{"id":447,"date":"2023-10-25T23:34:39","date_gmt":"2023-10-25T23:34:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.shu.ac.uk\/acf\/?page_id=447"},"modified":"2023-10-25T23:34:59","modified_gmt":"2023-10-25T23:34:59","slug":"sally-jackson","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/blogs.shu.ac.uk\/acf\/career-profiles\/ssg\/sally-jackson\/","title":{"rendered":"Professor Sally Jackson"},"content":{"rendered":"

Could you tell us about your contribution, Sally?\"Prof.<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

My outstanding contributions were to external and professional engagement (E&PE) and academic citizenship and leadership (AC&L), with a significant contribution to teaching and learning (T&L).<\/p>\n

I have a love and insatiable curiosity of people. I am quite extravert which enables me to interact openly and freely. I love everything about my role. However, I really enjoy the opportunities to engage externally, showcasing the work we are doing at Hallam, presenting at conferences and being part of \u201cthink-tanks\u201d and policy development. I like creating and maintaining relationships and during my career I have had the pleasure of meeting some wonderfully interesting people with whom I have developed rapport.<\/p>\n

My area of academic interest is coaching and mentoring so no surprise then that I enjoy interacting with people. I love helping people move from thinking \u201cI can\u2019t do that\u201d, to realising \u201coh perhaps I can\u201d to celebrating their achievement of \u201cI did it\u201d! I honestly get as much of a thrill as the individual does and it never diminishes. It\u2019s fabulous; an honour and a privilege to support colleagues.<\/p>\n

Just one example of work that I really enjoy is with Advance HE. Aurora is Advance HE\u2019s leadership development programme for women. I am Hallam\u2019s Institutional Champion as well as mentor, role model and guest speaker. I was very pleased when I was invited to sit on the Aurora Advisory Group.<\/p>\n

What does it mean personally to you to be a professor at Hallam?<\/strong><\/p>\n

It is beyond my wildest dreams frankly and I am still pinching myself. My career trajectory has had many twists and turns as well as ups and downs and I am not a traditional academic. In that sense I regard my title of Professor as one for the team in professional services.<\/p>\n

Tell us a bit about your career story so far.<\/strong><\/p>\n

My career didn\u2019t have the start that I had planned. A car accident at the age of 17 ended my expectations of attending university as an undergraduate and it stalled my development and affected my confidence \u2013 for years. My injuries were extensive, and I needed a lot of surgery. A fracture of the skull affected speech and memory function.<\/p>\n

I have had the fortune to work in many sectors. Private sector (NatWest Bank), Charity and Voluntary Sector (National Trust), Public Sector (NHS) and then higher education. There was a sense of \u201ccoming home\u201d when I joined HE and I have worked in professional services, research and teaching and learning, and in a number of universities. I started at Hallam as an interim in 2017 as the Director of Human Resources and quickly changed its focus to be Organisational Development as much as the traditional HR. In 2019 I was made Chief People Officer and in 2022 had the title of Pro Vice-Chancellor for Diversity and Inclusion added.<\/p>\n

If you could go back in time and give yourself some career advice, what would it be?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Never give up!<\/p>\n

Whilst none are us are the same and the way we make meaning of experiences is different, I really want to continue to help others with their careers and potential.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s next? How do you want to further develop your contribution?<\/strong><\/p>\n