Could this be you?

1) What Workstreams were you responsible for?
I was responsible for overseeing Fundraising, Marketing and Alumni Relations.

2) What did you learn in this role?
As a manager, I learned the importance of using a range of different leadership styles to fit the different personalities and needs of my Workstream Leads. This has been really useful in my current job where I need to be ready to adapt my approach quickly to suit the different abilities and levels of seniority of people I work with.
 Within my specific role, I also learned a huge amount about how to market EPAfrica to different audiences – which set of donors are most likely to give us money; how we should ‘re-sell’ the charity to our alumni; and the importance of generating a sense of community for our virtual organisation through online media. I am really proud of my team’s fundraising success this year, consistently-high standards of marketing material and the significant strides we have taken forward in relationship-building with our alumni.

3) What did you enjoy about the role?
I really enjoyed working with the rest of the MC – they are a team of highly-motivated and like-minded people who were ready to support each other when necessary and produced innovative solutions to some of the challenges facing EPAfrica.
While my current role was not my first choice on the MC, I really like the fact that there is scope for you to get involved in all sorts of different parts of the charity and represent your team’s interests within MC discussions. I loved the opportunity for creating impact that the Marketing Manager’s role provides. Since it was completely new, there was a clean sheet of paper for me to develop three workstreams and create a strategy for how we would transform the business side of the charity. Whoever takes up this role next will have the opportunity to develop this further, which I think is very exciting. For these reasons, I am really glad I ended up in this position and would certainly not go back on it now!

4) What advice would you give to someone taking over next year?
Three pieces of advice:
1) Take every opportunity you can to meet your workstreams and MC members face-to-face as much as possible. It can make all those Skype calls so much more productive and create better working relationships in the long-run.
2) When working or personal life is busy, don’t be afraid to lean on other members of the MC or say that you need a break. This does not mean that you always slack off; but since we are all volunteers it is incredibly important that we feel we have the time for EPAfrica and the other aspects of life that seem to creep in!
3) Enjoy being part of a fantastic charity!

Ben Kett (Operations Manager)

1) What Workstreams were you responsible for? 
School Selection and Progression (SS&P)
Summer Team
Relationships With East Africa (RWEA)

2) What did you learn in this role?
I learnt a huge amount in my time as Operations Manager, a really important and fascinating combination of hard and soft skills. Starting with the former, risk management has been one of the most interesting experiences of this role. This has taken the form of compiling the risk assessment of Kenya given the recent elections, as well as being introduced to the legal intricacies of how we expose ourselves to risk during the summer through our policies (explicit or otherwise). I’ve been involved in the summer budgeting, a remarkably challenging task given uncertainties such as the exchange rate, inflation etc. In terms of soft skills, management is one of the key areas. It is important to work out how much to support WSLs without stifling them: I can’t do everything myself and given their talents, don’t need to! The MC team is a great opportunity to discuss, debate, compromise and really discover the most effective ways to work together in a team which doesn’t have a “boss” to organise everything!

3) What did you enjoy about the role?
It’s an amazing feeling to see the summer project actually going ahead after all of the work that’s been put in behind the scenes. I’ve really enjoyed working with the WSLs to this end, with their commitment and efficiency in making sure we have the right schools to work with, and that the project will go ahead in a professional and smooth way. One of my best moments has been the Summer Team debrief, where you can hear about the successes, challenges of the summer and really see the impact of the project on our volunteers and schools alike. Taking the Uganda expansion from the drawing board to a functioning project on the ground has got to be one of the most satisfying activities over my term; to be part of this historic development for the charity has been incredible and I look forward to seeing its future path.

4) What advice would you give to someone taking over next year?
Being Operations Manager really has been one of the best experience of my life so far in so many ways. One of its draws is the challenge of the role but the support networks are strong and a fellow MC member is always there to discuss and look for solutions. Communication has been one of the most important factors, not simply in terms of efficient responses to emails but an ability to share the right information with the right people to oil the wheels and above all promote constructive and positive discussion even in the face of differing opinions . Effective planning can never be overestimated; this role in particular has many small components making up the big picture and bringing them together can be challenge. 

Jenny Jones (Training Manager) 

1) What Workstreams were you responsible for? 
PW Training WSL 
Summer Training WSL 
Medical Training WSL 
Talent Management Taskforce 

2) What did you learn in this role?
 I’ve certainly learnt a lot about communication and teaching since being in this role – and how both of them require great skill and planning if you’re going to get them spot on. Really interestingly and perhaps more unexpectedly, I’ve also learnt a lot about how communication and training interlinks with the concurrent development of strategy. Often it’s only when you really try and communicate what you’re doing that you realise things need to be tweaked and adapted. Training Manager often pulls a lot of different strands of the charity together when you’re trying to coordinate training, so I’ve learnt a lot about that “tying things together” role too – which is fun as it gives you oversight across lots of different activities that the charity is up to. Since we’ve had the Medical Training Officers, I’ll admit that I’ve also learnt tonnes about health in tropical countries too which I just didn’t know before! (and which I might add, is going to be very useful stuff for my later life!) In the broader “MC” picture, I’ve learnt so much about team-working and the art of taking responsibility for actually driving the charity’s direction – which has just been incredible.

 3) What did you enjoy about the role?
The buzz after the big PW central training days is definitely one of the most amazing parts. As Training Manager, you open that event and meet all the new PWs. It’s the first time that the new cohort really find out what EPAfrica is all about, and you’re the one who gets to shape what they see and hear, and the kind of impression that they have! A good training day, when all the new fresh-faced PWs are feeling enthused and excited – just makes all the hard work worth it. It also makes you feel really proud about what EPAfrica does, and makes you realise how multi-faceted our strategy really is too. Training Manager is very much about the “people” aspect of the charity – the teaching, the meeting, the socialising, and the developing – all of which I’ve really loved.

4) What advice would you give to someone taking over next year?
 Take the opportunity to run for the MC for EPAfrica! Being on the MC is a big commitment, but it’s one of the things I’m most proud that I’ve done in my life and I’d hugely recommend it.  There are very few charities which have people of the calibre and dedication as those we’re lucky enough to have in EPAfrica, and the experience you’ll have working with them is just invaluable. The charity is amazingly dynamic and fast-moving, whilst having rock-solid principles – and that’s a rare combination. Both on a personal and professional note, it’s been a defining part of my life for the last few years, and if you can see yourself proudly introducing a whole new batch of lucky PWs into the EPAfrica fold at next year’s Strategy Training Day…then go for it and run for Training Manager!

Esme Nichols (University Committee Manager)

1) What Workstreams were you responsible for? 
Recruitment WSL
Cambridge President
Oxford President
London President

2) What did you learn in this role?
The University Committee Manager position really stretched me in a number of ways, for which I am very grateful. Firstly, you have the opportunity to work with a huge range of people across the charity which broadened and developed my understanding of effective people management. The role, like all MC positions, requires year-round dedication but spending lots of time on a great cause with such a fun and intelligent group of people means it is very engaging and fosters skills that will be invaluable in later life. Secondly, I’ve definitely learned to think more strategically – the role gives you the opportunity to be involved with the macro and micro operations of the charity; you work with individual PWs whilst keeping the overall show on the road and implementing the improvements you want to see. That’s the best part of the charity – everyone’s highly innovative, ready to question themselves and make improvements for the future. 

3) What did you enjoy about the role?
Learning so much! Until you’re put in a situation where the stakes are high and you’re fully responsible, you don’t fully realise how you can improve as a leader and team member. The role puts you at the core of the charity: PWs are vital to our operations and they are the future of the charity, so it’s paramount that they receive the best start possible. Without a doubt the best part of the role is the people-facing nature of it – you’re rarely doing something by yourself. There are lots of interesting discussions to be had and always someone willing to offer help and advice.

4) What advice would you give to someone taking over next year?
Given the continued expansion and professionalisation of the charity, the role provides the opportunity to shape the charity’s future by delivering the capacity for growth in all our university cities, especially London, further improving our selection process to recruit the PWs and PRs with the most potential and evaluating how we best prepare our volunteers for the summer project. My advice would be: always keep thinking ahead, and always remember that the people always come first – ‘EPAfrica love’ is really important given that people volunteer so much of their time and effort to make the project happen, and that principle needs to remain at the forefront as we professionalise and streamline our operations. Being on the MC has been one of the most worthwhile experiences of my life – I’d highly recommend applying to be University Committee Manager!

Ashley Craft (Model Manager)

1) What Workstreams were you responsible for?
Programmes of Delivery (PoDs)
Research and Evaluation
NGO Partnerships

2) What did you learn in this role?
Five years into my time with the charity, it is still very difficult to ensure continuity of PW interests from one year to the next. Whether they are I-Gaps, health initiatives or teacher training, I think last year’s PWs are best placed to keep the momentum going from projects they began in their year.

3) What did you enjoy about the role?
It is great to see the enthusiasm for research growing in the charity, and this year having a good monitoring and evaluation programme helped us secure the largest ever single grant in EPAfrica’s history. We have also succeeded in aligning research projects with programming interests around women’s sanitary towels and are currently working in partnership with Irise, an NGO dedicated to improving sanitary towel delivery.

4) What advice would you give to someone taking over next year?
You will be challenged to find a balance between delivering high-quality programming to our partner schools and a first-rate experience of decision making in international development to our volunteers. It is important to understand the motivations and interests of our volunteers, and build on them; and choose Workstream Leads that are dependable and passionate about their roles!