Aimee Sykes: BA (Hons) English & History

Full Name: Aimee Sykes
Graduation Year: 2008
Course Studied: English and History
Job Title: Business Change Manager
Employer/Organisation Name: University of the West of England

What are you doing now you have graduated from the University of Lincoln?: I work as part of the Business Change team at the University of the West of England (UWE Bristol). I thrive on the excitement that comes from change projects – I like to be busy, and love a challenge, particularly the challenges that come from shaping new ways of working. My role brings a wide range of variety, as I’m involved in multiple projects at once, sometimes implementing new technologies, and other times facilitating new ways of working such as our Target Operating Model. My responsibilities include leading on communication and engagement activities, managing communication plans, and facilitating workshops for example.

In addition to my work, I have also held a number of voluntary roles over the last few years, such as writing career focused articles for the City Girl Network, which led to them creating a Careers section of their online magazine. Previous topics covered included volunteering, mentoring, networking, social media and work and career hacks. I was a trustee for Jacari, an educational charity which supports the language skills and academic development of refugee children. I was recruited to assist with the longer term Bristol expansion strategy, due to my experience in strategic projects. In addition I served as the communications and engagement expert on the board. Like any trustee role, this involved strategic decision making and planning on behalf of the charity, alongside my fellow trustees. I contributed directly to: • Long term strategic planning • Crisis response, in relation to managing operations during Covid-19 • Decisions on recruitment approaches, job descriptions, and the implementation of salary scales and grade points.

I also coordinated UWE Bristol’s Women’s Forum, which is one of the staff networks. This involved forging partnerships, and both launching and managing social media accounts in order to create a community feel within the forum. I was a point of contact for the Forum, liaising with internal and external stakeholders, representing the Forum at internal and external events, and I planned monthly events for members with a variety of speakers, and marketed these events to the community. I also sought to collaborate with external partners. The most successful partnership was with the Red Box Project, which saw UWE Bristol set up as with collection points across our campuses. I also managed the fund-raising aspect of our recent Welcome Lunch where our chosen charity was Jo’s Cervical Cancer Trust. I worked hard to make our network more inclusive to staff members across campuses, and held drop in sessions across sites. I sought to make better use of technology to allow video conferencing into meetings and talks to be filmed and available to members online, thus boosting engagement with members at our satellite campuses.

Additionally I founded our Aurora Alumnae Network as an offshoot of the Forum, as an opportunity for colleagues who had completed the Aurora development programme to connect. Due to the activities listed above our membership has increased, and attendance at meetings has almost tripled. I also undertook the role of Head of Communications and Engagement for the Women’s Higher Education Network (WHEN). During my tenure with WHEN I led strategic communication activities for the organisation on a national level. I was able to increase WHEN’s LinkedIn following by 521% and their Twitter following by 195%. During this time membership also increased by 196% and subscribers increased by 189%. Additionally we were able to begin institutional partnerships with a large number of UK Higher Education Institutes, enabling WHEN to implement their strategic aims and advance gender equality across the sector. I successfully raised WHEN’s profile on a national level, building partnerships with key HE news providers, leading to national publications. I recruited a team of volunteers, working remotely across the UK, to manage social media activities and event promotion, as well as promoting the organisation within their own institutions. During this time WHEN hosted their first online conference, allowing greater accessibility to women from across the UK, and around the globe.

Due to the achievements listed above I have received the following awards:

• Featured in HERoes Women Future Leaders 2021 list. This global list recognises 100 inspirational women who are not yet senior leaders in an organisation but are making a significant contribution to gender diversity at work.

• Placed at number 20 on HERoes Women Future Leaders 2020 list.

• Named on the Northern Power Women Future’s List 2020; recognising future leaders, influencers and change makers already making a difference in their communities.

• Named as a #BadassGal in January 2020. The Badass Gal project, funded by the Young Creative Council, celebrates young female creatives that are go above & beyond.

• We Are the City Rising Star in Education and Academia awarded in July 2019

Before working at UWE I worked in, and managed both prison and public libraries for a number of years. I also worked as a Library Development Officer on the Community Hub project, taking responsibility for the management of ten branches, and facilitating their transition to volunteer run community hubs. Lincolnshire County Council were one of the first local authorities to implement such a wide scale change to library service delivery. I enjoyed working on this project as it gave me the opportunity to design and deliver training, and work with communities to design policies and procedures and shape community hubs to best support their local communities. During this time I was awarded the Outstanding Contribution to Service Award.

How did your time at the University of Lincoln support your career?: I think my time at university established my work ethic, and my ability to work independently, being self-sufficient has served me well throughout my career. I am proactive, and a thrive in a fast paced busy environment, and often take on additional responsibilities as a means of challenging myself further. Additionally, my studies have developed a life-long interest in learning and self-improvement, that have meant I am always seeking new opportunities to learn.

What are the best parts of your job?: I’ve led on several initiatives aimed at improving the lived experience of colleagues, including the Student Journey Directorate Staff Forums and the Random Coffee Scheme. I also managed two high profile crisis response projects throughout the pandemic. The first project involved setting up a virtual environment for students to communicate and engage with their cohort remote, supporting their transition to university life and remote learning. The second project was to set up and manage the Covid Support Line, to support staff and students who were self-isolating. Both projects required business continuity planning, process mapping, process improvement, creation of guidance and training delivery, combined with the remote management of between 6 and 12 staff. All of these have been extremely rewarding as I’ve been able to deliver a real impact for our staff or students.

What inspired you to study at the University of Lincoln (or one of its predecessor institutions)?: I was keen to study at a local institution, and welcomed the opportunity to be able to combine the two courses I studied – this combination of courses was not feasible at competitor institutions.

What was your favourite thing about being a student at the University of Lincoln (or one of its predecessor institutions)?: For me I enjoyed it being a city centre institution, at the heart of the local community.

What would you say to a prospective student thinking of applying to the University of Lincoln?: It’s a fantastic place to study, giving the city experience on a smaller scale. There are plenty of opportunities to engage with the local community, in a variety of ways which may just boost your CV in the process.

If you could give our current students any top tip for after graduation and their careers, what would it be?: Start early and volunteer/take on internships. Be aware that your degree builds a whole host of transferrable skills – just because you might not have direct experience in that field/industry doesn’t mean you can’t apply for those roles. Don’t be afraid to challenge yourself and try something new. Build your network. Seek out a mentor, or multiple mentors.