Making Manchester my home
I was born in the Midlands, but grew up in China. l’d always wanted to go to the city where my parents met and raved about, so studying at The University of Manchester was the inevitable choice for me. Upon graduating in 2015, I put my degree in Chinese and Business Management to use and started working at the Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce as an International Trade Officer.
The best of both worlds
I worked at the Chamber for just over a year, and then started a job with The Manchester China Forum, and this is when my career with GC began – the forum is part-delivered through MIDAS. It was perfect for me, and centred around the country I'd grown up in, involved speaking both Chinese and English, and working in the city that I loved. I worked for the China Forum for three years progressing to become Project Manager in 2018.
In late 2019, I made the move to work directly for MIDAS as Business Development Manager, looking at international market development.
During the pandemic, I was seconded from MIDAS to the GMCA, and lead the refresh of Greater Manchester’s International Strategy and supported the Mayor with international engagement.
Embracing the scope and diverse nature of our organisation
A real positive for me, and a big benefit of working at GC, is that you can really see the impact of the work that we do – that’s probably my biggest driver for staying here for eight years. Alongside that, I think the diversity of our organisation is amazing, especially because I sit in the group strategy team – I see everything that's going on.
I’ve been able to develop in a way that I probably wouldn't have been able to anywhere else – because of the nature of our diverse organisation.
After a couple of years on secondment at the GMCA, I heard about a Strategic Lead role in GC’s Strategy Team. I knew I wanted experience beyond working on International activities so this role was perfect, helping me grasp the full scope of economic development! The best thing about this role is the opportunity I’ve been given to expand my knowledge in sustainability and support GC’s ambitions to grow its Green Services.
Empowered to venture into new fields
GC is a lovely place to work, its supportive, people are approachable and the guidance I’ve received from other colleagues has been invaluable. I can honestly say that lots of colleagues have helped me progress, and influenced my career in many different ways.
Whilst at MIDAS, it was the CEO who helped me work out what I wanted to do next. He mentored me to find the right opportunities, which I’ll always be thankful for.
When I came into GC I had limited knowledge around sustainability, but had the drive, to learn about it – and I now feel that one of my biggest achievements is my growing understanding of sustainability issues, and the inter-connected ways we can address them. This has been made possible with the support and commitment from those around me.
It’s with GC’s support that I’ve also progressed with my studies and gained a couple more qualifications that I’m super proud of – I got a double distinction: one in ‘Masters in Management Practice’, and then another on my ‘Level 7 Apprenticeship in Senior Leadership’.
I’ve enjoyed every step of my GC journey to date, and feel quite blessed to have met some wonderful people on the way. My advice to our colleagues would be, if you are looking to progress your career then look within GC, whether that’s via the internal careers page, speaking to your manager, our Ed & Skills offerings, or through benefits such as mentoring. There is something for everyone at GC.