Early Careers - Business Management

How long have you worked in your current role at QinetiQ?

I started my QinetiQ Career Journey in September 2020.

Where do you work? 

I work within UK Shared Services, which sits across both of QinetiQ’s UK Sectors (Defence and Intelligence). UK Shared Services is a supporting operational service area that provides enabling services such as Administration, Service Management, IT Support, Security, Project Support, Payroll and On-boarding. Therefore a major benefit of working in this area is variation, you are able to collaborate and work with many different stakeholders from each of the sub-areas of the function, all of whom will provide diverse experiences, capabilities and knowledge.

I am based out of Farnborough, though have more of a hybrid role, going to site once a week and then working from home.

What do you like most about your role?

There is so much to enjoy that it is hard to pick a singular thing. However to pick one, it is the sense of empowerment I feel from doing my role day to day. The empowerment of being treated as an equal, whom has just as valid of an opinion during any discussion or meeting (i.e. if you have something to say, you can say it without judgement). The empowerment of being trusted to go away to find solutions, allowing creative and innovative thinking in order to produce suggestions to be considered. And the empowerment to facilitate, lead and deliver workshops to any stakeholder no matter their seniority or role.

How long have you worked in your current role at QinetiQ?

I started my QinetiQ Career Journey in September 2020.

Where do you work? 

I work within UK Shared Services, which sits across both of QinetiQ’s UK Sectors (Defence and Intelligence). UK Shared Services is a supporting operational service area that provides enabling services such as Administration, Service Management, IT Support, Security, Project Support, Payroll and On-boarding. Therefore a major benefit of working in this area is variation, you are able to collaborate and work with many different stakeholders from each of the sub-areas of the function, all of whom will provide diverse experiences, capabilities and knowledge.

I am based out of Farnborough, though have more of a hybrid role, going to site once a week and then working from home.

What do you like most about your role?

There is so much to enjoy that it is hard to pick a singular thing. However to pick one, it is the sense of empowerment I feel from doing my role day to day. The empowerment of being treated as an equal, whom has just as valid of an opinion during any discussion or meeting (i.e. if you have something to say, you can say it without judgement). The empowerment of being trusted to go away to find solutions, allowing creative and innovative thinking in order to produce suggestions to be considered. And the empowerment to facilitate, lead and deliver workshops to any stakeholder no matter their seniority or role.

What has working within this role at QinetiQ taught you?

From starting my QinetiQ journey during the peak pandemic through to now with the hybrid ways of working, my role has taught me a lot about the importance of communication and how it supports the foundation for developing collaborative working relationships. With the collaborative network ultimately being the support required for any one individual to do their job well. It has taught me that on the job learning is at its fullest potential when you are able to observe and work with others and share experiences. I have been able to experience many types of working environments (i.e. fully online, half online/half in person, fully in person) and have a better understanding of appropriateness of each type of environment for different meetings.

What have you achieved in your role so far?  

My greatest achievement has been to invent and publish a Career Framework for UK Shared Services. The framework is a tool that will support approximately 400 employees within the function, in developing their career development conversations. It highlights potential pathways, offers access to information on the responsibilities and accountabilities of different roles. Ultimately providing individuals with opportunities to identify their areas growth and progression. I lead the project through all of its stages from planning and design to the development and deployment. Involving conducting research on industry best practises to formulate a concept, engaging with senior stakeholders to capture every role in the function, to finally bringing it all together to produce a physical Framework that can be used by others in the form of web pages. 

Why would you recommend a career at QinetiQ?

In addition to what I have already touched upon above i.e. the opportunities that are afforded to you to engage and learn from the vast knowledge, capabilities and experiences provided by the people within QinetiQ AND the opportunities that are afforded to you to develop and grow as a professional through hands on involvement. QinetiQ put a huge emphasis on safety first deeming it their ‘number one priority’. Hence personal well-being is regarded highly and widely observed. This means the environment and people is such that everyone has a shared understanding and commitment to employee well-being. Through my own experiences, I can only attest to the fact that there is an appreciation that we are all human beings and at times require flexibility and support in our day to day lives in order to be satisfied or effective with our work. 

 

What has working within this role at QinetiQ taught you?

From starting my QinetiQ journey during the peak pandemic through to now with the hybrid ways of working, my role has taught me a lot about the importance of communication and how it supports the foundation for developing collaborative working relationships. With the collaborative network ultimately being the support required for any one individual to do their job well. It has taught me that on the job learning is at its fullest potential when you are able to observe and work with others and share experiences. I have been able to experience many types of working environments (i.e. fully online, half online/half in person, fully in person) and have a better understanding of appropriateness of each type of environment for different meetings.

What have you achieved in your role so far?  

My greatest achievement has been to invent and publish a Career Framework for UK Shared Services. The framework is a tool that will support approximately 400 employees within the function, in developing their career development conversations. It highlights potential pathways, offers access to information on the responsibilities and accountabilities of different roles. Ultimately providing individuals with opportunities to identify their areas growth and progression. I lead the project through all of its stages from planning and design to the development and deployment. Involving conducting research on industry best practises to formulate a concept, engaging with senior stakeholders to capture every role in the function, to finally bringing it all together to produce a physical Framework that can be used by others in the form of web pages. 

Why would you recommend a career at QinetiQ?

In addition to what I have already touched upon above i.e. the opportunities that are afforded to you to engage and learn from the vast knowledge, capabilities and experiences provided by the people within QinetiQ AND the opportunities that are afforded to you to develop and grow as a professional through hands on involvement. QinetiQ put a huge emphasis on safety first deeming it their ‘number one priority’. Hence personal well-being is regarded highly and widely observed. This means the environment and people is such that everyone has a shared understanding and commitment to employee well-being. Through my own experiences, I can only attest to the fact that there is an appreciation that we are all human beings and at times require flexibility and support in our day to day lives in order to be satisfied or effective with our work. 

 

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