Working on the ERIC Helpline and hearing first-hand how having just one child with a continence issue (wee and poo problems) can overwhelm whole families, I have often wondered what it must be like to head up a charity with a cause like ERIC’s. So, I managed to get Jenny Perez – ERIC’s Director – to squeeze me into her busy schedule and talk to her about being ERIC’s Director. What follows is Jenny’s candid response…
Having responsibility for what happens in a charity that is reliant upon funding can lie heavy on the shoulders of those that head it up, but this didn’t deter Jenny from applying for what has now been her job for over 4 years. How do you raise the profile of a charity that deals with children’s wee and poo? It’s not the most heart-wrenching of causes and doesn’t conjure up appealing images to work with, but for Jenny ERIC’s work was attractive and having young children of her own, she had an insight into the impact that childhood continence can have on families.
Keeping all the balls in the air and being ready to catch one if it starts to fall is how Jenny describes the main function of her job and having a finger on the pulse of the organisation is essential as she carries responsibility for the day-to-day workings of ERIC. She needs to ensure that ERIC performs effectively and efficiently and that the funding alongside the budgeting works.
‘Director’ is the job title but within that are a number of roles – decision maker, office manager, figurehead, manager of the senior management team to name but a few! However, this all adds to the variety that Jenny enjoys so much about her job and the contact with people that it affords her. She also enjoys working for a charity and the opportunities it gives to speak out about childhood continence, raising its profile and lessening the stigma around this complex issue.
Some of the more challenging – but nonetheless stimulating – areas of being ERIC’s Director are matching the aspirations that ERIC (the charity) has with the funding that is available and also managing people’s expectations within that, be they service users, professionals or staff. Having to spend time concentrating on the paperwork side of her job means that she has less people contact and this can be quite a challenge because for Jenny – people are what it’s all about!
When setting budgets, Jenny needs to bear in mind that ERIC’s biggest spend is staff, then she looks at the cost of services already provided and any opportunities to develop more. She assesses these costs so that she can set budgets at a realistic level. A recent success that adds to the annual budgeting exercise for the next three years has been to secure funding for an ‘ERIC Nurse.’ Jenny has cultivated this exciting project from its beginning – an inspirational innovation that has the potential to develop ERIC’s work at a dynamic level.
Jenny finds that networking offers opportunities and partnerships based around raising ERIC’s profile and giving it a voice, and can enable the charity to provide extra services in a more cost-effective way. How does Jenny foresee growth for ERIC in the future? Well, using volunteers across the country, being well-represented at NHS level and creating new business and funding opportunities are all potential growth areas that she is excited about. Being ERIC’s Director requires vision and Jenny has plenty of that – her ultimate vision being that ERIC becomes a household name!
Thank you Jenny for sharing with us what it’s like to be ERIC’s Director!
Jayne M
ericuk.wordpress.com 