For over 250 years the RSA has been a cradle of enlightenment thinking and a force for social progress. The RSA’s approach is multi-disciplinary, politically independent and combines cutting edge research and policy development with practical action. The RSA’s work is supported by a 27,000 strong Fellowship.
So what's your background?I started out in finance admin. When a membership job role came up the RSA I jumped at the chance of working for a charity, especially one with so much history!
How long have you worked at your current organisation for?I have worked at the RSA for five and a half years, originally joining as a membership finance administrator. From the beginning, I started helping out in the RSA membership events series. This gradually became a larger role as membership engagement became a more important focus for the team and RSA as a whole, and I moved into a position that involves working in both events and communications for our Fellowship.
What was your first charity job? And your first communications role? My first charity role was working with Refugee Action in Southampton. It was a contract role and quite junior but I loved (and still do) working with an organisation that puts people at the heart of what they do. My current role at RSA is my first communications role.
What do you actually do on a daily basis?My job is so varied, so, as the saying goes, each day is different. My main tasks involve working and communicating with our members, engaging them in our activities. I am the editor for the Fellowship newsletter, which goes out every fortnight, so a fair proportion of my time is spent on that, collating information, including speaking to Fellows who will appear in the Fellows profile in the newsletter. I run the RSA’s new Fellows evenings here at the House, so I have to organise and oversee the events. I am also the main contact for the Social Entrepreneurs network at the RSA. This is a network for Fellows working in social enterprise, to share and learn from one another’s experiences.
What's been your biggest achievement in this role so far? The launch of the Social Enterprise Spotlight project, a case study of eight social entrepreneurs (and Fellows) from the RSA’s Social Entrepreneurs network. This was a large project and a complicated task to pull together but the event was very successful and enjoyable in the end.
What are the most challenging parts of your role?Definitely not having enough hours in the day!
What do you enjoy most about your job?I really enjoy getting to work with so many inspiring people and having the freedom to work on any subject or network if the call is there.
Anything you don't enjoy?Probably the fact that there are not enough hours in the day again! Sometimes things have to pass you by which can be a real shame.
What kind of personality is best suited to working in a job like yours?You need patience and the ability to work with a variety of different people. You also need to be a self-starter and spot any potential exciting opportunities which come along. Multi-tasking is also a big help!
Any top tips for people wanting to follow in your footsteps?
Enthusiasm is key I think, and showing how and why you fit within the organisation.