Senior Commercial Manager Review

I am a Senior Commercial Manager. The role involves conduct and control activity across the UK Insurance and Packs product portfolio and relationship management of our key Insurance suppliers. I lead a team of three and our activities include audit support, risk and issue management, coordination and chairing of governance forums, impact assessment and implementation of regulatory change and IT resilience planning.

I have learnt how to document requirements through using UML models, which has been new to me and whilst challenging has been really enjoyable. I have also undertaken a piece of critical reflection - whilst we consider development goals in the workplace, using this method has enabled me to dig deeper than I usually would, which has provided me with some useful insights into myself.

I've really enjoyed the programme to date - the content has been interesting and relevant, the sessions have been extremely engaging and the cohort has a great mix of enthusiastic colleagues from across the business. The standard of teaching has been great and there is plenty of support available. I'm obviously disappointed that we haven't been able to attend the university physically as I think that it would have added to the experience further. Also, as I have got children, I have had the extra pressure (driven by closure of the schools) of trying to manage the lectures and assignments around homeschooling and childcare.

The programme has been well organised and has been flexible where colleagues have had to join later or dip in and out of lectures due to the implications of Covid-19. The Moodle platform is a great way of managing all of the resources that support the course (if only we could access it via our work computers!).

My business area has been very supportive - both my line manager and the MD for my business area were extremely encouraging about me pursuing the apprenticeship. I am able to dedicate time during my working week towards studying and leverage the knowledge of my colleagues to support research for my assignments. To be able to work towards a Masters Degree on the job (which is paid for by Barclays) is a real opportunity and I feel proud that Barclays is willing to invest in me.

The support from the University has been very good. Outside of the formal lectures, the professors and tutors have made themselves available for individual 121 sessions to discuss assignments and coursework and held group surgery sessions for us. The skills coaches have also connected with us to help us understand what we need to do to ensure we adequately capture our learning to evidence our continuing professional development. The course leaders have also made a wealth of further reading and helpful resources available via Moodle.

I feel that the qualification is helping me to apply a more strategic lens to what I am doing at work - considering how we do things currently and how they could be improved. I am also already starting to leverage some of the more practical skills - I successfully documented a proposed process using a UML activity diagram and it was really well received. Finally, from meeting others from across the organisation, the course is helping me to both develop a great internal network but also learn how other areas of the business are approaching digital and technological transformation.

There are a multitude of social activities, charitable events and colleague networks at Barclays - which under normal circumstances happen face to face (and are being held virtually currently). Examples which I have had recent involvement in included a seminar provided on how to raise confident children (from the Working Families Network) and a Q and A session on "How to Fail in the Digital Age" with Elizabeth Day (as part of the Barclays Digital Unleashed week of learning).

Yes

I have worked at Barclays since I graduated university nearly 20 years ago. During my time with the company, I have been accredited by the CIPD, for Prince 2 at Practioner level and PMP for Managing Successful Programmes. Barclays has funded and supported me through all of this learning and is now funding my Masters degree. I have three children and the organisation has enabled me so much flexibility in terms of the way I balance my home life and my work, which is another thing it has going for it. Finally and most importantly, it is the people that make Barclays really special - I enjoy my role, but it is the team that I get to work with that really makes the job great.

I would advise candidates to be genuine and let their personalities shine through when they apply or are interviewed. I would also encourage them to call out any areas for development - as previously mentioned, the organisation is willing to invest in you if they see something in you. I also think its invaluable to speak to someone within the team before you go to interview (appreciate that this isn't always possible if you are interviewing as an external candidate) - to get a better feeling for the culture of the team and how things work in advance.