Jas Seehra- Pearce
Business Operations Manager, Student & Academic Services Executive Office
University of Greenwich
How does it feel to be a woman in leadership here in Greenwich?
I am very proud to be considered a leader by my colleagues here at the University of Greenwich and know that I am supported and valued by my peers to have a voice in arenas where change can be made. I am truly grateful for the opportunities to work across the organisation with other empowering women who have helped me on this journey and to get me to where I am. Having the chance to have that voice and lead on projects has been a massive enabler in finding myself and who I am as an inclusive leader. I have been fortunate to have a range of managers (both men and women) who have shown me how to be a leader and have championed the work I do within the team, directorate and beyond. For me it is being considered and taking my opinion and voice not at face value but with meaning that creates change and impact. The University of Greenwich is such an inclusive place to work and there are so many female role models here that inspire me to do better, be better and trust in myself.
I can honestly say that I have suffered from imposter syndrome and without the support of these amazing women I would never have got past that block and be seen. I know that whenever I have an issue, when I feel like I am failing or I just can’t get passed something, there is also a colleague who will support me, help me grow, involve me, coach me and give me the advice and encouragement to succeed.
It is an honour and a privilege to be able to hold a position where I can influence change, not for myself but for my community and help them shape their own paths, be themselves and help shape the change we want to see.
Tell us about your career journey, and how you ended up at Greenwich.
I will start but noting that I did not have a career plan and my journey thus far has taken in on a journey into a variety of roles, but the one thing that did stay the same was working in the Education Sector.
I studied Criminology here at the university of Greenwich and worked part time in the Accommodation Services and then took my journey into Further Education where I started as Personal Assistant to 2 Directors and then moved into working in Information, Advice and Guidance providing support for students in the areas of welfare and safeguarding and providing educational and careers advice to students from the age of 14 upwards. The welfare and safeguarding part of the role could feel draining but knowing that I could support and help them in times of need and crisis gave me job satisfaction within my role.
The education and careers side was always a highlight and being able to restructure areas to make the offer better really helped me develop my skills and gave me opportunities to take on projects which had a financial gain for the institution and developing policies and procedures that supported the work that I did.
Further Education started to become a bit unstable with Ofsted ratings and decreases in funding and I had been looking for an opportunity to get a foot in Higher Education. Luckily for me I was able to secure a position within the Accommodation Services where I had a very supportive manager and Head of Service that allowed me to have autonomy within my role and develop areas within Accommodation Services to enhance the student experience. Within this time, a role came up for an EDI Advisor (part time) and I took the opportunity to apply not knowing that this would lead to a major change in my career aspirations and support me in gaining my role as the Business Operation Manager for SAS and moving the EDI Advisor role to an EDI Business Partner and here we are today with a university led Race Action Plan, a BAME Leadership programme and support operations at a strategic level within Student and Academic Services where I have the pleasure of managing two very different teams along with five different streams of work.
What tips would you give to the women at Greenwich today? Any top tips to empower women in the University of Greenwich community?
I am very much a believer in paying back in kind the support I received so would support any colleague that would like the opportunity for me to support them.
- Always be yourself and if you ever feel like you are not, just remember you have colleagues around you who will support you, help you
- Champion yourself, it is good to feel good about the positive and impactful things that you do and celebrate your success
- It is ok to not know everything and remember that learning and development is continuous
- Never be afraid to ask for help
- Get a mentor / coach and sponsor to help you with your career journey
- If things don’t go to plan remember to give yourself time to reflect so you can learn and grow from the experience and lastly
- Create your balance, be inspired and experience what you can and support others to grow
And to you all, remember you have got this, you have what it takes to be a leader and wherever your career takes you, celebrate what you have achieved, what you are achieving and what you will achieve and I believe in you.