Sarah- Working at Centre 404 for 10 years

Sarah, our Head of Operations at Independent Living, is celebrating her work at Centre 404 for 10 years. Here is an interview for Sarah with her manager Claire, our Director Of Independent Living and Specialist Services at Centre 404.

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To Sarah

Question 1: Congratulations on completing a decade at Centre 404! How does it feel to have spent such a long time with Centre 404?

Sarah’s Answer: Thank you! It does not feel like 10 years. I have been involved in so many great achievements and supported the organisation through very tough times for example working through the the pandemic . Time has flown!

Question 2: What motivates you to come to work every day, and how do you keep your team motivated and engaged?

Sarah’s Answer: The service users! And our amazing managers and staff! Every time that a service user achieves their own goals, I feel I am doing a good job. I may not be part of the everyday frontline support anymore, but I work hard with the managers to make sure our service users receive the best possible support and opportunities.

Question 3: Who has been the biggest inspiration or role model for you during your career at Centre 404, and how have they influenced your approach to leadership and operations management?

Sarah’s Answer: Claire, our Director! She is an amazing person and an incredibly skilled and knowledgeable leader.

Question 4: What advice would you give to someone who is just starting their career in operations, and what qualities do you think are essential for success in this role?

Sarah’s Answer: Well, managing operations in a charity is quite challenging. We are expected to deliver high-quality services with very limited funding. I would say that having a good problem-solving approach is a good start. Resilience, creativity… and common sense! Being flexible and approachable.

Question 5: Looking back at your 10 years at Centre 404, what would you say is your proudest moment or accomplishment?

Sarah’s Answer: From a professional point of view, each time I was able to grow and develop in the different roles I have worked on.

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To Claire

Question 1: How does it feel to have team members who have remained with Centre 404 for a decade?

Claire’s Answer: Sarah is an amazing resource to have within the team. Over her time at Centre 404, she has developed in various roles and now in her current role, she is the perfect partner in crime 😊 She provides great consistency for the managers she supports, she has retained a huge amount of knowledge in relation to various service users she has worked with over the years and has built up experience working across all projects. She is a huge support to me and due to her hard-working and consistent approach, I know that Independent living is in safe hands.

Question 2: How have you seen Sarah grow and develop professionally over the years?

Claire’s Answer: Sarah has grown and developed into a very competent Head of Operations. She has worked extensively with me on budget analysis, in business development opportunities, and her keen eye for detail means nothing gets past her. She is keen to learn and has flourished in her role taking on extra responsibilities with PBS, dementia care development, End of Life Care and training delivery. There is no challenge too big and her supportive nature, ensures that she takes time with people to make sure that they understand new tasks or roles that they might be faced with.

Question3: What lessons have you learned as a manager from working with these dedicated and committed staff members?

Claire’s Answer: Woking with Sarah has taught me a huge amount. We have a great relationship where we can discuss different approaches and come at problems from different angles to ensure we are tackling issues in the right way. We have an open and honest relationship which makes it easy to have healthy debates where needed, not be afraid to bring new ideas and complement each other’s strengths and development areas. Sarah and the team, motivate me to come to work each day. Their success in their roles and the happiness of the people we support are really what I value. Investing in teams and each other gives the reward of committed and dedicated staff members who stay and work together longer as they have a happy, healthy and productive work environment.

Question 4: Any extra points that you would like to mention?

Claire’s Answer: Sarah is a star. I am sure I am not the only person at Centre 404 who would sing her praises. I am truly grateful that she has stayed with Centre 404 for 10 years and I feel confident and proud when I attend meetings and discussions with her. I cannot say thank you enough to her for all her hard work and commitment over the years.

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End of the interview, Thank you!