ABOUT

So what do you actually do?

My day-to-day work involves supporting the running of one of our projects. My job is very varied. It involves community engagement, communications and social media, working collaboratively with the local council, the NHS and other partners, research, budgeting and reporting.

I also run my own social enterprise Critics’ Club, which delivers cultural programmes with young people, helping them to engage with cultural spaces as critics. As I’m a solo founder, I do pretty much everything – from programme design and facilitation, finances, sales, fundraising and marketing.

You can probably tell I like juggling lots of things at once!

What has your career path been?

I studied French and Spanish at the University of Birmingham and was really lucky to have the opportunity to both work and study abroad as part of my degree. I wasn’t really sure what I wanted to do after university - the traditional career routes for languages graduates into translation and teaching didn’t excite me.  I knew, however, that I was interested in inequality and social justice, education, the arts and culture.

I ended up moving to London after graduating to begin a 10-month social entrepreneurship programme. As part of the programme, I worked on the frontline in a school and also as a consultant for a local Council, before launching Critics’ Club as my own social business. This was a really exploratory time in my life where I learnt a lot about the social enterprise and charity sector, was able to develop lots of new skills and also create some really useful networks.  

After the programme finished, I began running Critics’ Club part-time, as well as freelancing for an arts organisation and a social enterprise tackling educational inequality.

The coronavirus pandemic meant both schools and cultural venues closed so I put a pause to running Critics’ Club programmes. I started my current role during lockdown – which is strange as I’ve never met most of my colleagues in real life!

I was excited to work for a racial-justice organisation on a project that is supporting Black communities through systems change. The project is also centred on reversing power structures, uplifting marginalised voices and involving communities in decision-making processes which I think is very radical and forward-thinking.

Overall, I guess my career path has been seeking out opportunities that push boundaries, create change and align with my values. 

What is the best part of your job?

I like how varied each day is and the flexibility of my role.

We are a really small team, and the project is very ambitious, so my work is fast paced and very hands on. I also get to work with some really inspiring people who are delivering grassroots projects for local communities. I most enjoy when I am able think creatively and strategically to find a solution to a problem or challenge.

Why do you do your job?

Because I care about Black communities, I care about dismantling oppressive systems and structures and want to work to create a more equal and just society.

I want to spend my energy working on things that I’m passionate about. If I’m going to feel tired at the end of a busy week, I want to be able to look back and think I’ve helped to make some kind of difference.

One piece of advice for someone starting in your role?

Seek out opportunities and projects that truly excite you; this work can be exhausting but also so rewarding.

On that note, make sure you prioritise down-time. When you care about what you are working on, it can easily become all-consuming. It’s important to be able to switch off and relax.

Check out Yasmin’s socials below!

DAY IN THE LIFE

I’d love to say that my typical day starts with a morning yoga session and meditation as soon as I wake up, but in reality, I probably start most days lying in bed scrolling on social media (not good, I know!).

As I’m currently working from home, I have the luxury of not having a commute and can enjoy a slow morning, eating breakfast, drinking a strong coffee and checking the news for anything interesting. 

I start work at around 9am. There isn’t really a stereotypical day in the life for me, as my work requires me to play lots of different roles at once. Generally, I will start each week with a team meeting; this is where the whole team checks in and updates on their priorities for the week. We also have a separate weekly meeting for my specific project, where we update on progress against the project’s strategy document, as well as flag any deadlines and upcoming meetings that we need to prepare for.

We use a project manager tool to coordinate and track our tasks and deadlines, so we make sure that that is up to date at the beginning of each week.

The rest of my day will be really varied. Most likely, I will have several meetings with a variety of different people; they could be local community members, grassroots organisations, employees from the local council or our funders.

I will also spend lots of time responding to emails to co-ordinate different pieces of work; this could be reviewing a piece of research our team has commissioned, creating a presentation for an upcoming meeting, or writing an update report.

I usually try and finish work by 6pm at the latest, and then spend some time away from my laptop and phone – reading a book, chatting with friends, cooking or spending some time outside.