Carolyn talks about her post-ngdp experiences.
Studied: International Management and Modern Languages at Bath University
Projects: Waste Management
After the I took a full time position with West Oxfordshire District Council (WODC) as Health and Environmental Policy Officer within the Environmental Services Directorate. I stayed there for 18 months, before being promoted to Environmental Policy and Performance Management. My role then expanded again and I became part of the Environmental Services Management Team.
After five years I left and joined Oxfordshire County Council (OCC) as their Waste Reduction Manager. This means managing a larger team in a much larger organisation and getting more involved in the partnership elements of waste management.
When I started the ngdp back in 2002, I didn't really know what I wanted to do in local government. WODC presented me a taste of many different projects, and I enjoyed environmental services the most.
So far my favourite project has been working with the Oxfordshire Waste Partnership in developing its strategy, governance and financial arrangements. This is important to all the authorities in the County – we're not only dealing with waste issues, but also with issues surrounding partnership working.
I guess this would also double as the hardest thing I have ever done – with several late nights modelling the movement in money between the County and District Councils.
Waste Management is interesting in that people seem to end up here for so many different reasons – no-one seems to have set out to work in waste! I'm unusual in that respect, as many of my colleagues have engineering or technical backgrounds. Having a wider understanding of local government and the drivers for Councils has helped me understand pressures on services and the need for performance. And the management training has enabled me to move into management roles with a firm grasp of what it means to be a manager. I've picked up technical knowledge along the way – I know more about waste and recycling now than I ever thought possible.
So what next? Like I said, I've only just started at OCC. It's going to be interesting to see what the future holds. With so many changes in local government, who knows?