Louise Bradbury and Nicola Senior

Capital Communications Manager - Job share 

"We are both very lucky to have a great work life balance and a great job-share partner, there aren't many companies who would be so understanding of our needs as mothers and employees." 

 

We both work in the Capital Communications Team and I've (Louise) just returned to this post 4 weeks ago after a nine month break for maternity leave and am now in a job-share role with my colleague Nicola Senior.

Funnily enough we both decided to join Yorkshire Water for exactly the same reasons: we perceived the company to be an efficient organisation that provides a quality value for money product, and this feeling was cemented when we joined the company.

"One of the reasons I love this job is that I don't tend to have a 'typical day'.  My job is so varied that every day is very different." said Nicola.

A typical day however could involve a site meeting to assess some forthcoming capital work, or a meeting with a Solution Manager or one of our Contract Partners to discuss a PR plan for a capital scheme.  Our role is to ensure that any capital work we do is communicated and carried out effectively and the benefits of the work are promoted to key audiences such as customers, KOFs (Key Opinion Formers), and the media. This role provides lots of opportunities to meet and engage with lots of different people both internally and externally.

We have both developed so much during our time at Yorkshire Water. "My confidence has grown, as has my experience" said Louise.

Yorkshire Water encourages its employees to get involved in community based activities. About a quarter of our employees are involved in the volunteering programme.  These activities range from becoming a school governor to mentoring a child with reading difficulties, to participating in our social marketing campaign 'One million green fingers' with your team members.  Volunteering not only gives you a great sense of wellbeing but can be good for your personal development too.

Everybody has the opportunity to develop at Yorkshire Water. I (Nicola) completed a years Management Diploma programme which  was run by Yorkshire Water and Leeds Metropolitan University which has enabled me to recently develop into a people management role. 

Yorkshire Water is an excellent company to work for with a strong focus on delivering an everyday essential commodity in a way which makes them shine over and above other utilities.  However, the management team recognise that this can only be achieved through teamwork in which each and every employee has a part to play.  

We are both very lucky to have a great work life balance and a great job-share partner, there aren't many companies who would be so understanding of our needs as mothers and employees.