In Your Shoes - Nicola Donnelly

Nicola Donnelly is Business Development Officer at The Circle Dundee, which is a hub for charities, social enterprises, community groups & socially aware businesses. They provide affordable offices & community space. By bringing organisations together, they are promoting collaboration & fostering innovation that does social good in the city. Nicola is keen to meet organisations who are interested in lending their support to a growing social enterprise.

Mondays are spent with leo

Monday is a non-working day for me. Or should I say, a non-salaried day. I end up working pretty hard! I returned to work part-time after maternity leave so Mondays are spent with Leo. We play, go swimming, meet family and friends, go to the park and enjoy our time together. Today we had a morning at home playing and had a visitor in the afternoon.

Back to work with a bang!

Back to work with a bang today! It’s all go at The Circle as we are in our second day of the Resilient Communities event with UnLtd. The day starts with a Founders Stories breakfast, then Jamie McBrearty runs a Growth Mindset workshop which received great reviews. We have a break for lunch and then it’s straight into pitches. Four groups with great ideas for enterprises with social aims pitch to a panel for funding. UnLtd have made £20,000 available for this round in Dundee and it will be shared amongst them. The final decision on who gets what will be made later in September. The last event of the day is Meet the Funder with Big Lottery Scotland who always bring in a crowd. We are a small team at The Circle so with a programme like this running we all get involved to make things run smoothly. 

Business Development Officer

As Business Development Officer, I speak to a lot of people about The Circle. I like to share the stories of our tenants who are all doing great things in Dundee. To make sure I understand what our tenants’ priorities are and I can share my network with them, I am having review meetings with them all. Today I meet Winnie Duncan from Partners in Advocacy Dundee. They offer independent advocacy across Dundee to children and young people who are aged 21 and under. PiA in Dundee welcomes referrals for all children and young people who are unable to act for themselves or have no independent person to act for them. They are adding a second person to their team soon and are keen to raise awareness of their organisation.

launch of the Corporate Opportunities programme

Today I am catching up with organisations who have expressed interest in helping The Circle since the launch of the Corporate Opportunities programme. We are enthusiastic in developing our partnerships with other organisations and appreciate assistance with event speakers, donations of goods and services and sponsorship. Recording all these interactions is important for the rest of the team to see details of discussions and to make sure I follow up on actions.
I have a tenant review meeting with Jacqui from Apex Scotland. The Apex office at The Circle have two functions. Jacqui works with people facing barrier to employment, often this can be people with a criminal conviction, helping them get ‘job-ready’ and finding opportunities. Other members of the team work with offenders either in prison preparing them from release, or once released on rehabilitation back into the community. Apex are always interested in hearing from employers who can offer work placements.

My working week is now done. As I am leaving the Dundee Comic Creative Club are getting ready to start the first of ten classes being held at The Circle.

Busy Fridays

Fridays are busy days for Leo and I. In the morning we go to a Baby Sensory class and ‘say hello to the sun’. That’s a wee reference for Baby Sensory parents! We grab some lunch and then head to Armistead Child Development Centre for the afternoon. Leo goes there two afternoons per week and gets great input from the early years team, physiotherapists and occupational therapists. He loves it and is making great progress. I step out for part of the afternoon and enjoy a coffee and read my Kindle in the parents’ lounge.

Friday - Overgate Visit

The Overgate have recently signed up to be part of the Carers Charter. I popped into see them and hand in some literature for them to display – keep your eyes peeled next time you visit.

I couldn’t not visit, the Archie & Oor Wullie Bucket Bash exhibition, whilst in the Overgate which is fantastic as always.

Then I visited some businesses to discuss the Carers Charter, it’s so nice getting to meet people face to face.

I try to finish up any pending jobs so I can get that Friday feeling and enjoy my weekend!

Friday - Overgate Visit

The Overgate have recently signed up to be part of the Carers Charter. I popped into see them and hand in some literature for them to display – keep your eyes peeled next time you visit.

I couldn’t not visit, the Archie & Oor Wullie Bucket Bash exhibition, whilst in the Overgate which is fantastic as always.

Then I visited some businesses to discuss the Carers Charter, it’s so nice getting to meet people face to face.

I try to finish up any pending jobs so I can get that Friday feeling and enjoy my weekend!

Monday

First full day back in the office, and for my daughter it’s her first day back at school. We manage the morning with no hiccups and I arrive at the office refreshed and raring to go.

We only moved into our new office premises in Dundee in October, so it still has that lovely new feeling about it. I’m joined by my colleagues Debbie and Fiona, and it feels nice to have the team back together and to have time to catch up and hear how everyone enjoyed the festive period. We are all excited about the launch of our Dundee office and our plans for 2023.

The first meeting of the day starts at 10am with an internal team meeting where we catch up and review what is outstanding and what actions are needed over the coming weeks to prepare us for our scheduled meetings and to progress our clients’ planning opportunities. This month we have 15 client reviews to prepare for so it’s going to be a busy one.

We are all on the typical January healthy eating regime so lots of soups, fruit and yoghurts making an appearance in the office fridge.

It’s so busy that I don’t have time to stop for a cup of tea until 4pm where I have to confess to giving into the temptations of a Lindt chocolate, still only one so I think that’s allowed after a busy day!

Tuesday

Certificate day: I look ahead for any compliance certificates due for renewal in the coming month, check our clients’ preferences and contact the relevant contractors. These include Gas Safety Certificates, Electrical Safety Certificates and Risk Assessments. Property agents have to make sure they are offering safe accommodation and we are passionate about this. Lunch is a wee bit more leisurely today.

Wednesday

Wednesday is another admin catch up day, focusing on invoicing and reconciling rents. I’d like to say this is sexy, but it isn’t. However, making certain that my clients have precise and clear statements each month is really important, so I always make time to do this accurately.

It is the 1st Wednesday of the month, so I’m co-hosting Property Podcast Networking Evening at Hampton by Hilton, with my good friend Kessar Salimi. These events are great to keep up with current events in property and expand my network, as well as providing the opportunity to meet and compare notes with like-minded professionals