Case studies : Student programme officer: Nicola Helme

Nicola is a student programme officer for the children’s charity Barnardo’s. She graduated two years ago from the University of Hull with an undergraduate Masters in Physical Geography.

In my role as student programme officer at Barnardo’s I manage student volunteers who undertake fundraising activities. I work with course groups, individual volunteers and societies to help them organise fundraising events on behalf of the charity.

My volunteering experiences, both during and since university, enabled me to get this job. I volunteered for a range of organisations, gaining skills in volunteer management, project management, communication and problem solving amongst other things. I also supplemented my volunteering by undertaking an internship following graduation. This was in the environment department of a utilities company, so linked to my degree but did not enable me to fulfil my passion for helping people, which is why I chose to make the leap to the charity sector.

Although not directly relevant to my current job, my degree gave me valuable skills which I now use every day.  For example my degree enabled me to learn to confidently take on a new problem and break it down methodically and to be able to present information in a clear and concise way.

In my role, I have a lot of freedom to use my initiative to develop activities which benefit students and support the vital work that Barnardo's Children’s Services do. Being a part of such a beneficial organisation is very satisfying - I am proud to work for Barnardo's. I also enjoy working with the student volunteers as they are so passionate about what they do - there is always a positive atmosphere at their events.

Developing new fundraising initiatives is the most challenging aspect of my role as charity fundraising is very competitive, particularly when money is tight and funding for charities is being reduced. However it enables me to be creative, develop ideas and hopefully see them through to delivery of successful, profitable events.

Since starting at Barnardo’s a year ago, my role has developed with higher targets set. I now manage a complex portfolio of fundraising initiatives and a high number of volunteers, which was a challenge when I first started. I hope to continue in this role and will look eventually to move on to a role where I focus on providing even more opportunities for young people.

I would advise anyone thinking of entering the charity sector to do as much volunteering as they can to gain experience. When you take on a volunteer role, you are often given more responsibility than you would otherwise gain in entry level jobs which allows you to stand out at interviews. If you want to work with children, why not become a volunteer at a children’s service, if you want to work in marketing, maybe do work experience in the marketing department of a local charity, if you want to be a fundraiser you could put on some charity events at your students union…there are opportunities to suit everyone! Even if it’s just some one off activities you do, the experience you gain will help you stand out from the crowd.