portfolio careers

Funke Abimbola’s Portfolio Career – the sequel part 1

February 13, 2017 By // by Rachel Brushfield

This is a 2 part guest blog for Energise by Funke Abimbola about her portfolio career. This is part 1.

Funke Abimbola is a multi-award winning Lawyer/TEDx Speaker/TV contributor/Diversity Leader/Patron/Board member and proud mother. She is currently General Counsel and Head of Financial Compliance at Roche UK.

What headline summed up last year, 2016 for you?

The year I said “yes” to (almost) everything.

What has changed in the last 12 months?

Within my career as a senior lawyer and leader for Roche, I was promoted to General Counsel & Company Secretary in December 2015. My key priority during 2016 was to develop into my new role. Two other members of my team were also promoted at the end of 2015. As a team, we have been involved in a number of core initiatives across the UK & Ireland pharmaceutical business and have developed together, making best use of our strengths as a team and learning from our mistakes and other areas for improvement. I am so proud to have seen my team receive recognition through a range of awards programmes including the Legal Business Awards, the Lawyer Awards, the British Legal Awards, the Law Society Excellence Awards and the Global Equality & Diversity Awards. In addition, 2 members of my team have won individual awards for their outstanding work, a source of tremendous pride for me. I thrive on seeing my team members flourishing and maximising their potential.

Also within Roche, I was filmed for our employee pride video called ‘Everybody In’, sharing my perspective on why I am so proud to work for Roche. The diversity within our UK organisation is very proudly showcased throughout the video. I was part of a small team of colleagues working on producing a report highlighting the overall impact of our organisation in the UK, including the impact of our diverse talent pool. The report was successfully launched earlier this year.

My voluntary diversity work went from strength to strength in 2016 as my influence broadened and became more widely recognised. Roche recognised me as a ‘Volunteer Superhero’ early in 2016, commending me for the impact of all my voluntary diversity and inclusion work. I now partner with the organisation’s global head of diversity and inclusion, providing my insights and guidance on our global D&I strategy.

I successfully launched the Akindolie Medical Scholarship in April in memory of my father, Dr. Frank Akindolie, a gifted, German-trained doctor who died over 4 years ago. The scholarship is privately funded and is aimed at supporting UK BAME medical students, comprising both a bursary award and leadership mentoring. My family and I were able to award the inaugural scholarship to an exceptional medical student at the British Medical Association in September.

I have continued to support the Law Society’s diversity agenda by providing keynote speeches at several Women Lawyers Division and Ethnic Minority Lawyers Division events, together with providing mentoring and networking support. I have partnered with the current Law Society president to further the race agenda amongst all practising solicitors in England and Wales.

I have been appointed as Patron of BAME and other philanthropic initiatives this year – Power Up, an initiative focused on upskilling and empowering BAME professionals, the Interlaw Diversity BAME Forum, with a focus on BAME lawyers and the Asian Voice Charity Awards. I was appointed as the first ever patron of UCLU’s Leadership and Management Society, the fastest growing society at UCLU and the only one devoted to leadership development. In August, I agreed to become Ambassador for the Precious Awards, supporting and recognising women of colour.

Throughout 2016, I spoke to and inspired over 2,000 school children, sharing my personal leadership journey with them and encouraging them to overcome challenges to maximise their potential. Following each talk, I followed up with those students who were interested in work experience and tapped into my network to secure opportunities for them. I also spoke in Parliament, at the Open University, within a number of corporates and at several law firms, all with the same consistent message that embracing diversity and inclusion is not only the right thing to do but makes good business sense and helps organisations to maintain their competitive edge. I was privileged to be one of the keynote speakers at the National Diversity Awards reunion event in February, having won the Gender Role Model award in 2015.

In June, I spoke at my first TEDx event sharing my personal story of overcoming various challenges. I was an expert contributor to David Lammy MP’s review into the criminal justice system and have also provided expert advice to the Ministry of Justice on a number of issues.

I became a Senior Advisory Board Member of Aspiring Solicitors, the UK’s largest diversity platform and resource within the legal profession and will be mentoring female BAME future lawyers going forwards. I was appointed as an advisory board member of Women in Law London, the largest network for pre-partnership women solicitors working in private practice and in-house. By providing strategic input and vision to the network, I am contributing towards extending the network’s influence and impact.

I held the first leadership conference for my own women’s network, Women Leaders in Life Sciences Law, in September 2016. The theme of the conference was ‘Letting down ladders’ and the conference was a huge success with many delegates flying in from overseas and demand already high for our 2017 conference.

I was privileged to have judged a number of award programmes in 2016 and was recognised through a range of award programmes myself including Divas of Colour, Women4Africa, We are the City, Women of the Future, European Diversity Awards, Lift Effects and CA Awards. It was a real highlight of the year to be awarded ‘Point of Light’ status by Prime Minister, Theresa May, recognising the impact of my voluntary diversity work in improving workplace diversity across the UK and in inspiring thousands of school children. Incredibly, I am now on the Prime Minister’s Christmas card list too!

My leadership and legal expertise were also recognised on 3 powerlists in 2016 – the UPStanding powerlist (ranked as being a top 20 BAME leader globally), Powerful Media’s Powerlist (top 100 leader of African/Afro-Caribbean descent in the UK) and Legal Business magazine’s GC Powerlist 2016 (top general counsel within the life sciences/healthcare sector).

I have been interviewed by several magazines and media outlets including the Law Society Gazette, The Guardian and the International Bar Association. Following an interview with BBC journalist Sally Bundock, I was invited to be a part of the BBC’s team of volunteer expert news reviewers and now regularly appear on BBC 1 discussing a range of world news topics.

I also took part in the Law Society’s ‘Solicitor Brand’ media campaign and was filmed for this campaign, sharing my personal story about how and why I became a solicitor and what being a solicitor means to me.

Funke’s LinkedIn profile:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/funkeabimbola

Follow Funke on Twitter @DiversityChamp1

https://twitter.com/diversitychamp1

Interested in a portfolio career? Download your free report Discover Portfolio Careers:

https://www.inspiringportfoliocareers.com/who-has-portfolio-careers/

https://twitter.com/talentliberator

Big or small career change?

January 1, 2017 By // by Rachel Brushfield

Happy New Year!

Career change can feel very daunting and ‘all or nothing’, which is especially challenging at times of uncertainty.

At a time of slow economic growth, combined with the rising cost of living, but salaries not keeping up, is making a career change a good idea or not?

There are many types of career change, from evolutionary to revolutionary, internal and external. It doesn’t have to be a big change e.g. completely changing career direction or leaving the security of a full time job.

Here are 30 different types of ‘career change’:

Changing your attitude to your current job
Job-redesign – staying with your current employer but doing a different role
Studying for a further qualification to increase your long-term career prospects (your employer funds or you fund yourself)
Taking on additional responsibility at work to build visibility, gain new experience and skills and pave the way for a future promotion internally or externally
Volunteering to be a mentor to develop new skills and help others
Getting involved in your employer’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programme to make a difference, broaden your network and increase your own career fulfilment
Setting up a business
Evolving a current business in a different direction
A career breakthrough e.g. getting a pay rise, promotion or new job
Moving from full time employment to interim or freelance work
Changing from the private sector to work in the public sector
Moving from private practice to in-house
Creating a portfolio career – a career with multiple work strands
Changing career direction completely
Securing a more junior role for less stress and better work life balance, rather than a senior role
Creating an ‘encore’ career pre-retirement
Getting on the right career path as a graduate
Switching careers without training
Returning as a Returner post maternity leave back into employment
Returning into employment having taken a career break to travel
Evolving your career to have more meaning and fulfilment
Creating a business from a natural gift or hobby
Achieving a dream job
From redundancy/gardening leave into a new job
A career secondment internally
A career secondment externally
Taking a career sabbatical to take stock and rethink what next
Moving from full time employment to part time employment
Moving from full time employment to a part time job plus freelance work
Moving from a full-time job to a full-time job plus a non-executive director position

What other career changes can you think of? What’s your career goal in 2017 and how can we help?

Here are some examples of clients we have worked with and how a career change does not have to be big and scary.

TH negotiated to stay with their current employer but from a full time 5 day a week job to a permanent contract working 4 days a week, freeing them up to develop their future portfolio career.

DW decided to improve their career fulfilment by staying with their employer working 4 days a week and using the fifth working day each week being a trustee for a couple of charities that meant a lot to them.

NW achieved a full-time role working at a less senior level saying no the high level salary and bonus plus stresses and responsibilities of a director level position, and gaining better work life balance and doing the work they enjoyed at a more junior level role.

Having already made one successful career transition with our support from working as an engineer for British Gas to working on oil rigs, DM got in touch as they had to re-think their career direction as a result of the fall in oil prices and reduced use of contractors. Result? They have found a new engineering role on land near to their home with their employer funding a qualification which will enhance their career prospects and options longer term.

EM’s employer was merging with a much larger company giving them a forced career crossroads and a culture that did not appeal to them. They decided with our coaching support to accept a full-time job with a different employer, without the responsibility of managing a department, a new role at a reduced salary but with the stimulation of lots of learning, something that was very appealing to them.

What career change are you seeking and how can we help?

What next?

Why not download one of our free reports?

Pain free career change:

https://www.inspiringportfoliocareers.com/talent-liberation/

Find out your transferrable skills

https://www.inspiringportfoliocareers.com/what-is-a-portfolio-career/

Discover portfolio careers

https://www.inspiringportfoliocareers.com/who-has-portfolio-careers/

Read what our clients think about our services:

https://www.inspiringportfoliocareers.com/testimonials/

Nicola Manning’s portfolio career – part 1 of 2

September 29, 2016 By // by Rachel Brushfield

nicola-manning

This is part 1 of a 2 part guest blog by Nicola Manning about her portfolio career. This is part 1.

What are the components of your portfolio career e.g. study, paid freelance work, part time job, volunteering etc.)

I work two days per week as Chargé d’affaires (an ambassadorial and project specific role) for busy and successful law firm McMillan Williams Solicitors Limited (I was formerly its Chief Professional Officer and Head of Risk and Compliance for 12 years). Within my work for MWSL I also sit on the Law Society Council; the Society’s Legal Affairs and Policy Board, and its Equality Diversity and Inclusion Committee so am actively involved in professional strategy and policy on a number of levels. I am currently in my second (of 4 year terms) term of office as a Council member.

I’ve been the appointed Court of Protection/Office for the Public Guardian Deputy to over 100 patients who are unable to manage their own affairs for the past 7 years. I am currently working with a care provider to look at rolling out a nationwide package of financial and estate planning in-house.

I also work with legal risk and compliance and PII companies on a consultancy basis ad hoc, to assist practices to get prepared for Lexcel accreditation and also to give advice about enhancing their diversity and CSR practices to maximise business development opportunities.

I am the CEO and majority shareholder of a trading company in Ghana, West Africa, trading in our own leading brands of sanitary towels and nappies which are imported from China to Africa. Within that role, I am also involved in a charitable project with Breast Care International in Ghana, to whom my company donates funds, and we are working with BCI to raise further funds to provide for all secondary school pupils (male and female) to be educated to raise awareness and bust (pardon the pun) cultural myths about breast cancer to break the country’s cycle of fear and ignorance across an entire generation.

I am actively looking to expand our trading to other African territories and also looking at some environmental based projects in Africa and in UK.

I am a Founder member and Court Assistant at the Guild of Entrepreneurs, one of the City of London’s newest Guilds and an aspirant Livery company. The Guild Court is equivalent to its Board of Directors and I am actively involved in its Education and Outreach, and Membership committees. This is a volunteer role.

I am currently working on several potential new business projects through my interaction with the Guild. I love joining things and people up!

I am a dual- qualified Usui Rei-ki and Karuna ® Rei-ki practitioner and a Master Teacher in both, qualified to attune others and to run courses to bring this wonderful healing energy to the attention of interested others. I am also a qualified Munay-Ki practitioner and teacher (this is another form of energy healing) and I work with crystals for healing purposes as well.

I am a licensed psychometric analyst (Success Dynamics, Level 1)

How did your portfolio career come about?

After 12 years at the compliance and management coalface within MW, and having been forced to make a decision in 2011 (on the sudden death of my ex partner abroad and a threat from a third party to take illegal control of my company) to go back and fight to keep it, once I had it back in 2012, I then decided over the next 12 months, to devote more time to running it and exploring other business opportunities arising, rather than working solely for one employer and running myself ragged trying to run a company abroad, still work full time as a lawyer and also bring up a young child on my own.

Part 2 of Nicola Manning’s guest blog about her portfolio career coming soon.

More

View Nicola Manning’s LinkedIn profile:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicolamanning

Interested in a portfolio career?

Want to create your own portfolio career? Click on this link:

https://www.inspiringportfoliocareers.com/

Download your free report ‘Discover portfolio careers’:

https://www.inspiringportfoliocareers.com/who-has-portfolio-careers/

Download your free report ‘Pain free career change’:

https://www.inspiringportfoliocareers.com/testimonials/

Unsure what your transferable skills are, download your free report ‘Skills’ from this web page:

https://www.inspiringportfoliocareers.com/what-is-a-portfolio-career/

Read more guest bloggers accounts of their portfolio career:

https://www.inspiringportfoliocareers.com/blog/

Woman solicitor interested in a portfolio career?

Visit our web site specifically for women solicitors Energise LLClub:

http://www.llclub.org/

Guest blog Barrie Hopson part 1

August 16, 2016 By // by Rachel Brushfield

Barrie Hopson

This is a 2 part guest blog by Barrie Hopson. This is Part 1.

Barrie is a psychologist specialising in career development and lifelong learning and is a serial entrepreneur. His life mission is helping people to become architects of their own future. His latest project is writing and developing an online learning programme to help people design a retirement that they will love. Sponsored by Aviva and free to use. www.livehappier.co.uk

He is a Non Exec Director of the Aspire-Igen Group and of Disability Sport Yorkshire. He chairs the national Quality in Career Standard Consortium Board. He was Chairman of Axia Interactive Media 2007-2013. He is a writer, presenter, consultant and was chair of his local community association for 8 years. He is on the advisory board of The Open Retirement Club. He is a Fellow of the British Psychological Society and of the Royal Society of Arts. He has written 39 books – the latest being ‘And What Do You Do? 10 Steps to Creating a Portfolio Career’, written with Katie Ledger. He gives presentations on the future of work, portfolio careers, and how to ‘design a retirement you’ll love’. He established the Counselling and Career Development Unit at Leeds University in 1976 and went on to found Lifeskills International in 1983. The company formed a joint venture – Hay-Lifeskills Ltd. – with Hay Group International of which he was co-chair for its first 3 years. His books include the bestselling 12 Steps to Success through Service, The Lifeskills Teaching Programmes and Build Your Own Rainbow. In 2008 he wrote The Rainbow Years: the Pluses of Being 50+ and an accompanying website for Learndirect www.fiftyforward.co.uk. The latter were all co-authored with Mike Scally. Barrie has worked widely as a consultant to commercial and educational organisations in the UK, USA, Asia, Canada and Europe. He sees one of the payoffs of his Portfolio Career as being able to follow Yorkshire County Cricket Club. He adores running and runs 10k, 10 mile and half marathons for the Stroke Association as he is now a carer for his stroke survivor wife.

The rest of this blog are in Barrie’s own words.

What are the components of your portfolio career e.g. study, paid freelance work, part time job, volunteering etc.)

Psychologist, writer, presenter, NED of 2 companies, mentor, trustee of Disability Sports Yorkshire. I have just finished writing a free to use online learning programme to help people design a retirement that they love. I am currently helping to set up a social media business with the objective of eliminating childhood obesity.

How did your portfolio career come about?

I had never heard of the concept until Charles Handy ‘invented’ the term in 1993. In retrospect, I realise that from the point in my career when I got a lectureship at Leeds University in 1969, I have almost always had at least one other job or venture at the same time.

How has your portfolio career changed over time?

The biggest change was after I sold my business Lifeskills International in 1999. Since then I have really been able to indulge myself in a portfolio career. Accepting invitations to be NED in a number of companies, still continuing to write books, workbooks and online learning programmes and accepting invitations to present all over the world. I have always enjoyed helping others to develop their careers and achieve their dreams. I now have much more time to do that and I love it. I was influenced by Charles in a number of ways, not least in ensuring that I always tried to spend around 20% of my time doing unpaid work. That has now increased to around 30% including free mentoring and being a trustee for Disability Sports Yorkshire.

When people ask you ‘what do you do?’ – what do you reply?

I help people to become architects of their own future – through the companies I have run, the projects I set up, the books and learning programmes I have created, and by mentoring people to create their own dreams.

To what extent did your portfolio career happen by chance/luck and to what extent was it planned?

I have never planned anything in my life! I love the unpredictability of life and am always open to opportunities. I rely largely on gut reaction as to whether or not to do something. Occasionally that backfires, but mostly it has delivered joy, intellectual and emotional stimulation – and sufficient money!

What do you most love about having a portfolio career?

I always have to look at my calendar to see what I am doing the next day. This is not just a component of cognitive ageing!

What are the challenges of having a portfolio career?

One thing I miss dreadfully from not having a workplace to go to is the constant learning from simply sharing a space with people. This is especially so with IT. I was largely taught about computers by my PA in my company and I now realise that I miss having colleagues to turn to and ask, “how do I do this?”

Watch out for part 2 of Barrie Hopson’s guest blog, out soon.

More

For more information about portfolio careers, click on this link:

http://portfoliocareers.net/

To find out more about ‘Live Happier’, click on this link:

https://livehappier.aviva.co.uk/

To find out more about Barrie’s book about portfolio careers, click on this link:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/What-Do-You-Creating-Portfolio/dp/1408116308

Want to create your own portfolio career? Click on this link:

https://www.inspiringportfoliocareers.com/

Download your free report ‘Discover portfolio careers’:

https://www.inspiringportfoliocareers.com/who-has-portfolio-careers/

Download your free report ‘Pain free career change’:

https://www.inspiringportfoliocareers.com/testimonials/

Unsure what your transferable skills are, download your free report ‘Skills’ from this web page:

https://www.inspiringportfoliocareers.com/what-is-a-portfolio-career/

Read more guest bloggers accounts of their portfolio career:

https://www.inspiringportfoliocareers.com/blog/

Alex Wade’s portfolio career – guest blog part 2

August 8, 2016 By // by Rachel Brushfield

Alex Wade book Flack cover

This is a two part guest blog by Alex Wade about his portfolio career. This is part two.

Alex is a writer and his principal interests are law, sport (especially football, surfing and boxing), poker and travel, as well as general features, football match reports and book reviews. Many years ago, when he was a media lawyer, Alex worked for leading libel firm Carter-Ruck before becoming now-Express Group proprietor Richard Desmond’s first Head of Legal Affairs. Subsequently Alex’s unreconstructed tendencies got the better of him. His life went off the rails but boxing played a large part in his rehabilitation. This story is chronicled in Wrecking Machine, a Sunday Times sports book of the week. Alex has travelled extensively and written about New York, Albania and Kazakhstan; Barbados, Ireland and Andalucía; Captain Cook country, Mexico and Francis Ford Coppola’s retreats in Belize and Guatemala. He lives in west Cornwall with his partner Caroline their two sons.

The rest of this blog is in Alex’s own words.

Here is a link to part 1 in case you missed it:

https://www.inspiringportfoliocareers.com/alex-wades-portfolio-career-guest-blog-part-1/

What do you most love about having a portfolio career?

The freedom. I was never any good at having a boss.

What are the challenges of having a portfolio career?

You’ve got to hold your nerve. Work comes and goes. In lean spells you’ve got to trust and believe that things will come round. One way to counter the anxiety inherent in this lifestyle is to have fingers in many pies.

Who or what helps you to manage your portfolio career?

My partner, Caroline Davidson, is brilliant. Together we run an editorial services business. She’s the organised one. I’m not.

How do you approach marketing your portfolio career?

Don’t be afraid – get out there and pitch. People can only say no.

What if any, is the personal brand used for your portfolio career?

For my own work I guess it’s brand Alex Wade. But I’m aware of how pretentious that might sound so let’s say there’s some irony in that answer…

What skills/experience/qualities does someone need to have a portfolio career?

The main thing is being… nice. Obviously you’ve got to know what you’re doing, whatever your field, but the portfolio career isn’t a place for corporate back-stabbing and pompous fools. It’s where you need to get on with people – to like them, being with them, working with them, in the knowledge that you’re not dependent on them so can always walk if they turn out to be obnoxious.

What advice would you give to someone considering a portfolio career?

Seize the day, especially when it comes to writing. Traditional jobs are changing overnight and old-school journalism isn’t a safe bet anymore. So think laterally about other people who might want your words, and go and find them.

What benefits do portfolio careers bring specifically to women and mothers, rather than to men?

I don’t want to presume to answer this one!

What are your top 5 tips to successfully manage a portfolio career?

Be disciplined – accept that you rarely have a day off
Work at it
Be generous to people – help others and they might help you
Hold your nerve
Think laterally – I once sold a travel story to one place six times over

More about Alex Wade

Personal web site:

www.alexwade.com

Alex Wade’s first novel, Flack’s Last Shift, is published by Blue Mark Books (£14.99).

www.flackslastshift.com

Alex’s Editorial Services business:

www.frugalspeech.com

LinkedIn profile:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/alex-wade-5322724

Follow Alex Wade on Twitter:

https://twitter.com/surfnation1

More about portfolio careers:

Download our free report Discover Portfolio Careers

https://www.inspiringportfoliocareers.com/who-has-portfolio-careers/

Webinar about portfolio careers:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iF29AGuRIVw&app=desktop

Find out what your transferable skills are, download our free Skills report:

https://www.inspiringportfoliocareers.com/what-is-a-portfolio-career/

Download our free report Pain Free Career change from this page:

https://www.inspiringportfoliocareers.com/testimonials/

Check out our web site Inspiring Portfolio Careers:

https://www.inspiringportfoliocareers.com/

https://twitter.com/talentliberator

Ruth Farenga’s portfolio career part 1

June 25, 2016 By // by DigitalJenIPC

This is a 2 part guest blog by Ruth Farenga about her portfolio career. This is part 1.

Ruth Farenga runs Farenga Ltd as a workshop facilitator, Mindfulness teacher and project manager specialising in corporate partnerships, education, gender diversity and Mindfulness theory and practice. Ruth has consistently trained people in new skills, starting in the corporate education sector with Pearson and Intel Corporation and then transitioning over to ‘e-skills UK’ in the third sector. She now runs her own business and as part of that, the ‘People Like Me’ girls into STEM project for the WISE Campaign (Women in Science, Engineering and Technology).

The rest of this blog are in Ruth’s own words.

What are the components of your portfolio career e.g. study, paid freelance work, part time job, volunteering etc.)

My portfolio career consists of:

• Empowering great causes – currently freelance work for WISE Campaign (Girls and women in STEM) where I run a girls into STEM project called ‘People Like Me’ and train people on unconscious bias and how to effectively target girls.
• Teaching Mindfulness – Running Mindful Pathway which offers Mindfulness courses for business and the public, helping people find their way to a happier path.
• Giving local people a platform – Volunteering for Verulam Radio where I produce and support the Tuesday morning show on 92.6fm.

And most recently, champion of and facilitator at Energise 6 month Portfolio Career group programmes.

How did your portfolio career come about?

My portfolio career came about when I left a corporate partnerships role in London in search of variety alongside this type of work. I had come from a corporate background at Pearson Education and Intel Corporation and now wanted to bring both the corporate and charity experience into being a ‘free-range’ human!

How has your portfolio career changed over time?

Yes, I have been able to build up the Mindfulness teaching which is really important to me. I qualified while working in a full-time role and alongside colleagues, I have now been able to offer public courses in Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy which has been an amazing opportunity to help people to discover their own path with meditation.

I’m interested to see how I can develop the different aspects of the career over time.

When people ask you ‘what do you do?’ – what do you reply?

This depends on the situation. If I am networking at a national event, I would talk about how I ‘empower great causes through corporate partnership work and project management’.
If I was networking locally then I would say ‘I help people find their own path through meditation’

It all boils down to ‘I empower people and great causes’ which is how I can bring my pieces together. I think it’s important as Simon Sinek says for us to ‘Start with Why’ we do things – it’s motivating to remind ourselves and it enables people to see your zest and purpose.

To what extent did your portfolio career happen by chance/luck and to what extent was it planned?

I think it was planned but only planned when I realised, largely through coaching with Rachel Brushfield, that this was something that people did! And it was ok and rewarding to have a mix of things going on and to be doing volunteering every week for example.

What do you most love about having a portfolio career?

I most love the variety of things going on in any given week. I like having the flexibility to be able to start new projects or collaborate with new people. The sense of opportunity round the corner is a feeling that I find very motivating.

I have particularly enjoyed collaborating with others too. I am a strong believer in the power of putting heads together and I get a lot of motivation from collaborating on areas that I care about.

What are the challenges of having a portfolio career?

The challenges are that things can get quite busy and you can feel like you’re spread a bit thinly at times. I do work from home quite a bit and I do find that I need people too so I try and mix it up with co-working with someone, attending meetings or events to break up the week.

Part 2 of Ruth’s guest blog about her portfolio career coming soon.

More about Ruth Farenga

LinkedIn:
Ruth Farenga LinkedIn profile

Mindful Pathway:
Mindful Pathway web site

Next course begins October 2016:
Mindful Pathway courses

Follow Ruth on Twitter:
Ruth Farenga Twitter

Mindful Pathway Twitter

More about Portfolio Careers

Rachel Brushfield is a Talent Liberator at Energise with 30 years’ experience and a career heritage in marketing and brand strategy and communications. She specialises in Inspiring Portfolio Careers.

Energise support our clients through individual coaching, e courses and group programmes.

Click on this link for details:
6 month Portfolio Career Programme

Taster workshop Friday 15 July 2016.

Guest blog part 1: Miranda Brawn

May 8, 2016 By // by DigitalJenIPC

This is a two part guest blog by Miranda Brawn. This is part 1.

Miranda Brawn is a multi-award winning legal business and diversity leader who is hailed as a trailblazer. A few awards include being named Top 30 most inspirational women by Brummel magazine, featured on the City AM’s Women in the City & Speakers 100 Powerlists, BE Mogul Winner and Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts. She is also a Future Tech Girl Role Model and on the Fem Tech Leader Global List for influential women within Technology. She has been nominated for a number of awards in 2016.

With a background as an investment banker and a barrister, Miranda has spent her career at some of the most prestigious global institutions such as Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan Chase Bank. Miranda’s primary role is to manage the company’s legal risk across Europe for the derivatives, regulatory and securities financing business within an investment bank. Her previous roles have included sales trader and head of legal documentation.

With over 15 years’ experience in philanthropy, community and diversity work, Miranda wanted to go the extra mile and founded the Miranda Brawn Diversity Leadership Foundation. This provides future BAME leaders (including females) with opportunities and incentives via scholarships, diversity lectures, work experience and mentoring. This includes a partnership with The Prince’s Trust to help future BAME leaders from disadvantaged backgrounds. The aim is to increase race (and gender diversity) in Britain and beyond. Sponsors from the legal world include Hogan Lovells for the scholarship and the University of Law for the Miranda Brawn Diversity Leadership Annual Lecture which takes place on 15th October 2016.

Miranda has co-founded the “General Counsel Diversity Leadership Forum” and “Color In Tech” to help increase race and gender diversity in both the legal and technology sectors. She is on the committee board for City Women Network to increase gender diversity within the Corporate sector.

She is also part of the Thomson Reuters Legal In-House Advisory Network and Business Law Consultation Advisory Board. Professional Ambassador for Aspiring Solicitors from since March 2015. Miranda is on the board as Vice Chair of the Black Cultural Archives, Patron of the Black British Academics and board advisor for other organisations.”

Miranda is on the board as Vice Chair of the Black Cultural Archives, Patron of the Black British Academics and board advisor for other organisations. Her portfolio career also consists of being a life & business strategist, investor, entertainment consultant, writer for various publications such as OTC Space & Chambers Diversity and an international LAMDA qualified public speaker. She is a Brand Ambassador for various brands which include The Fold London and Piaget. In addition, she is a presenter which includes providing commentary on television & radio for BBC, London Live & Sky etc. while being quoted in the likes of The Guardian and the Financial Times.

The rest of this guest blog is in Miranda’s own words.

What are the components of your portfolio career e.g. study, paid freelance work, part time job, volunteering etc?

The components of my portfolio career consist of a full time job within an in-house legal department for an investment bank, paid freelance work and voluntary work within various sectors such as education, culture, diversity, personal branding, online and offline PR, business and technology (i.e. FinTech & RegTech). I am also an international public speaker for industry events, seminars, workshops, conferences and educational institutions etc. having spoken in Europe, US and the Caribbean.

One industry event which I have just spoken at was the Thomson Reuters General Counsel Leadership Forum 2016 on the topic of career management to senior legal professionals. http://practicallawconferences.com/gc-leadership-forum/.

I am due to give a keynote talk at the Legal Ex (Business Behind The Law) National Legal Exhibition and Conference 2016 in Excel London which is supported by The Law Society next month. I will be the only speaker discussing career management and diversity in law. Tickets are available via http://www.legalex.co.uk/.

I will also be speaking at the Generation Success “Climbing The Law Ladder” Event held at the House of Commons with some of the UK’s leading legal lights such as Lord Holmes of Richmond, Daniel Winterfeldt, Head of International Capital Markets and Diversity & Inclusion Partner at CMS Cameron McKenna and Paul Smith who is Chairman at Eversheds LLP.

How did your portfolio career come about?

My portfolio career was established when I left my commercial role as a sales trader on the trading floor at an investment bank. I had decided to give back to society by undertaking charity and community work during my garden leave. The main roles were UK Global Poverty Ambassador in association with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and a charity board director. I had founded my own legal consultancy company which has recently won an award. My public speaking career was also launched during this time allowing me to inspire others to enter into various industries such as law and finance which has now developed onto other subject matters which include diversity, business and technology etc. Once my garden leave had come to an end and I had commenced my full time corporate role, I made a decision to keep some of my other roles hence my portfolio career was born.

How has your portfolio career changed over time?

My portfolio career has grown over time and I have had the opportunity to get involved with some great initiatives while meeting some wonderful people.

I have co-founded the “General Counsel Diversity Leadership Forum” with Catherine McGregor who is the Publishing Director at Legal 500. The aim is to provide a best practice & networking forum for leaders in the legal field to help generate ideas and increase diversity action. There is a lot of talk and networking events about diversity however the action and statistics are not matching at the moment. I have also co-founded “Color In Tech” http://colorintech.org/ to help increase race and gender diversity in Technology.

With over 15 years’ experience in philanthropy, community and diversity work, I wanted to go the extra mile and founded the Miranda Brawn Diversity Leadership Foundation. http://mirandabrawn.com/diversity-leadership-foundation-scholarship/.This provides future BAME leaders (including females) with opportunities and incentives via scholarships, diversity lectures, work experience and mentoring. This includes a partnership with The Prince’s Trust to help future BAME leaders from disadvantaged backgrounds. The aim is to increase race (and gender diversity) in Britain and beyond.

The main diversity issues being discussed tend to lean towards gender and social mobility which I have also been actively pushing. However, as a diversity leader I wanted to launch an initiative which went beyond public speaking and articles to play my personal part in leading the race diversity initiatives within the UK workforce which includes the legal sector.

Sponsors from the legal world include Hogan Lovells for the Miranda Brawn Diversity Leadership Scholarship and the University of Law for the Miranda Brawn Diversity Leadership Annual Lecture which takes place on 15th October 2016 at their premises. The recipients will be awarded their scholarships at this lecture. Dame Jocelyn Barrow will be giving a keynote address at the event. Dame Jocelyn was instrumental in the creation of the Race Relations Act of 1968. In the 1960s, she pioneered the introduction of multi-cultural education, stressing the needs of the various ethnic groups in the UK and she is a Patron of the Black Cultural Archives. Hence, she is the perfect person to address the next generation of BAME leaders and share her wisdom at the first Miranda Brawn Diversity Leadership Lecture. Her keynote address will be followed by my lecture on diversity leadership, to help inspire the next generation to get actively involved in diversity issues right now within their educational institutions and not to wait until they enter the workplace. Further information can be located from these web links:

http://mirandabrawn.com/diversity-leadership-foundation-scholarship/

http://bcaheritage.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/Miranda-Brawn-Diversity-Scholarship-application-form.pdf

http://bcaheritage.org.uk/black-cultural-archives-announces-the-miranda-brawn-diversity-leadership-scholarship/

I am also on the committee board for City Women Network to increase gender diversity in the Corporate sector. I am part of the Thomson Reuters Legal In-House Advisory Network and Business Law Consultation Advisory Board. In addition, I am on the board as Vice Chair of the Black Cultural Archives, Patron of the Black British Academics and board advisor for other organisations.

Part 2 of this 2 part guest blog series by Miranda Brawn coming soon.

What next?

More about Miranda Brawn:

Website www.mirandabrawn.com

Twitter https://twitter.com/brawnm

Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/in/mirandabrawn?trk=nav_responsive_tab_profile

Facebook www.facebook.com/MirandaBrawnEsq

Interested in a portfolio career yourself?

Download your copy of our free report ‘Discover portfolio careers’:
Free report Discover Portfolio careers

Funke Abimbola Guest blog – the sequel part 1

January 28, 2016 By // by DigitalJenIPC

In this 2 part guest blog, in part 1 Funke shares what has changed and how the change came about and the part 2, she shares the significance of the change and what next for 2016. This is part 1.

Funke is a practising solicitor and multi award-winning lawyer and diversity campaigner. She joined Roche as Managing Counsel in January 2012, leading the legal team supporting Roche’s pharmaceutical operations in the UK, Ireland, Malta and Gibraltar and was also appointed as Data Protection Officer for the UK. She was promoted to General Counsel & Company Secretary in December 2015. Her career began in private practice before moving in-house. Outside of her role at Roche, Funke undertakes a lot of work to support diversity & inclusion in society as a whole and within the legal profession in particular, initiating and driving through a range of ground-breaking diversity initiatives. She has received national and European recognition for her diversity work, all of which is carried out in her spare time on a voluntary basis.

What has changed?

2015 was a ground-breaking year for me both in terms of my legal work at Roche and in terms of building upon the reach and impact of my voluntary diversity work.

With regards diversity, I started the year focusing on gender diversity – by the end of the year, as well as gender, I was also doing significant amounts of work around social mobility issues and in relation to ethnicity. Together with award winning journalist, Jon Robins, and Byfield Consultancy (a leading legal PR firm), I published a report on social mobility issues across the whole legal profession called “Opening up or shutting out” (http://www.byfieldconsultancy.com/wp-content/uploads/Opening-up-or-shutting-out_Social-mobility-in-the-legal-profession.pdf).

The report was very well received, resulting in an exclusive for “The Times” and several opportunities to write further articles for “The Times” and other leading publications. The visibility and success of this report has led to many other opportunities for me – for example, a roundtable discussion on social mobility for “The Law Society Gazette” http://www.lawgazette.co.uk/people/roundtable-social-mobility/5052584.fullarticle and me being a panellist at the 2015 PRIME conference, together with Sir Terry Leahy (former CEO of Tesco), the BBC’s Mishal Husain, Louise Ashley (the author of the Social Mobility and Child Poverty Commission’s June 2015 report, “Non-educational barriers to the elite professions evaluation”, https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/non-educational-barriers-to-the-elite-professions-evaluation) and ITV’s Barry Matthews. Approximately 200 law firm attendees were present. The visibility and impact of this event has, in turn, lead to additional opportunities for me to extend my diversity work even further in 2016.

Throughout 2015, I received an unprecedented number of speaking requests. In terms of sheer numbers, I spoke to audiences approaching 1,500 solicitors and other professionals including speaking at the BBC, the Law Society 3 times and at the 30% Club. Speaking engagements to school children was also very active last year – I spoke to almost 1,200 school children in 2015.

In terms of my legal career, I started 2015 as Managing Counsel for the UK & Ireland, leading the legal team supporting Roche’s pharmaceutical business in the UK, Ireland, Malta and Gibraltar. By the end of 2015, I had been promoted to General Counsel & Company Secretary. I now lead a mixture of both lawyers and corporate compliance professionals and, as UK Corporate Compliance Officer, I have additional responsibilities in driving the site-wide corporate compliance agenda for the Roche UK pharmaceutical business. I lead the UK Corporate Compliance senior leadership team and am also a member of the UK Governance senior leadership team. So 2015 was an eventful year to say the least!

How did any change come about?

The changes came about due to my increased visibility, impact, hard work, determination and commitment to developing myself and my team. Despite a number of set-backs and challenges throughout the year, I continued to focus on my goals and remained tenacious and determined throughout. I networked extensively, both within Roche and outside Roche. I was constantly on the lookout for opportunities both for myself and for my team and encouraged my team members to make the most of every opportunity and to see challenges as opportunities for growth and development.

My work was recognised through a series of awards programmes last year and I was deeply honoured to win 4 awards last year – Career Woman of the Year (Women4Africa Awards), Positive Role Model Award for Gender (National Diversity Awards), Outstanding Woman in Professional Services (Precious Awards) and Inspiring Member of the Year (Inclusive Networks Awards). I was also recognised by Brummells’ magazine as being one of the UK’s top 30 women champions of diversity impacting on the City of London. By the end of 2015, I had been appointed as a Fellow of the Royal Society of the Royal Society of Arts for enriching society through ideas and action!

Read Funke’s original guest blogs from 2015:

Part 1
https://liberateyourtalent.wordpress.com/2015/05/29/funke-abimbola-guest-blog-1/

Part 2
https://liberateyourtalent.wordpress.com/2015/08/27/guest-blog-funke-abimbola-2/

What transferable skills do you possess that you could leverage in new and different ways? Download your FREE report now:
Changing careers report

Vanessa Vallely guest blog part 1

January 9, 2016 By // by DigitalJenIPC

This is a 2 part guest blog by Vanessa Vallely. This is part 1 of 2.

Vanessa Vallely is the founder of leading women’s network, job board and web site WeAreTheCity and WeAreTheCity jobs. She also co-founded the UK wide diversity network The Network of Networks (TNON). Vanessa had an extensive 25 year career in banking and finance and is the winner of numerous awards.

The rest of this blog is in Vanessa’s own words:

What are the components of your portfolio career e.g. study, paid freelance work, part time job, volunteering etc.)?
Since leaving my corporate job in 2012, I have been building my portfolio career. This consists of running 2 businesses both here and in India, speaking at corporates and schools and sitting on charity boards. I also had a 3 year stint as a school governor at a local primary school.

How did your portfolio career come about?
I felt I wanted to do more than just one job. I also felt an inherent need to start giving back to my community and to apply my skills to a multitude of things.

How has your portfolio career changed over time?
I feel that one opportunity has led to others. For example, my first charity board position lead to a connection that led to the next. My experience on that charity board made it easier for me to transition on to the next. I evolved from my school governor position to actually working in schools as part of Future First & Inspiring the future.

When people ask you ‘what do you do?’ – what do you reply?
I wear many hats. Business, Community and charity. I have a portfolio career.

To what extent did your portfolio career happen by chance/luck and to what extent was it planned?
I always knew I wanted to do a variety of things when I eventually left my corporate role. I knew what I wanted to do, however the opportunities really came when I started to invest time in building my network.

What do you most love about having a portfolio career?
I like the variety more than anything. I can go from running my business to presenting to teenagers at a school. On another day, I can be contributing towards a charity’s strategy to travelling to India to volunteer. It is a dream to have a portfolio career as I get to choose what I get involved in and I feel like I am contributing in both business and to the community. I just wish I had more time to get involved in all the projects that come my way.

What next?

Visit Vanessa’s web site:
http://www.vanessavallely.com/

What transferable skills do you possess that could open up new avenues e.g. a second career or business? Download your FREE report now:
http://careerstrategies.co.uk/changingcareersreport/

Guest blog – Funke Abimbola #2

August 27, 2015 By // by DigitalJenIPC

This is part 2 of a 2 part guest blog by Funke Abimbola, Managing Counsel, Roche Products Ltd. UK & Ireland.

Funke is a practising solicitor and currently Managing Counsel at Roche UK, leading the legal team supporting Roche’s pharmaceutical operations in the UK, Ireland, Malta and Gibraltar. She is also Data Protection Officer for the UK. Her career began in private practice before moving in-house. Funke undertakes a lot of work to support diversity & inclusion in society as a whole and within the legal profession in particular. An award winning lawyer and diversity champion, she was most recently a finalist for ‘Diversity Champion of the Year’ at the inaugural 2015 Excellence in Diversity Awards and won the ‘Career Woman of the Year’ award at the 2015 Women4Africa awards.