We’re delighted at OxFizz HQ to have recently appointed three new staff members - Flo, Alice and Rosie. Here’s a bit more about our star new team …
Hello! I’m Flo and I’m the new Sales & Marketing Coordinator for Oxbridge Interviews. Whilst studying Maths & Statistics at Oxford, I volunteered for Card Aid; selling charity Christmas cards (like many others in the OxFizz team!) and I volunteered for YELP; tutoring students at local state schools. I’ve also had an array of different holiday jobs - I particularly enjoyed working at Explore Learning, tutoring 5-14 year old children in Maths and English. I’m really looking forward to working in such an exciting social enterprise and building on the success of last year.
Hello! My name is Alice and I’m the new Oxbridge Interviews Recruitment & Training Co-ordinator. I will be recruiting volunteer interviewers, running the interviewer training days and making sure that all of our lovely volunteers are happy. While at Oxford, I did quite a bit of charity work (and managed to fit in a little law on the side). I was fundraiser and then president for the Exeter College Charity ‘ExVac’, which runs holidays for Oxfordshire children from disadvantaged backgrounds. I’m really excited to be working with a great social enterprise like OxFizz, and can’t wait for interview season to begin!
Hi, I’m Rosie, Oxbridge Interview’s new Events Coordinator. I have just completed a degree in Philosophy, Politics and Economics from Trinity College, Oxford. During my time at Trinity I was a member of the college choir, orchestra and netball team, and became President of the Oxford University PPE Society in my final year. I started volunteering whilst growing up in Chester, helping at my local Cub, Rainbow and Brownie packs. I continued to volunteer in the summers during university at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, raising money for charities including Hlekweni in Zimbabwe and the Alternatives to Violence Project in Scotland. I am very excited about joining Oxbridge Interviews and am looking forward to working with the team and volunteers!
Our friends over at On Purpose, a great venture supporting social entrepreneurs of the present and the future, have just opened applications for their next intake. Do check them out below…
Applications are open for the January 2012 intake of On Purpose, a one-year, full time programme that helps high-calibre professionals kick-start a career in social enterprise.
Associates undertake two paid 6-month social enterprise placements, coupled to intensive 1:1 support and world-class training provided by professionals from organisations such as McKinsey, Bain, IDEO, the Big Issue, UnLtd and Venturesome.
The programme combines high-calibre talent, who have management skills and the drive to succeed, with an ultimate purpose for good. Past Associates have held positions at some of the world’s top corporations, management consultancies and non-profits; they joined On Purpose to gain invaluable experience, knowledge, and networks in the social enterprise space.
This has allowed past Associates to transition into a new sector whilst boosting their career development at the same time.
The programme was started by Tom Rippin in 2009, who left McKinsey & Company to work in the social sector, first as an advisor on private sector matters to the CEO of Comic Relief and then at (RED), the business founded by Bono and Bobby Shriver to help eliminate AIDS in Africa, where he was the Managing Director for Europe and the Director of Business Development for (RED) International.
We are looking for professionals from all backgrounds who have a track record of achievement and two or more years’ work experience. To apply, please go fill in our online application form that you can access here www.onpurpose.uk.com/what-you-can-do/become-purpose-associate.
Questions? Ask us on Facebook
More about our current and past Associates can be found at: onpurposeuk.blogspot.com and http://www.onpurpose.uk.com/on-purpose-people/2011-associates.
Applications close on Wednesday, 24 August 2011.
Please note that at this time we are unable to provide assistance with obtaining visas to work in the UK. For non UK/EU citizens, work permits would need to be obtained independently.
One of our friends at OxFizz works for Healthtalkonline, and they run a fantastic service called Youthhealthtalk, which deals issues such as teenage cancer, teenage depression, diabetes, and autism. The impact the charity has can be encapsulated below in a quote from Mel, mother of a 3 year old autistic boy:
“A lot of autism websites are full of fact sheets and information, but here you have people talking and I’m sitting here laughing because someone’s saying exactly what I say about my son. It’s a lot more reassuring than a fact sheet. Here you have a variety of different people talking about different aspects of autism, so you can laugh at the bits that make you laugh and cry at the bits that make you cry. You can read words on a page, but to have those people talking to you makes it more familiar. It comes to life and you sit back and think, ‘actually, I’m not the only one’”
We have the exciting news that we’re recruiting three more members of staff to join our team at Oxbridge Interviews.
This is a fantastic opportunity for anyone interested in social enterprise or education.
The position offers the experience of working in an innovative, pioneering, increasingly recognised and high performing social enterprise on the cusp of achieving substantial social impact (we are predicting £100,000 raised for charities and our bursary programme this year, up from £100,000 last year). The successful candidates would play a key role in this - we are a small team so are able to provide genuine hands-on experience.
Do you know anyone who might be interested? If so, do send them the link:
Hannah, Zoe, Sophie, Jamie, Bobby and Chris look forward to welcoming any applications.
We were delighted to see one of OxFizz’s partners, Villiers Park, commended in the Guardian for its approach to social mobility. Villiers Park are one of our partners for our bursary programme at Oxbridge Interviews. For each fee paying interview we offer at Oxbridge Interviews we provide a free support session for a student from a less advantaged background, and the Villiers Park Scholars are amongst a number of students who benefit from this support each year.
The article shows how an innovative approach to raising aspirations has a potentially great impact on social mobility.
We’re looking forward to visiting Hastings and Bexhill, and Swindon in July to support the Villiers Park Scholars with interview preparation and practice interview support.
OxFizz has launched an exciting new venture, the Oxford & Cambridge Summer School. We are keen to hear from any Oxford University postgraduates interested in becoming a volunteer tutor with us in July 2011. Profits generated will go to a charity of your choice!
The Oxford & Cambridge Summer School is looking for tutors interested in playing a real part in the development of the enterprise, acting as ambassadors and feeding back thoughts and ideas on progression. Here are some of the benefits:
- Raise money for a charity of your choice
- Support young people from all backgrounds and nationalities
- Receive excellent support, and develop your tutoring experience
- Be part of our OxFizz social network of new philanthropists
- Contribute to a pioneering social enterprise
For more information please click here.
Last weekend we had our annual team Away Weekend to reflect on progress and plan ahead for the future. At OxFizz we’re passionate about supporting small, local charities who do great work on minimal budgets. The team were delighted to be welcomed by SpecialEffect, a very special charity based in Charlbury in West Oxfordshire, who gave us a talk on their work.
SpecialEffect are technological wizards who enable people with limited mobility to access computers and computer games to help them to communicate and play. Amongst other things, SpecialEffect uses the latest eye software to enable people who otherwise can’t to access technology. Jing from OxFizz tried this out on a racing car game and mastered it impressively. It’s easy to see how powerful the work of SpecialEffect is, helping people to experience and enjoy the things we take for granted.
To see an example of how SpecialEffect works, see the video below.
We’d like to say a big thank you to Mick, Nick and Bill at SpecialEffect for introducing us to their work. They are trying to find people happy to spread the SpecialEffect message on Facebook and Twitter, and if you’re able to help do get in touch with them via their website.
Oxbridge Interviews is keen to hear from any Oxbridge graduates (or undergraduates in their final year who will graduate this year) interested in becoming a volunteer interviewer with Oxbridge Interviews. Training and support are provided, and travel expenses are paid.
Oxbridge Interviews is looking for interviewers interested in playing a real part in the development of the enterprise, acting as ambassadors and feeding back thoughts and ideas on progression. Here are some of the benefits:
- Raise money for a charity of your choice
- Fund a free mock interview for pupils on the bursary scheme
- Receive excellent training and support, and develop your interviewing skills
- Be part of our OxFizz social network of new philanthropists
- Contribute to a pioneering social enterprise
For more information please click here.
We’re delighted to welcome Jing and Zoe as our two new members of staff at OxFizz. It’s an exciting moment for us as we are doubling size of the team. Jing and Zoe will be joining Hannah and Jamie, and will be based at our offices near Liverpool Street.
To let you get to know them they’ve each penned a quick note below…
Hello! I’m Jing and I’m the Recruitment and Training Coordinator for Oxbridge Interviews. My role will be to recruit, train and act as a support for our volunteer interviewers. Oxbridge Interviews is a fantastic opportunity to be a part of a dynamic and growing social enterprise, and I look forward to welcoming you onto our volunteers’ team!
More about Jing…
During her undergraduate degree, Jing helped found the University of Cambridge Frontiers Society. Frontiers was set up to bring light to the importance of personal transferable skills, and they hosted workshops with university and sixth form students. Since graduating from Economics in 2006, Jing spent a few months working in a jewellery boutique in Knightsbridge, London. Deciding that she wanted to pursue a career in the third sector, she went on to study for an MA in Social Anthropology of Development (2007/8), and an MSc in Development Studies (2008/9) at the School of Oriental and African Studies. During the summer of 2009, Jing interned at the Gender and Development department at the United Nations Research Institute in Social Development (UNRISD) in Geneva. She is very excited to be joining the Oxbridge Interviews team and getting back to her social enterprise roots! During her free time she likes to cook and bake, and has a particular weakness for pub quizzes!
We’re also delighted to have Zoe on our team as our first ever Customer Services Coordinator. Read more about Zoe below…
Zoe grew up in Reading where she gained her first experience in the voluntary sector working with Contact Centres UK, before spending a gap year teaching English with various schools and charities in Vietnam. Whilst reading Modern History at Oxford, Zoe worked with the development of a new student charity, FELLOW, offering free English language lessons to migrant workers in Oxford. Zoe has also been involved with community organising, interning with London Citizens in 2009. With experience of widening participation schemes in Oxford and as a student helper on interview weeks, Zoe is excited to be developing this year’s interview season with Oxbridge Interviews, as well as learning more about OxFizz.
As we’ve mentioned on this blog before there is a great website called Escape the City which acts as a resource for people interested in doing something different.
Esc asked two of the OxFizz founders to explain a bit about how we got involved with setting up OxFizz back in 2007.
Esc is a really interesting, useful and relevant resource, do check it out.
All views expressed on this blog are the opinions of their respective authors, and do not necessarily represent the views of OxFizz.