In January 2023 I undertook a three month placement as the Development and Grants Officer with Uncomfortable Oxford (and its sister company Uncomfortable Cambridge). Uncomfortable Oxford is an academic-led social enterprise that provides walking tours that are discussion-led and focused on those uncomfortable histories that are normally missing from the traditional historical narrative.
One of the outcomes of this placement was that I was able to develop an understanding and insight into how project management within the Heritage sector works. Additionally, I gained insight into what the current priorities for this sector and how funding works.
Moreover, I was able improve my marketing and communication skills as one of the post's priorities was to market the tours and establish collaborative partnerships with various organisations including local museums and Oxford and Cambridge University.
As part of this placement, we successfully submitted a bid to the Oxford Hub from a fund I had identified and for which I provided input. The bid was then used to develop a family self-guided time travellers trail which, based on feedback from previous tours, was seen as the best medium to engage with younger audiences.
I also undertook online project management training and was able to implement this training regarding the delivery of this project.
In short, this placement met my training needs as it increased my knowledge and skills in certain areas such as project management and helped to develop new skills regarding marketing and collaborative working.
