Describe what you do day to day?
My role is to oversee the general wellbeing of the charity. As a result, I do a bit of everything. Sometimes I do project work, like seeing how well our projects are running, considering how else they might work. Another area I get involved in is finance – checking on our finances and the pipeline of project work. I get involved in fundraising for the charity, such as looking out for grants or contracts to fund existing or new projects. I also do a lot of external work, raising the profile of the charity and trying to influence decision makers about issues that affect our clients.
Fulfilling aspect of the role:
One of the main fulfilling aspects of the roles is when we get new pieces of work started. This is when we successfully get funding, following an application, and the work starts up as a new project. I like the sense of accomplishment from this, the sense of something new starting and how it manifests as a fresh line of work for the charity.
Challenges?
There is a lack of capacity in the core team and there is never enough resources for what the charity needs unfortunately. Trying to remedy this is tricky as it involves spending money.
Coming up?
I’m looking forward to our new project in Liverpool. The sexual health project is important work and we are intending to build upon our work there and to discover new opportunities in Liverpool in the next couple of years.