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Staff spotlight: Emily McLean-Inglis

Name: Emily McLean-Inglis
Job title: Assistant Director of Professional Services
Year started at BSMS: October 2021 – the COVID years!

Tell us a bit about your background

I have worked for universities since completing my degrees in London. I studied History and Politics, and Global and Comparative Politics, with a focus on conflict resolution in countries experiencing minority nationalism. I think studying the past and spending a lot of time thinking about how people interact with each other was a useful preparation for the working world.

What’s the day-to-day of your role like?

My role is variable from day to day- sometimes I spend my days moving from one to ones, to going to joint university committees. Some days I am working on the BSMS Strategic plan and it’s implementation, other days I might be focused on Professional Service staff development, and working with the EDI team to progress the Athena Swan (AS) Gold plan. I love the variety and the depth and breadth. I particularly value the interprofessional working relationships I have with my colleagues.

I have a huge respect for my colleagues at all levels. And having spent years working in student offices, and in research teams, I feel as though I still have a massive appreciation for what it feels like to be student facing, and working to deliver a brilliant experience for students, in collaboration with academic colleagues. Tough as it can be, I remember how rewarding it can be.

What aspect of your role do you enjoy the most?

Oh the people for sure, it’s both fascinating and a privilege to work with so many brilliant people.

In terms of successes, which accomplishments are you most proud of?

Work wise, I am proud to have experienced working closely with a wide range of teams over two decades, to have experienced the highs and lows of the higher education sector, and noticed education as a constant of the human condition, and that keeps me motivated, and grounded. Wherever I am and whatever is going on, working to support the delivery of education of people, young and old, national and international, is something I feel proud of.

BACKGROUND IMAGE FOR PANEL

How have you developed your skills professionally since joining BSMS?

Through management training offered a Sussex, through mentoring, and taking opportunities and noticing the different teams across the school and being interested in how things work. I am always curious about what other people do, and finding out more is a really good way of thinking about next steps!

How do you contribute to creating an inclusive and welcoming environment at work?

I hope I do this. It is very important to me. I know I need to keep working on this, and keep encouraging everyone to reflect on their contribution to being inclusive and welcoming. The whole of BSMS contributed to the writing of the strategic plan – we put out staff engagement surveys on the key themes and then used staff responses to write the BSMS vision. From the very beginning it was clear to me that the commitment BSMS has made both in the past and in the present day, to being a place to work which put the values of equality and inclusion as the hearts of it’s mission, was the thing that most defined the school and that has been baked into our strategic plan and one of our key KPIs which I personally am held accountable to is achieving a significant improvement to our scores in the staff survey and to achieving AS Gold again in 2028. This is in recognition of how staff feel about BSMS and of creating the kind of place to work we all want to be.

Tell us about a professional/personal goal you have recently achieved.

I haven’t done a big one in a while. Last year I completed two triathlons, with friends that had never done one before, and cycled the London to Brighton bike ride, again with friends who had never done it before. I learnt from those experiences that I get a lot of joy in supporting other people complete their goals. Next month I am cycling up Mont Ventoux with a friend, who is training to complete 9 stages of the Tour De Femmes. I like playing the supporting role, it’s rewarding in a different way to taking part in these events by yourself.

Who are some of your biggest inspirations within your personal or professional life?

I find inspiration in my colleagues, the different strengths and abilities that people bring to your professional life can be very inspiring. I notice how some people take the time to make you feel welcome and comfortable and that’s so important. Others will be very close to the detail in a way that inspires confidence and others will have such a depth of knowledge across a huge range of topics. Those are brilliant skills which keep me interested and motivated.