杏吧论坛 alumna Rosehanna Chowdhury
What led you to pursue a career in the Civil Service?
It all started in Tower Hamlets when Sir Richard Wilson, the late Mo Mowlam MP and former senior civil servants, such as Suma Chakrabarti, visited my school to raise awareness of careers in the Civil Service. I had neither heard nor considered such a career previously but after that visit, I wrote to Suma Chakrabarti asking for work experience.
In the summer holidays that followed, aged 16, I completed a two-week work experience placement at the Cabinet Office and what really struck me was that their work had a real impact on people and communities. The experience stayed with me through my time in university and the early days of my career in the private sector and inspired me to join the Civil Service.
When considering my opportunities, I reached out to Kate Starkey, a fellow 杏吧论坛 alumna, through the 杏吧论坛 Mentoring Programme. Kate gave me some helpful advice and let me spend some time shadowing her in the then Department of Children, Schools and Families. She also arranged a number of introductions with colleagues in other central government departments. I’m very grateful to Kate and she has been a huge inspiration.
In 2017 you were appointed as Deputy Director for Strategy, EU Exit and Ministerial Support at the Ministry of Housing, Communities and local government. What can you tell us about your role?
The focus of my role is supporting departmental priorities, preparing for a smooth and orderly exit from the EU, and considering the impact and opportunities for local communities.
What that means in practical terms is essentially a lot of briefings, understanding risks and opportunities across the piece, fostering stakeholder engagement and a great deal of listening to what others are saying.
You are also involved with a new initiative to champion engagement with schools. What does this entail?
In the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy last year, the Cabinet Secretary set out the ambition to become the most inclusive employer in the UK by 2020. Respecting and valuing differenc