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Charity employment services manager: Andy

This Case Study belongs to Charity officer.

Andy graduated from Bristol University with a history degree and currently works as an employment services manager at the charity ‘Blind in Business’ helping young blind and partially-sighted students get into work through training and employment services.

I was always interested in the public sector but fell into this particular career. Government had always seemed to be the only choice for me. I didn’t know much about the world of charity and didn’t think people got paid well in it. When I took some time to investigate, I found that the potential freedom as well as the mixture of frontline and managerial jobs that could be offered really appealed to me.

I had been introduced to Blind in Business before working with them and ended up being approached to provide cover. That cover became permanent. From the experience, I learned to never underestimate the power of networks!

In order to get in and get on in the job, you need to be prepared to acknowledge what has been done before and build upon it. I would get nowhere in this job if I was continually going over old ground. Through my work, I have gained the ability to think outside the box - to find innovative answers to complex questions. I have also learnt how to get hold of information.

My degree was not really relevant in helping me secure my job. However, being a graduate has helped in that I originally came in to look after the development of graduates. Over the past two and half years, it has evolved to encompass younger people, universities and top employers.
My role is quite varied in that I work on a one-to-one basis with young people in addition to working with employers. I act as teacher and trainer. I have a hand in marketing and events management, and I also manage a team.

I particularly enjoy the variety of the work and the feeling that I am achieving things. I don’t do this job to line my pockets but to improve the lives of others and grow the charity. Things are not so enjoyable when the charity’s clientele struggle through hard times. It can mean the people I work with struggle in their development. These circumstances can often affect the people in the office who are working with them.

In the future, I would like to remain in the third sector, ideally in a role where I can combine management with front line work. Smaller charities seem to allow this more than larger ones. Running a charity or setting one up is also appealing, as is moving into diversity for a larger, private organisation.

Case Study sourced by Mary Goudge of Imperial College London, 07 April 2009.