Started clearing tables and ended up a Senior Project Manager
During my years at sixth form I had a part time job working in a supermarket restaurant, so until I got my first full time job in the civil service I increased
to full time in the restaurant clearing tables, serving food and cleaning an enormous amounts of dishes. It was a huge change when I got my first job in the civil service as an Administrative Assistant, sorting out Medical Appeal Claims in DWP. I then moved to work with National Insurance where after becoming an expert in the role and offering support and training to others I got my first promotion. Since then I have been promoted 5 times, and have met amazing people over the years, had challenging but extremely rewarding roles in both Operational jobs such as sorting out National Insurance accounts and managing Statutory Payments Teams and in the world of Projects on National Insurance Credits, Income Tax, Student Loans and now within our biggest property transformation programme within Estates which has seen me be part of the opening of our new HMRC offices across the country and ensuring the move for thousands of people goes as smoothly as possible.
I Project Manage from build to opening & moving into our new buildings
I joined the Estates Transformation Programme 6 years ago and have been privileged to be able to work in a number of roles within this programme, from working in the Programme Management Office, to being a Project Manager on the front line of the Delivery, leading a Team to make sure our buildings are opened on time and our people moves are as seamless as possible. I love this work as I can really see that it makes a difference to the people that work in HMRC by giving them modern, flexible environments to work in, there is nothing better than when you speak to people in the new buildings and they are buzzing about where they now work and how great the facilities are - it really makes me feel like I have made a difference.
Doing what I do really makes a difference for my colleagues in HMRC
Part of my Project Teams remit is to make sure that I understand the needs of our people working in our buildings, so not only have I got to understand the type of work that is done to make sure the right type of rooms are built or furniture and equipment is provided, I also need to understand individual needs. Our buildings are modern and very inclusive providing lots of different features to make it accessible to most people. However we also look to make things easier where we can for colleagues with specific needs, such as space for guide dogs, larger monitors or different types of chairs or desks. Knowing that I can help to make someone time at work easier and therefore making a difference to them shows me I add value with the job I do.
Remember what you do, makes a difference, no matter how small
No matter what job I've done over the years there has always been people impacted by it. Whether I was sorting out a customers Tax, National Insurance record, developing new IT systems, or delivering new policies or even opening new buildings its people that have been affected at the end of it. Its easy to forget when wrapped up in the day to day activities of your job, that I have made life better for a huge amount of people over the years but in tiny bite size chunks
My part in the Opening of new buildings across the HMRC Estate
For the last 6 years, I've been part of HMRC Locations Programme, which is reducing from 170+ Offices across the country to 13 main Regional Centres and a number of smaller specialist and transitional sites. This has saved Government a huge amount of money but also provided great places to work for my colleagues. My early part in this was in the Programme Management Office (PMO) where I had to set up the governance processes to make sure we could track progress to time, cost and quality. This was very challenging at times as their was pressure on deadlines, papers to ministers, internal and external assurance activity but definitely worth it as the hard work has stood the test of time with the governance still in place today. I have learnt so much about myself in this time, what my strength are, where I need to focus learning etc.
3 years ago I switched from PMO and returned to a Project Management role leading on 3 buildings; 2 of which, I had to deliver during a pandemic, which brought about so many challenges, from supply chains to people not being able to visit sites, but by remaining calm, upskilling on digital tools, and having a great team around me I succeeded in opening 2 great places to work. I have also just opened Nottingham RC which I am extremely proud of
