Jo McDonald

"I am organised, logical and creative! The ‘Coach’ type really suits my role – as a leader of 30 staff, I have to support them in their own development and aspirations. I listen to the steer the Executive team provide on which projects may be more important than others and try to create a plan that meets their expectations.In my role, I can reject any projects that aren’t reaching standards. Being an ‘Investigator’ helps as I chair the Project Approval Board and needs to rely on a variety of facts; data; performance stats; budget figures; risk analysis and sometimes just pure gut feel to make a decision on whether a project should continue or stop. I improved this skill during my Chemistry degree studies which obviously is all about research and investigation.The ‘Developer’ type resonates with me as I believe that our world could be seen as quite dull if we didn't constantly look for ways to improve the ways in which we work; how we utilize people's skills; present problems and solutions in a creative way!"

"As the Head of Enterprise Planning, I lead a team that plans all the change projects my company wants to complete each year. I look at how many people will be needed to deliver the projects; how much money is required and what benefits the company is likely to achieve for each project. I make recommendations to the Executive team on where they should spend their money to get maximum value which is great fun! We also govern the projects so that the things don't get 'out of control'!When we are just about to implement a project, the momentum builds, everything is usually to the wire, and we are frantically doing final checks! During those periods I often work weekends, 24 hours non-stop and live on pizza takeaways! The sense of achievement when a multimillion-pound project is implemented successfully is like nothing else. The feeling of successful results is the perk of the job – whether this is people getting promoted or a failing project turns to a success - knowing I have contributed and supported in both those areas gives me a great sense of pride."

"I completed a Chemistry degree and, following graduation, wanted to be a forensic scientist (well actually I always wanted to be the first woman prime minister but someone beat me to that!). However, I ended up joining Barclays’ graduate management scheme. Having done everything from clearing litter from the front of branches; answering phones; filling the pen holders and counting coins, I found the Banking world suited me and my skills and I secured my first management role in operations after 3 years. One day, my manager asked me to manage a project as he had no one else to do it and so I accidentally fell into the world of change and projects. I spent the next 15 years in Barclays planning and delivering change projects all around the UK. After leaving Barclays, I decided I only wanted to do short term contracts delivering short term projects and moving from company to company. I took a 10 month contract in Wesleyan and 7 years later I’m still there and Head of the Department! My path just proves that not every career path needs to be set in stone and providing you pay to your skills and strengths, you WILL be successful. I have held 6 different roles within my 7 years at Wesleyan, and there is still room for growth. In my department, we have very 'entry level' roles to learn the ropes, climbing to Programme Director type roles with many levels and options in between. Typically, the journey from day 1 to Programme Lead or Change Head would be around 10 years."

"I spend a lot of my free time doing Tae Kwando – both teaching and training! I’m also in the middle of renovating her house, so spend a lot of time dragging my teenage children around DIY shops. I love to meet up with friends for a nice meal, drinks or even a trip to the cinema! I wrote a list of 'things to achieve before I was 40' and as a result now have 2 tattoos (not in visible places) and have passed my motorcycle test!I am looking to stay in my current role for the next 2 - 3 years, as I’ve only just started, and then will likely spice up the last 10 years of my career by going contracting using the expertise I have built up!"

"My day consists of 1 to 1 meetings with my direct reports to understand how their work is progressing, to talk about their own goals, achievements and progress and to check how their own team members are feeling. I do lots of reading of data, reports and information supplied by my team in order to make decisions about projects. My team all keep in touch via Facebook for work and ensure we recognize achievements and personal events such as birthdays and anniversaries. I also answer and type LOTS of emails!I get to attend lots of seminars and events hosted by industry professionals. The last one I went to was all based on Back to the Future and had robots roaming between the tables and the DeLorean car from the film. Some of their suppliers are global companies and if Wesleyan get invited to their annual seminars these can be as far flung as Lisbon, Portugal; Texas or Milton Keynes!"

"Undergradute Degree - Chemistry"