James T.
About me
| James T. | |
| Social Policy and Social Work | |
| Applied Social Science | |
| Undergraduate | |
| Derwent | |
| 2008 | |
| United Kingdom |
My employment
| Operations Manager | |
| ISIS Education | |
| Tourism, leisure and hospitality | |
| 2011 |
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A day in the life of a Operations Manager in
My career history
I was Student Development & Charities Officer at YUSU for a Sabbatical Year which meant I oversaw all voluntary and charitable work by students at York including Student Action (YUSU Volunteering) and RAG as well as organising and running Kids Camp and Climb Kilimanjaro. I then worked as a full time volunteer for 9 months in East Scotland through a company called CSV. I was based in a High School Support for Learning Department, this was a great way to develop my skills and experience. I then moved to seasonal work, spending the following summer working at a language school in Edinburgh as an Activity Leader with ISIS (www.isisgroup.co.uk) and the winter at a ski resort as a Resort Child Care Manager with Esprit Ski (www.workaseason.com) and then the summer just gone with ISIS as an Activity Manager. From this summer I was offered my current role with ISIS but have spent 2 weeks volunteering with CCHF on week long camps for children from inner city London (www.cchfallaboutkids.co.uk).
Where I hope to be in 5 years
I hope to use my current job to set me up in London for the year. I plan to volunteer at youth centres during this time, and hope to find work in the Youth Service in London. I would like to take a Masters in Youth and Community Work so that I can become a professional Youth Worker.
My advice to students considering work
Don't panic about wanting to get a well paid, serious job straight after York as there will be many many people looking to do similar things. There are some great organisations you can gain experience through. Whilst you will not be making lots of money, you will be gaining the experience that it would take a couple of years' progression to get.
What I do
I oversee the year long adult learning centres' operations in terms of numbers, costings and any activity trips, and am also planning for the junior programmes which take place around the country in Easter and Summer. This involves arranging excursions, checking booking numbers and accomodation, quality checks on sites, and building relationships with service providers. During the programmes this will involve managing the onsite staff at four centres. Finally I am also helping the company create a new year round adult learning centre in Edinburgh.
Skills I use and how I developed them
Volunteering and running Kids' Camp whilst at York has been the most significant experience I have for most of the jobs I have had/applied for.
Extracurricular skills:
All the skills developed in the jobs I have done previously have been useful, particularly skills gained whilst at YUSU and CSV.
What I like most
There are many different challenges so no two days are the same, there is plenty of variety not just in terms of workload but also travel involved.
What I like least
What would I change? Everything I have done has added to my experience and skill base so I would not change anything.
Next steps...
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