International Women’s Day: Charlotte’s journey

This International Women’s Day, we’re celebrating some of the inspirational women who make Amber the organisation it is.
 
Charlotte Beard is a Senior Business Analyst/Business Architect (SBA) in our Digital Enablement Team and has been at Amber for nearly 7 years. Since joining, Charlotte has proved herself to be a trailblazer, combining productivity with creativity.
 
We are so excited to celebrate her story for this International Women’s Day.

Charlotte’s story

Before Amber, my background was very focused on working with customers and on the client side of things. I quickly discovered that I am a creative person and interested in operations and learning how things work. In the past, I was quite shy but also a very artsy person. While this was a passion, I knew I never wanted to make it my career path and decide to try a different route.
 
I never went to university and decided to get into the world of work right away. My career really started off with door-to-door sales, which then moved into working in retail as a store manager in my 20s. After this, I went into various client-facing roles from Account Executive to Account Management and then Service Delivery Management. I then found I was being pushed into an operational manager role for UK and Poland, which really didn’t work for me.
 
This was the point where I learnt the value of having a supportive group of friends and how that safety net is super important. They encouraged me to find something else that would make me happy and suit me better. That’s when I found my job at Amber. When I first started at Amber, in 2018, I was a Client Onboarding Manager, a role that I really enjoyed. Having always been in customer-facing roles, this was perfect for me.
 
I have a keen interest in problem-solving and finding efficiencies in process, and I was lucky to have a manager who saw this and encouraged me to get involved in the business operations side – a path which has led me to where I am today.  Outside of work, I love to volunteer and support a local community group with a woodland and allotment, which is a fun way to get outside and meet new people. For me, volunteering helps me find a balance between work and my personal time.
 
Now that I am part of the B Team, I have a real opportunity to work on the community side of things and champion volunteering within the business. As it’s a passion of mine, I am happy to recommend to colleagues’ fun ways to support the communities around them, or ways to bring us together and have some fun.

Charlotte’s IWD tip

As a woman in sector, remember you don’t always have to be perfect, but also don’t be afraid to ask questions. Most importantly, don’t be afraid to hold people to account when you need to.

Don’t be afraid to ask for help and learn from the people around you. But most importantly, if you’re interested in new opportunities, don’t hold back always have a go.