This year, 6 February 2018 marks 100 years since the Representation of the People Act 1918 first gave some women the right to vote. We are proud to have a diverse team at Clarity Environmental and have a large proportion of women in senior and decision-making roles.
To celebrate this momentous centenary anniversary, each day this week we will introduce you to some of the women that have been instrumental in developing our business and helping it to grow and succeed. Here we look back on their achievements and tell you more about what makes them great.
Hayley Bosworth
Hayley is the longest-serving member of our team. Working with Clarity for over 10 years, Hayley has seen the business develop and diversify, and is a fundamental part of our team today.
Joining us as an administrator, Hayley later supported our WEEE compliance scheme by assisting in the data submission processes. In 2011 she took on the responsibility for our ISO accreditation and has meticulously developed a vast range of policies and procedures for each of our divisions, which hold our business together and ensure it is run to the highest standards. We first received approval to ISO 9001 for quality management, and ISO 14001 for environmental management, in December 2011. With her commitment to finding new ways to build and improve on our management systems, we have successfully maintained our certification over the last seven years.
Hayley is also a helpful and kind member of the team, which was evident when she was awarded ‘Team Member of the year’ at our first staff awards last year. However, her calm and caring nature belies a hidden talent.
In 2013, in a bid to increase her fitness Hayley started Thai Boxing. Five years on and Hayley remains unbeaten, winning her first professional fight in October last year.
Hayley said of her achievements: “Originally I started doing Thai Boxing to keep fit, but as time went on I challenged myself and my anxieties further. I wanted to test myself and see if I could put the skills I had learned into practice, so I started doing friendly interclub competitions, which then progressed onto fighting at bigger shows.
“It’s a tough sport that allows you to push yourself to your limits both mentally and physically, but I train with great coaches and a team that has become like a family and so the rewards are worth the efforts.”
We are incredibly proud of Hayley’s achievements both in and out of the office.
Keeping our business on the right path
Lucy Brooks
Communications Manager
A journalism graduate, Lucy has worked in press office, marketing and public relations roles for almost 20 years. Before joining Clarity, the majority of Lucy’s career was spent in the charity and public sector, working for the RSPCA, NHS and the Environment Agency. In her role as Regional Media Relations Manager for the Environment Agency, Lucy dealt with regional, national and international media, and assisted in the media response to a number of high profile events, such as the devastating Midlands floods in 2007.
Lucy took voluntary redundancy from her role in 2011 due to office relocation and spent some time as a freelancer whilst looking for the right role. During her years at the Environment Agency, Lucy had developed a passion for the environment and sustainability and was delighted to join Clarity as Communications Manager in 2012.
From media relations to event planning and branding to customer communications, Lucy is involved in many aspects of our business. As editor of Clearview, she has significantly developed our corporate monthly newsletter and expanded our digital communications.
Although coming to Clarity with experience in the sector, Lucy says the role was a learning curve for her: “I was used to working in public sector organisations, where the culture can be very different, but I immediately loved the dynamic nature of our business. Working closely with David our Managing Director, from day one I have felt like a valued and important member of the team.
“In the six years I have been at Clarity I have seen the business grow and develop and I would like to think that the work I do has supported that growth. We recently expanded the communications division, taking on a Marketing Executive at the end of last year, which will help us to go even further in the work we do to assist our teams. It’s an exciting time to work at Clarity and we have some big plans for the year ahead.”
Get an insight into the work that Lucy does, and the latest at Clarity Environmental by subscribing to our monthly electronic newsletter, Clearview.
You can also take a look at Clarity in the Press, where you will find contributions we have been asked to make, opinion articles that have been published and interviews and features we have taken part in.
Achieving success against the odds
Lorraine Osborne
Finance Manager
Lorraine joined our team in January 2016 and was initially employed to manage credit control. We were quickly impressed with her exceptional organisational skills and experience in finance and banking, and the following year Lorraine was promoted to Finance Manager.
Lorraine’s role is crucial to the success of our business. Working closely with our directorate, she manages our budgets, cash flow, expenditure, credit control, and collates financial reports that enable our executive team to plan for future growth.
The journey to Lorraine’s career began in Aug 1994 when she successfully completed an access to Business Studies at college while pregnant with her second child. Not wanting to stop there, Lorraine moved to the south coast from London to start an Accountancy and Finance degree at Brighton University.
As a single mum, Lorraine raised her two boys alone, and after many years of working hard and running small businesses that included event management, prop building and PA services, Lorraine was proud to buy her own house.
In more recent years, Lorraine joined Lloyds Banking Group where she spent over ten years as a Corporate Recoveries Executive, where she dealt with asset finance, credit risk and collections and recoveries.
Lorraine says the skills and knowledge she has attained through her life experiences have helped her to make a success of this role and her role at Clarity Environmental. “I understand hardship and I am experienced at finding working ways to help people and businesses make payments of outstanding debts. Running businesses and working in professional and demanding jobs while raising my two children alone means I also had to develop second to none organisational skills. These skills continue to support my role today, and are helping me to ensure that Clarity’s financial management systems are run efficiently and productively.”
Expertly steering our business through change
Vikkie Fitzgerald
Compliance Scheme Manager – WEEE
Vikkie is another of our long-standing team members and has been at Clarity since 2011. Joining the team soon after the formation of our waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) recycling partnership network, it quickly became clear that Vikkie had the right skills and attitude to take it forward.
Popular with her customers and colleagues alike, Vikkie is a real team player who takes an active role in our business.
Just two years into her role and the WEEE market faced some significant challenges. The WEEE recast resulted in some substantial changes to the regulations, but with a strong commitment towards building her expertise and knowledge of the sector, Vikkie efficiently steered our business, alongside our members and partners, through these changes. With ongoing and regular communication, Vikkie helped our recycling partners and WEEE compliance scheme members understand the challenges ahead, enabling them to adapt and prepare.
Not long after the WEEE recast, Vikkie took maternity leave and welcomed a baby daughter. Clarity is committed to providing flexible working options to all who work here, and now that Vikkie’s daughter has just turned four, this commitment continues.
Vikkie told us: “Without the full support of the Directors and other members of the Clarity family, I would not have been able to juggle full-time hours and be a mum. Flexible working for all is something I am extremely passionate about, and to find that the company I was already settled in shared the same ethos as me, was brilliant.
“My daughter will be starting school this year, and so my working pattern will continue to change. The fact that no-one seems to realise I do not do the standard (for the UK) Monday-Friday 9-5 is a testament to what can be achieved outside of the traditional view of working life. I can’t thank Clarity enough for being so forward-thinking and supportive of its staff.”
Welcoming a new member to our team
Naomi Nunan
Office Manager
With our business growing significantly in 2017, earlier this month we welcomed a new Office Manager, Naomi Nunan, to our team who will ensure the Clarity office runs smoothly and efficiently.
Responsible for managing our office policies and procedures, HR, meeting and diary management, Naomi will also provide essential support to our finance department and IT systems.
Naomi’s background is in accountancy. Completing an Accountancy and Finance degree at Brighton University, Naomi went on to work for Coopers & Lybrand (now Price Waterhouse Coopers) for 10 years, where she qualified as a Chartered Accountant. Promoted to a Senior Manager role within the Learning and Development department, Naomi led a project for the redesign of the learning programme for graduates joining the newly merged firm.
Most recently, Naomi spent four years working as a Practice Manager for a local firm of Accountants, where she had a range of responsibilities, from HR to IT systems. During this time she saw the company grow from 30 to 50 staff members, implemented a new feedback and appraisal system as well as making the office as paperless as possible.
With this wealth of experience, we are certain that Naomi is going to be a huge asset to our team.
Outside of the office, Naomi leads an active life. Aside from looking after her two teenage children, two years ago Naomi started playing netball and, despite hardly playing at school, she is now hooked and plays in three different leagues as a Goalkeeper. Naomi has also volunteered with the Brighton Marathon for the last two years, working on a water station, where she enjoys watching the dedicated runners who are “mad enough to give it a go”.
“I am so excited to join the Clarity team, everyone has been so friendly and welcoming. It’s a great time to join the business; it has clear plans for future growth in a sector that makes a difference to the environment. I am looking forward to taking on the running of the office to let the rest of the team continue to focus on giving our clients great customer service”
Keep an eye on our website or subscribe to our monthly newsletter to get the latest from our team members and each of our divisions throughout the year.
