Oxford

CHARITY + SOCIAL ENTERPRISE
CHARITY + SOCIAL ENTERPRISE
DAISY BLAND
Charityworks Programme
Manager – Vanilla
Daisy studied Medieval
and Modern Languages
(French and Spanish) at
Lincoln College, 2008.
WHAT: I work for a small but
impactful social enterprise working
mainly on the operational delivery
of the Charityworks programme - a
collaborative graduate programme we
run in partnership with charities and
housing associations around the UK.
Together, we recruit, challenge, support,
develop and put to work some of the
brightest and best graduates in the country
- some of the non-profit sector’s futures
leaders.
This year we are working with 104
graduates across 60 organisations. My job
involves preparing for the next year’s intake
(collaborating and planning with partners to
shape the programme), leading recruitment
(shortlisting, interviewing & running
assessment centres), and delivering the
programme with partners, and includes
mentoring and advising 36 trainees who
are my direct responsibility. I’m also leading
on some more strategic work to develop the
programme, writing strategies and getting
buy-in from partners.
WHY: It’s fun, because the team I’m part
of is bright and funny and effective, and
because I feel like collectively, we are
making a difference to beneficiaries.
ALUMNI PROFILES
EARLY CAREER: I was clear when
I graduated that I wanted to do
something “good”, to “contribute to
society” in some vague way, but I didn’t
know what that would look like.
Like many of my peers, I found the
transition from education to work really
hard. Not having a clear direction
and, at times, not having a job
challenged my sense of identity and
self worth. I applied to lots of entry
level government jobs and charity
internships – I didn’t get onto any grad’
programme, but did find other stuff …
and I did three internships.
Two years after graduating, I
discovered Charityworks through a
friend. Within this programme I worked
for St Mungo’s and Community Trust
Housing, including work to support
homeless women. I also completed
an MSc in Neuroscience part-time
alongside that, and started my current
role in 2014.
CHARITY + SOCIAL ENTERPRISE
ALUMNI PROFILES
MASIE JENKINSON
Graduate Trainee: Programme
Delivery – Sanctuary Group
WHAT: The graduate scheme at
Sanctuary Group provides a great
opportunity to enter the not-for-profit
sector whilst being able to develop
transferable business skills. The
scheme consists of four six month
placements in various business areas.
You’ll be based in Worcester, where
the head office is located and all the
corporate services are based, including
HR, Finance, Marketing, and teams
that look at project management or
assurance (making sure everything’s
running as it should be). There’s also
the opportunity to get involved in
Sanctuary’s operations – these include
residential care homes for the elderly,
student accommodation, housing for
people with support needs and social
housing. Social housing is Sanctuary’s
core business and it means providing
housing at low rents for people on low
incomes. Sanctuary is a registered
charity, so any surplus is reinvested
back in to the business.
WHY: I have really enjoyed my time on
the graduate scheme. It’s been hugely
varied and I’ve been able to lead some
great projects, including a research piece
that looked at fair access to services in our
social housing business. I’ve been able
to travel around the country visiting sites,
meeting local teams and really getting
to grips with what the organisation is
all about. The graduate scheme is also
very well supported from a personal
development perspective, with an
extensive range of training opportunities
and clear progression throughout the
scheme in terms of responsibility. I am
also a qualified PRINCE2 Practitioner (a
project management certification) and I am
halfway through a CIMA (Chartered Institute
of Management Accountants) certificate.
So even though I’m not from a business
background (my degree was in Human
Sciences!) I’ve learned a lot that will support
me through my future career.
Masie studied Human
Sciences at Mansfield
College, 2013.
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