Week notes takeover: Ade Adebowale – week beginning 24th August
John Hitchin was on leave last week so Ade Adebowale, Programme Manager takes on week notes.
This past week has been unusual as it’s the first time I’ve had half of my very small team off for a whole week. It’s required a lot of flex’ in the way I’ve managed the programme. Luckily, I have a fantastic Team Leader supporting me, so it has not been too difficult.
(Mostly) working from home
I’m actually back working from the office one day a week and I’m so pleased we are once again able to provide a (distanced) face-to-face service for our customers!
I’ve found working from home can reveal how much work you are doing (a lot more than you think), but this week is different. I’ve felt I should be doing more because I have a team member on leave. But the beauty of the way we work now is that flexibility and agility are more prominent in my toolkit for coping with the multitude of things a Renaisi Programme Manager does on a daily basis.
The joys of juggling
I have spent much of the week dealing with a potential safeguarding issue for one of our employment programme customers – ensuring they have received our full support and helping them feel more secure in their current circumstance. It’s vital that our customers feel we are there for them in a meaningful way, especially during the current climate. I am glad we have been able to provide some measure of calm to their situation.
I’ve also been working with colleagues to shortlist some very exciting candidates for our Partnerships Coordinator role. It’s a role that will further strengthen our reach in the communities we serve and I am quietly excited about the people we have shortlisted.
I’ve been discussing ideas with our IT department on more efficient and effective ways we can communicate with our clients through digital platforms.
Finally, and as usual, I’ve been following up with local and national employers about job opportunities, apprenticeships and other training offers for our customers.
The week ahead
Next week, I’m looking forward to working with our Partnerships Manager to interview the Partnerships Coordinator candidates and hope to find some real gems to join our team. I’ll also be liaising with our Southwark Works project network coordinator and the British Land Registry about jobs arising from their ongoing construction works in the local area. The British Land Registry were one of the employers that took part in the excellent virtual jobs fair we recently held for Southwark-based jobseekers.
I’m looking forward to the week ahead and hope to strike some powerful blows against the continued employability challenges the COVID 19 pandemic is creating for our clients (much like Povetkin again Whyte last weekend… sorry, couldn’t resist!).
Onwards and upwards, wishing you all a fantastic week too!
