, increased opportunities to raise funds and generated a demand from schools for classroom visits and on-site teaching.More specifically, in my role, I:- managed a team of eight part-time staff, delivered database training and conducted annual appraisals; advised and supported volunteer conservation groups- updated Trust policies and procedures to ensure compliance and adoption of best practice in relation to employment contract law, working conditions, health & safety directives, volunteer management, insurance and data protection- was central to the recruitment of a tenant for the Norfolk property, including assessment of the viability of the business proposal to generate an income for both the Trust and the tenant whilst meeting the Trust’s aims- contributed to the Trust’s magazine and extended the Surrey dairy farm’s calf adoption scheme- planned events, sourced contributors and led various children’s activities; delivered sessions to primary children as part of a crop-growing project

In accepting this position (to teach professional presentation, data analysis and database setup skills using MS-Office), I embarked on a significant period of self-development in a very short period of time. Specifically, this involved:- adapting my previous experience of delivering work-based training to adults into classroom teaching for 18 & 19-year-olds (for whom English was their second language) - learning MS-Access in a few weeks so I could teach it to Intermediate+ levelHaving mastered this, my most significant achievement was my contribution to a major redesign of the course content, its purpose and assessment. To deliver this, I devised my own course materials and created a set of standalone explanatory workbooks with exemplars in Word, Excel and Access, which I developed over a number of terms.In my Personal Tutor role, I provided students with guidance on their UCAS personal statements and supplied references.

Creating and distributing agendas, recording and preparing minutes and progressing action points, providing advice on official procedures

My main achievement here was co-managing (with a job share partner) the introduction of a new mechanism by which to staff the banking call centre so as to meet call-handling service standards. Resources and Planning Manager was a new role for which I was invited to apply after being identified as the 'database expert' during my brief term (nine months) as a Customer Services Officer. I had joined the bank in that position because it suited my personal circumstances after the birth of my first child. Joining the management team on a job share basis was ideal for me at the time. I coordinated the installation of a new call centre database (TCS), coded it for our purposes and trained another staff member in its use. My job share partner and I worked with its call volume and traffic pattern forecasts to advise on staff recruitment, to set shifts, to plan breaks and lunches and to manage annual leave (for approximately 200 people) on an annualised hours basis.In addition, we shared the line management of one member of staff, whom we coached and trained to deputise for us in our absence. We conducted her performance reviews and annual appraisal.

My first ‘proper’ job, this was career-defining because I discovered what I was good at and what I enjoyed. I had lots to learn; I had very little idea what a database was but I had used a ticketing system before and picked it up quickly, and I knew the industry through working in box offices as a student and my acting experience. It was a start.My main function was to install the (then) market-leading integrated ticketing, marketing & fundraising software (PASS & PASS2) in theatres and leisure venues, and train the venue staff in its use. Through this, I learned:- how relational databases work including custom report-writing- project management, negotiating and influencing skills: Training Specialists took ownership of the project after the sale directing it through planning meetings, hardware build, network cabling spec, design, delivery, installation, database setup, training, data transfer of live sales and ‘go live’ day, before handover to technical support- training delivery skills to customers at all levels of their organisations- how to think on my feet, adapt and be flexible: circumstances were frequently challenging, working with beta (sometimes even alpha) versions of software and to tight deadlines; hardware and software were less user-friendly and seemed more prone to error back then- technical support skills: isolating the problem, DOS, backups/restores, replacing motherboard components, QC testingI installed 30+ venues in the UK, including English National Opera, the Halle Orchestra and Royal Ascot Racecourse. In 1994, I spent two months in the USA training the trainers in the Syracuse head office and leading installations in Detroit, Boston, Tampa and Tupelo.After promotion, I trained and mentored other trainers and coordinated their schedules. I also devised and delivered short courses, conducted annual site maintenance visits (often paired with training), wrote training materials and delivered sessions at our annual conferences.

Ticket telephone sales for 12 of London's West End theatres; also assisted with training of new staff on computerised system.