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Join and hear from a panel of Kent alumni, all currently working in the Civil Service, who will share their experiences and advice with students looking to pursue a career within a government department or agency. Students will have the opportunity to ask questions and there will be a live Q&A at the end of the session.
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Our guest speakers are:
Harry Weil (Economics alumnus), Statistics Fast Streamer, The Cabinet Office
Harry graduated from Kent in 2018, after which he joined the Civil Service Fast Stream as a Statistician. In the last three years, he has had four postings on the Fast Stream. These include the Department of Work and Pensions, where he worked as a Strategic Analyst working on disability employment; the Ministry of Justice where he provided analysis stretching across the entire Criminal Justice System, evaluation for the Spending Review as well as critical data to understand the impact of Covid-19 on the department; a six-month Secondment at the Child and Family Court Advisory and Support Service where he assessed the impact of Covid-19 on Local Authorities. He is currently at the Valuation Office Agency, where he provides business intelligence for the revaluation of non-domestic properties to calculate business rates.
Gabby Osei (POLIR alumna), Stakeholder Engagement Lead – NHS COVID-19 App, Department for Health and Social Care
Gabrielle works for the UK Health Security Agency on the government’s COVID response programme leading national and regional level stakeholder engagement for the NHS COVID-19 App. She started her career in government on the UK Civil Service Fast Stream programme, gaining experience in a variety of roles covering crisis management, international treaty coordination, policymaking, credit risk analysis and corporate management. Prior to joining the Civil Service, she worked in international project management roles for private and third sector bodies, leading on DFID and European Commission funded projects. Gabrielle holds an MSc in International Public Policy from UCL and an undergraduate degree from Kent (BA Hons) in Politics and International Relations with French (with a year abroad in Paris).
Asha Patel (Psychology alumna), Departmental Governance, Department for International Trade
After completing her undergraduate degree and Master’s at Kent, Asha joined the Civil Service Fast Stream as a generalist, during which she undertook five postings over three years. These included roles examining strategic risks at Her Majesty’s Revenue & Customs; the procurement for a mental health support service at the Department for Work & Pensions and as a private secretary to a junior minister at the Department for Transport. After completing the Fast Stream, Asha led a small team working on the implementation of the law enforcement and criminal justice aspects of the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement at the Home Office. Asha now leads a team running the departmental board and four sub-committees at the Department for International Trade; which aim to support, help and challenge the way the department is run and how it delivers.
Ibukunoluwa Ibitoye (Economics alumna), Senior Policy Adviser, HM Treasury
Ibukun is Senior Policy Adviser on Spending Policy at HM Treasury. She has been in the civil service for over ten years. In that time, she has covered various policy issues including transport, borders and immigration, flood risk management, energy, and climate change. Prior to this, she worked at the Commonwealth Secretariat across a range of international development issues relating to ‘Small States’, international trade and urban development. She has a BSc in Economics with Econometrics from the University of Kent, Canterbury, and an MSc in Economics and Finance from the University of Warwick.
Joy Adeleye (Psychology alumna), Senior Policy Officer at Covid-19 Taskforce, The Cabinet Office
After graduating with a Masters in Political Psychology from Kent in 2018, Joy went on to work in the private sector as a research executive for a number of months. Following this, she pivoted into government policy, securing her first Civil Service role in the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), where she worked on policy aimed at supporting disabled people in work. She is currently working in the Covid-19 Task Force, a small unit within the Cabinet Office.