Susan Caldwell

Experience

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  Highland Council

  Jan 1982 - Apr 1989

  PA to Director of Finance

  PA support to area Director of Finance

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  Highland Council

  Jan 1990 - Jan 1997

  Personal Assistant, Head of Social Work Planning ● Business Support

  Given sensitive nature of work in this area, complete confidentiality and discretion were a must.

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  University of the Highlands and Islands

  Jan 1997 - Jan 2001

  Office Manager/Personal Assistant, Head of Finance & Management Services ● Business Support

  UHI Project Executive Office was a millennium funded team tasked to take forward the formation of what we now know as the University of the Highlands and Islands. UHI Project was hailed as an exciting and challenging development as it pulled together existing further education colleges to form a federal, collegiate university. I helped design and implement processes and procedures to support the successful achievement of Higher Education Institute Status.

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  University of Aberdeen

  Jan 2001 - Jan 2011

  Executive Assistant, Head of School of Medicine & Dentistry ● Business Support

  The University of Aberdeen School of Medicine and Dentistry is co-located on one of the largest clinical sites in Europe with superb teaching and extensive research facilities in areas such as medical sciences, nutrition, public health, health sciences and dentistry. As well as managing the large admin team ensuring appropriate deployment of resources, I provided support to the Head of School which included policy and practical advice. During this time, I also facilitated arrangements for a major organisational restructuring. Show less

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  Aker Solutions

  Jan 2012 - Jan 2020

  Personal Assistant /Advisor- VP UK Application Engineering ● Business Support

  Aker Solutions is a global energy company engineering subsea to surface products, systems and services. I supported Vice Presidents and their teams in a variety of areas including Manufacturing, Project Resources, Supply Chain Management, Operations and Engineering and ensured processes and systems were in place across all areas. This involved working remotely with teams in different countries and required utilising software tools to maximise communication and allow for sharing of tasks globally.I implemented a consistent programme of internal training courses and mentored 8 business apprentices through to successful completion of their 2-year apprenticeship. Show less

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  Caldwell Virtual Solutions

  Jan 2020 - now

  Freelance Business Support Professional ● Aberdeen

  I know that small business owners have to wear a lot of different hats so I work with them to share these challenges and help to implement effective and efficient systems in order to maximise their time spent on priorities and core business activities.🔹Trusting a stranger with your business can be a daunting prospect but I have a proven record of acting in a professional, confidential manner and consistently deliver on my commitments with minimal direction. 🔹I keep client numbers small to allow me to be responsive to your support needs.🔹 I can help you avoid missing deadlines and opportunities, feeling overwhelmed and reliving the same issues and problems. Although one size does not fit all, many clients experience similar challenges and this is how I can help address them:𝗣𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴- capture goals/plans; how to achieve them✔ Ensure key dates/events are visible✔ Be clear about what/how, when, why: do the 𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴, at the 𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲, for the 𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗼𝗻✔ Build in reviews to measure success✔ Built in Accountability𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗷𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝗖𝗼-𝗼𝗿𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 - ensure your projects run smoothly and to schedule✔ Collation of data to allow informed decisions ✔ Identify steps to achieve outcome, agree schedule of who needs to do what and by when✔ Assist with documentation/reports𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗦𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗺𝘀 - back to basics, systems and tools to help deliver results✔ Procedures, templates to give consistent, professional and on-brand documents✔ Ensure information is up to date and accessible ✔ Clarity on expectations/responsibilitiesWorking with me on a retainer or ad-hoc basis is easy with these 4 steps: 🔍 IDENTIFY - need for support (𝙔𝙤𝙪) 🤝 AGREE - scope of work/contract (𝙐𝙨) 🗺 PLAN - tasks/priorities (𝙐𝙨) 🎬 ACTION - work carried out as agreed/planned ((𝙈𝙚)𝗥𝗶𝗻𝘀𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗲𝗮𝘁 🔁📧 susan@caldwellvirtualsolutions.com ☎ +44(0)7747 198373 Show less