Project managing Impact’s Social Inclusion work...

I have been working at Impact since February 2007 and still can’t really believe my luck. I have been given a job that inspires me as well as the opportunity to be a part of an organisation that I really feel has the opportunity to make a real difference to the planet. This is the most motivated  I have been about a new job since I began my working life.  I have a clear remit as well as a direction and purpose that  makes me want to get up in the morning. I worked for Impact eight years ago for a short time and I left because my heart was really in the development of young people as opposed to corporate employees so I reluctantly left this vibrant company and moved to work in the voluntary sector. I have to say that I felt instantly at home working for a charity and spending my time either working face to face with difficult young people or training others to work with them. I was given a number of great jobs to do and soon found myself in the management team where the I was able to view the charity from a different perspective.

Throughout my time working for this charity I had stayed in touch with Impact and what was happening there and gradually the message began to ring out that Impact were moving in a new and exciting direction, and the staff were being inspired by talk of creating and leading Sustainable Enterprises. I was already working for what I considered to be a sustainable enterprise but my sphere of influence was relatively small. I was affecting a number of young people on a daily basis but I couldn’t see how to play a part on a bigger stage. Impact started to interest me more and after some making some difficult decisions  I took the plunge and made the move.

My job is to project manage Impact’s Social Inclusion work. This is the work we do to support those people  who face significant barriers to gaining and sustaining employment. Social Inclusion work is an integral part of Impact’s past and present and I am lucky enough to be able to bring a different perspective and my experience working for the voluntary sector to this role.  I have also been given this wonderful job with flexible hours that allow me to spend quality time with my two small children and Impact’s willingness to give jobs of this type with such favourable hours for working mothers is a credit to them.  It certainly breeds a willingness on my part to deliver the goods!

So far I have had an intensive induction and opportunities to grow and develop whilst looking out the window at the beautiful Lake District...long may it last!


A taster of the Social Inclusion work we do:
 
·     We are in the process of setting up a Social Enterprise (a business that trades for a social purpose) in the Lake District. This business will provide supported employment to those most in need.
 
·     We work with NEET (Not in Education Employment or Training)young people in South Liverpool  who are struggling to stay in their work placements. These young people require a different kind of targeted support in order to become more interdependent.
 
·     We work with people on incapacity benefit, some of the most difficult people to reach out to, to engage them onto further developmental programmes available in their locality.
 
·     We work with lone parents developing their confidence to face the workplace again, or for the first time.
 
We are in the process of developing an 10 month long inspirational leadership programme that links young adults, who have influence within their communities, with aspiring leaders within the corporate sector for the benefit of both parties and the local community.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

When I have time away from work I love to spend time cycling, walking or skiing, preferably without my children but doing those activities with them is nearly as good!