I joined the Mumbai Mobile Creches English volunteer team after moving with my family to Mumbai in October 2013. As an accompanying spouse, visa restrictions prohibited me from undertaking paid employment, therefore I worked as a volunteer for this local, well-known charity. MMC build day care centres on construction sites, in order to provide educational, nutritional and medical facilities for migrant children, who live on the sites with their parents. With a small team… Show more I joined the Mumbai Mobile Creches English volunteer team after moving with my family to Mumbai in October 2013. As an accompanying spouse, visa restrictions prohibited me from undertaking paid employment, therefore I worked as a volunteer for this local, well-known charity. MMC build day care centres on construction sites, in order to provide educational, nutritional and medical facilities for migrant children, who live on the sites with their parents. With a small team of 6 expat women, I worked with groups of up to 30 children, aged between 7 and 13. We taught basic English and mathematical skills, mainly through song and play. The majority of the children and local crèche staff were non-English speakers and I was unable to speak Marathi or Hindi, however I was able to establish strong relationships, convey instructions, and built confidence in the students, through non-verbal gestures, demonstration, and repetition. I also helped lead lessons and led small group writing and reading workshops for the more advanced students. Respectively, my resilience and sense of humour helped me cope with the more challenging elements, namely witnessing the consequences of extreme poverty and malnutrition first hand, and keeping the sessions fun and engaging, despite the intense heat and humidity. Show less

I was the Secretary to the PTA for one academic year from my arrival with my family in Mumbai in August 2014.During this time and until I left Mumbai, I was also a Parent Ambassador to the school which meant I was a key liaison for families relocating to Mumbai with children attending the school. The school had over 800 students aged between 3 and 18, and as such, I was responsible for helping new parents find their feet with the processes and systems of the school, as well as help and… Show more I was the Secretary to the PTA for one academic year from my arrival with my family in Mumbai in August 2014.During this time and until I left Mumbai, I was also a Parent Ambassador to the school which meant I was a key liaison for families relocating to Mumbai with children attending the school. The school had over 800 students aged between 3 and 18, and as such, I was responsible for helping new parents find their feet with the processes and systems of the school, as well as help and advise on other matters relating to their move to the area. Show less

After completing my PhD, I became module leader for both undergraduate and master's level courses, focusing on my areas of specialism which were sociology of religion, religion and politics, and social theory. I was responsible for writing and effectively delivering hour long lectures, leading seminar sessions, holding essay tutorials, and marking end of module assignments.Excellent time management was essential to the successful performance of these roles, as was an ability to… Show more After completing my PhD, I became module leader for both undergraduate and master's level courses, focusing on my areas of specialism which were sociology of religion, religion and politics, and social theory. I was responsible for writing and effectively delivering hour long lectures, leading seminar sessions, holding essay tutorials, and marking end of module assignments.Excellent time management was essential to the successful performance of these roles, as was an ability to complete a range of administrative duties, including conducting student satisfaction surveys and producing end of module reports. Show less

Throughout my postgraduate studies, I worked as a Seminar Tutor. This involved instructing groups of up to 20 undergraduate students, leading and facilitating their discussions and helping them understand and interpret complex academic texts. The role required excellent communication and presentation skills: I had to be confident and succinct, apply my analytical and critical thinking skills to extract the salient points, be able to answer a range of complex questions, recalling… Show more Throughout my postgraduate studies, I worked as a Seminar Tutor. This involved instructing groups of up to 20 undergraduate students, leading and facilitating their discussions and helping them understand and interpret complex academic texts. The role required excellent communication and presentation skills: I had to be confident and succinct, apply my analytical and critical thinking skills to extract the salient points, be able to answer a range of complex questions, recalling quotes, names and dates without time to prepare, and employ interpersonal skills to ensure everyone actively participated. When needed, I also delivered hour-long lectures to the full cohort of up to 70 students. I also acted as an Essay Tutor which involved one-to-one meetings with students, giving guidance and feedback in order to improve their essay writing and project management skills. In addition, I was first marker for the end of module assessment (6,000-word essays) which demanded a keen eye for detail, both in terms of grammar and checking for plagiarism. It also honed my ability to work to tight deadlines as I had a short window to perform this task with sample scripts needing to be passed to second markers and external examiners for standardisation. Show less

Working for a busy research centre, I acted as personal assistant to the director and provided clerical and secretarial support to the deputy director and research team. This varied role enabled me to develop a broad range of skills including:- secretarial, - clerical, - administrative, - and interpersonal skills. General daily duties included: - diary management,- composing agendas and minutes for both Executive Committee meetings and Advisory… Show more Working for a busy research centre, I acted as personal assistant to the director and provided clerical and secretarial support to the deputy director and research team. This varied role enabled me to develop a broad range of skills including:- secretarial, - clerical, - administrative, - and interpersonal skills. General daily duties included: - diary management,- composing agendas and minutes for both Executive Committee meetings and Advisory Group meetings,- letters and memos,- answering email / telephone inquiries,- handling petty cash, - designing and managing Access databases and Excel spreadsheets,- producing Powerpoint presentations,- and authoring and maintaining the Centre’s Website.I successfully organised a number of profitable conferences (from advertising the event, to designing and producing the flyers, posters and programmes, to arranging flights and accommodation for speakers and delegates, including acting as registrar and host on the day of the event). I also assisted in the costing for a number of high-value research bids, transcribed research interviews, assisted in the dissemination of the research findings, and acted as editor / proof-reader for the centre’s working paper series and set up an Amazon affiliation relationship to generate income for the publications sold. Show less