Hayley .

In 5 years I have worked with senior leaders, in briefing and comm's

I moved from the hospitality industry 5 years ago in search of a job with better career prospects and progression. I started with HMRC as a business admin apprentice, quickly moved to being an Executive Assistant to a senior leader, and then running a Private Office for a Director, co-ordinating work and gaining a high-level view of HMRC priorities. I spent a year on loan to Cabinet Office, working on a team leading on one of the countries top priorities, briefing and advising senior leaders and drafting correspondence on behalf of ministers, which I enjoyed hugely. Returning to HMRC, I now work in an Ops team supporting the user centred design professions. My main focus is internal and external comm's to spread the word about ways of working, progression of the professions and our successes.

I work on communications for the user centred design professions.

I am part of an operations team that supports the product and user centred design community in HMRC. My focus is internal and external communications for the community, also organising community events for learning, development and networking.

An open and collaborative culture & people passionate about their work

Working alongside people who are passionate about the positive change that user centred design provides is hugely inspiring. There is a huge mix of working styles, across a range of tools and people work flexibly with each other to achieve the right results. The team ethos is supportive and open-minded to new ideas and ways of working.

Don't be afraid to bring a unique perspective - it will be valued

You will bring a unique perspective to a role as your experience will have been different from that of others. Don't be afraid to bring that to the fore, it is what makes you, you and brings a valuable contribution to a team. I wish I'd thought this more when I first joined the Civil Service!

Being part of the team leading on the Governments response to Covid-19