Welcome to Extern, Caroline. Tell us a little about yourself.
I come from Portstewart
originally but live in Bangor
now. I work as a
management consultant for
the public sector, providing
advice on the value for money of
projects using taxpayer funds. As a
chartered accountant I enjoy
working with facts and numbers, but as
a Psychology graduate, I also love to talk to
people and understand what makes them tick.
Why did you apply to be a Boardroom Apprentice?
I have been interested in the programme for a few years, but this was the
fi
rst year I really considered applying. I know someone who participated
last year, and she urged me to go for it, saying it had been a really positive
experience for her. After lockdown there were really no excuses for not
getting out there and working towards my ambitions.
Why did you choose Extern?
I was keen to choose a charitable host board as I work with public sector
organisations in my day job and wanted to get a closer look at how
essential services are delivered for hard-to-reach groups in our society.
When I researched Extern, I was impressed by the breadth of services
offered, as well as its ethos of reaching in to provide the services most
needed by people.
What have been your first impressions of the role?
My impressions of Extern so far are positive. If anything, the services
delivered are even more diverse than I realised when I applied, and the
organisation seems to be operated professionally and with a great deal of
passion and care.
In terms of the trustee role, there is a lot of detail and
paperwork to get up to speed with and it is tricky following all of the
changes which Extern has gone through in recent years.
What are your hopes and expectations for the role going forward?
This is a unique opportunity and I want to get to know Extern as well as
possible and offer as much as I can in terms of my skills and experience. I
would love to go on service visits to see in person the great work being
done by the teams and to hopefully make some valuable contributions at
board and committee meetings. It will be interesting to see how any
emerging issues are dealt with by the board as the year continues.
Have you ever undertaken a role like this before?
I have been involved with charities before through volunteering roles and
sitting on a fundraising committee but never felt that I was the ‘right type’
of person to step into a boardroom. Boardroom Apprentice is showing
me that anyone who wants to serve has something to offer.
What do you hope to get out of this experience?
I am hoping to gain con
fi
dence, governance and interpersonal skills and
new networks and contacts. Most importantly though, the last few years
have been (and continue to be) really tough for people.
While I want to
gain skills and knowledge from participating in the Boardroom
Apprentice, I hope that through the experience I can make even a small
contribution to improving the lives of people in need by supporting
Extern to do its important work as effectively as possible.
For further details on the Boardroom Apprentice programme, visit www.boardroomapprentice.com