This month our spotlight interview is with our fab Senior Project Manager – Katy Willcox
How did your career start in Partnerships & Loyalty?
My career in Partnerships & Loyalty started right here at Mando!
I did a degree in Film & Television Production at York St John University and then worked in the TV & Media industry for nine years working on a real mix of broadcasts from live music, corporate videos, TV adverts, managing a TV Studio…so to come over to Mando to work in Project Management and Operations was a real switch but something I have really enjoyed and shows how you don’t need to stick on one career path- you can use your transferrable skills and forge a new route!
What has been your biggest achievement/ most proud of outside of work?
Apart from my fabulous one year old daughter, I would probably say running the London Marathon in 2021. I always wanted to run the marathon whilst I lived in London, but due to it being postponed because of COVID, I ended doing it a couple of years later and in that time I had re-located to the Lake District- so I got to do all my training here which was amazing and really helped me out, as the marathon route is so flat and I was used to hills! I did the run for ‘Kidney Research UK’ charity and raised over £3k in the end, which I was chuffed with as the charity is a close one to my heart and really needs the support.
Do you have a favourite loyalty/reward scheme app?
The one I use most would be ‘Avanti West Coast’ trains, for my train tickets to London for work – the more tickets you buy, the better rewards you get. I’m currently a ‘Gold Member’ so I get 10% off all drinks & food on board, and when I reached gold, I received a free standard premium return ticket- which is a huge saving! I’m not far off platinum level now, so that will be a free return first class ticket- which I’m looking forward too. I also use ‘VeryMe Rewards’ from Vodafone a lot, their ‘Feel Good Friday’s’ of a free hot drink from Costa or a free bakery item from Morrisons were a great perk whilst I was on maternity leave!
Who has influenced you most when it comes to how you approach your work?
I would probably say my eldest sister Sarah, she has an unbelievable work ethic, a really successful career and she’s always been the one person I would speak to about work/career advice. Even more so since I’ve become a Mum, she has been an amazing person to speak to about the work/life juggle as it all changes when a baby comes along!
What is your most used app?
This would have to be ‘Whatsapp’ I have so many groups and speak to my family every single day on there! I have also (bit late to the party) started using ‘Vinted’ my youngest sister Emily recommended it for selling clothes, and I haven’t looked back! I think it’s great and so easy to use.
What’s your main hobby?
I would say this would be baking- I started baking during lockdown so I could make birthday cakes for my husband and sisters, and I just really got into it. When I’m a bit stressed, you can find my whipping up a cake at the crack of dawn! I love making cakes for friends and family and recently entered a chocolate cake into a village competition and won first prize which I was chuffed with!
What did you want to be when you were younger?
Oh this is a huge list, from News Presenter, Singer, Actor, Nail Technician (which I did do training in at one point) my own Butchers shop (I worked in one from the age of 13), run a Donkey Sanctuary, Paramedic, Midwife, Author, Dog walking business, Florist, I could go on…
What’s a fact about yourself that surprises people?
When I was 13, I appeared in a BBC one documentary about sleep issues called ‘The Trouble with Sleep’. I used to sleepwalk every night and do some really wacky things. Luckily it’s calmed down now and I just sleep talk. The documentary meant our family home was rigged with cameras for 3 months, and I was filmed every night. The Producer for the documentary inspired me to go into TV, and why I chose to do Film and Television at University.
What’s your favourite part of your job?
This may sound very boring, but I work with big budgets, and I love reconciling down to the penny and making sure everything tallies perfectly for the Client. I enjoy problem solving and finding solutions for the Account Directors I work with and putting new processes in place to help the teams work slicker.
What’s the last series you watched?
That would be ‘One Day’ on Netflix. I’m pretty sure everyone has seen it by now, but if you haven’t seen it, it’s an emotional and wonderful watch. I’ve read the book too, so it was great to see such a good adaptation of it to the screen. I enjoyed going back into the 90’s and seeing that era on the screen, with the authentic phones/clothes/music/duvet covers- all of it was very nostalgic!
