Pitching your PhD for Non-Academic Jobs

This workshop will explore;
❏ Top tips for non-academic job applications, CV writing and interviews
❏ Pitching your PhD for non-academic jobs – formal and informal methods
❏ Key skills, experience, and attributes needed in different sectors
❏ Hacking real job applications
❏ Skills and experience you want to develop during your PhD

By the end of the workshop, you will have;
❏ A better understanding of the types of jobs available now in different sectors and how to find them
❏ Heard from professionals about how their PhDs informed their non-academic careers
❏ Gained practical advice from sector experts on shaping your CV and interviewing
❏ Practised pitching your PhD skills for non-academic jobs
❏ Identified your priorities for professional development

This workshop will take place on Zoom and be facilitated by Hannah Bird & Dr Ceri Gorton from Bird & Gorton.

Jeanette Bain-Burnett
Executive Director for Policy and Integrity, Sport England 

Jeanette Bain-Burnett is Executive Director for Policy and Integrity at Sport England. She’s a passionate advocate for Equity, Inclusion and Community Wellbeing. Jeanette’s 20-year leadership career spans dance theatre, community arts, cultural strategy, regional government and social policy. Former roles include Director of Participation at the Trussell Trust and Assistant Director, Communities and Social Policy at the Greater London Authority. Based in Bristol, Jeanette is chair of ACTA Community Theatre, Governor at St. Mary Redcliffe and Temple School, and leads Dream Camp, a girls’ empowerment charity

Dr Alice Bell

Head of Climate & Health Policy, Wellcome Trust

Dr Alice Bell is Head of Climate and Health Policy at the Wellcome Trust. She manages a team of policy professionals working across climate change, infectious disease, mental health and discovery research issues, including a programme to secure and deliver the first health day at a UN climate conference. Prior to joining Wellcome in July 2022, Alice co-ran the climate action charity Possible, working on everything from clean home heating to solar powered railways, fixing factories and wind powered ice cream. She has also worked as an academic, writer and in the museum sector. She is the author of Can We Save the Planet? (Thames and Hudson, 2020) and Our Biggest Experiment: a history of the climate crisis (Bloomsbury, 2021), which was shortlisted for the 2022 Wainwright Prize for writing on global conservation.

Dr Poshendra Satyal

Senior Policy Manager, Birdlife International

With a background in the natural and social sciences, Poshendra has several years of experience in interdisciplinary research, teaching, consultancy and project management in the environment and development sector. He currently holds the position of Senior Policy Manager at BirdLife International in Cambridge. As part of his role, he coordinates BirdLife’s Global Policy Department’s work to enhance the BirdLife Partnership’s policy and advocacy capacity and support the delivery of conservation policy processes. Additionally, he provides expert advice and guidance to the Partnership, with a specific focus on global policies related to human development, justice, and rights. Poshendra also represents BirdLife in the Conservation Initiative on Human Rights (CIHR).

Beyond his role at BirdLife, Poshendra serves as a Trustee/Director of the Royal Geographical Society’s Mount Everest Foundation, and as an Affiliate Senior Research Fellow at the Southasia Institute of Advanced Studies (Nepal).

Poshendra obtained his PhD from the Geography Department of The Open University, UK (2005-2009), and an MPhil in Environment and Development from the University of Cambridge, UK (2001-2002). Prior to coming to the UK, he completed a BSc (Honours) in Agriculture from Haryana Agricultural University, India (1996-2000) and a BSc from Tribhuvan University, Nepal (1994-1996).