Colleague stories

My story:

I joined BFS in 2006 after working for a bank for a number of years. I started in the Manchester office and later got the opportunity to work in Australia. At the time, the Australian business was a smaller business, which gave me a great opportunity to learn lots of different roles. Over a period of just over 9 years, I worked in data processing, credit control and client management, before finally settling in Risk, where I was the Head of Operational Risk and part of the Senior Leadership team.

In 2016, I moved back to the UK and joined the Change team as a Senior Project Manager, working on projects such as developing our business continuity framework and the implementation of our new policy portal.

After taking maternity leave, I returned in 2017 and started a new role within the Risk team, as Global Head of Assurance.

Best thing about BFS:

For me it is 2 things, the people and the opportunities. Whilst working for a bank, I always felt more like a number, than a person. I have never felt that way during my time at BFS. Instead, I have felt that I can make a difference. Colleagues at BFS are passionate about what we do and about helping our clients.

My development:

I have had a varied career throughout my time at BFS and have had great opportunities to work in different countries and learn lots of new things. I believe that my career ambitions are supported and that at BFS, I have the opportunity to achieve them. I have also had the opportunity to get involved with other areas of the business that I am interested in such as leading our Health & Wellbeing community group and being part of our responsible business strategy committee.

My story:

I have been in the invoice industry for 22 years and joined Bibby in June 2013 working for the UK business as a Client Management Training in the L&D team. I worked alongside colleagues to design and deliver training to the business including the Aquarius project and Risk Factoring training. In 2015 I took a secondment to our Swedish business as Operations and Risk manager to put processes in place and work towards growing the business. When my secondment ended I then moved across to Germany for 12 months, working in our Dusseldorf office as Head of Operations on an interim basis before becoming part of the Europe and Asia central support team as Commercial Manager, working with our businesses to help them achieve their operating plans and supporting them with projects.

I returned from Maternity leave in March 2021 after having twin boys and started a new role as Client Experience Manager for our UK business, reviewing our processes to make them more Client and colleague friendly and improve the overall journey.

Best thing about BFS:

The people and the opportunities I have had to travel and live in other countries, experiencing new cultures. I have made friends for life, and met my husband in Germany.

My development:

I’ve been very lucky throughout my career both before I came to Bibby and since I joined. I’ve been able to develop myself personally and professionally with the support of my managers, colleagues, training courses and the mentoring program.

My story:

I joined Bibby in September 2016 as an Apprentice after finishing my A Level qualifications. The university route is often one that is taken by people leaving school but it wasn’t something that sparked my interest, I wanted to get my “foot in the door” at a big organisation and Bibby provided the platform. The apprenticeship consisted of getting experience in multiple operations teams which included Data Processing, Take on, Construction, Export and Trade. Once the Apprenticeship came to an end a job came up in Trade that I decided to apply for and thankfully I got offered the role, which was an opportunity I took with both hands. This was a role that I occupied for around 18 months before I opted for a very different role as a HR Business Assistant, which has now led me to my current job as a Pay & Benefits Advisor.

Best thing about BFS:

People and Opportunities. My particular story and path up to now highlights the amount of opportunities I’ve had in the time that I’ve been here, whether it is a move up or sideways step to experience something new, there has always an opportunity/career path to take. There is a real family feel within Bibby and it doesn’t matter what role I’ve been in everyone is always happy to help and support not only with the day to day job but with future development needs. I’m confident that I wouldn’t have been able to get to the position I’m in now without help from people along the way.

My development:

I have just started my journey within payroll and I want to see how far I can go. I’ve just recently completed my Payroll Technician qualification and I will soon be looking to enrol on another course to expand my knowledge further, with the end goal of becoming “fully qualified” for the role I’m currently in and beyond. I have a good team around me with a lot of knowledge which I’m looking to take full advantage of as and when I can to ensure my personal development doesn’t stop. Due to my manager being open to development and BFS having a lot of opportunities I’m sure my journey won’t end here.