I started my career journey with STR Group in 2014, joining the business as a Lead Consultant in support of plans to enhance the life science division and footprint within Health Economics and Market Access.

Within my first 4 years of joining, I co-led and successfully established myself and the brand as a trusted partner to a number of global clients. Then, in 2017, we launched as Blackfield Associates and I was appointed Operations Manager. I am now Operations Director with responsibility for supporting the strategic vision of the brand and leading an international team.

We truly ‘work hard, play hard’ at Blackfield, and the support for your career aspirations and the recognition for your achievements is incredible.

Almost 5 years to the day I joined STR as a Level 1 Recruitment Consultant, I founded the Group’s Life Science division, Blackfield Associates in 2017 and become its Operations Manager. The company is now an internationally recognised recruitment partner to life science businesses across the UK, Europe and the US.

I am now Executive Director for Blackfield and member of the Board for the STR Group. I have been fully supported throughout each stage of my journey with the business. We work hard, but it’s also fun and the people are great. I believe anything easy is not worth getting excited about and I carry this ethos through into my work and throughout the brand.

The recognition and rewards are fantastic: put in the work and you could find yourself on a team holiday to Barcelona, as we did in August 2023!

The training programme gave me an outstanding base understanding of recruitment and allowed me to gain the knowledge of how to both attract clients and candidates leading to me having a successful first year. One of the most important things for me is enjoying where you work and at Blackfield, I don’t think I have a single bad memory! I don’t think that you need specific experience to be successful in recruitment just a good work ethic.

I have been with Blackfield Associates since 2021, and during that time I have achieved 4 promotions. I started out as a Talent Specialist and in that relatively short space of time, have made my way up to my current role of Team Manager.

Blackfield is a great company to work for as they are incredibly supportive of your own personal goals as well as your career aspirations. The ‘work hard, play hard’ mentality has always kept me motivated and helped me to achieve my goals.

They have also been amazing throughout my pregnancy, maternity leave and return to work, offering me flexibility and patience as I returned to manage my team.

Whilst I am an operations manager of a team of 6 now, I originally joined Blackfield Associates in February 2019 with no recruitment or life science experience other than a degree in Computer Science. Blackfield came highly recommended to me by James Rafter, a long-term friend who had joined a year prior as a graduate consultant.

The company was described to me as a forward-thinking organisation, which puts its clients first. Fast-forward 5 years and I have seen us grow from a predominantly UK-focused brand to an international partner of some of the most exciting names in the life science industry.

At Blackfield, we consider ourselves a premium service and part of our competitive nature is focused on how we can improve in our everyday operations. I think this really helps us to stand out in what I think everyone would agree is a crowded market.

I joined STR in 2017 as a university graduate. Since that time, I have progressed through 6 promotion levels and am currently an Operations Manager, looking after an international team.

The training and development I have been offered as I’ve progressed, has been a big part of my journey. The Senior Leadership team are supportive and open to ideas. I was backed to fulfil my potential and develop into a manager, despite having no previous experience. We work in a market that truly makes a difference to the people it impacts. This is a really rewarding part of the job, as you are partnering with organisations who produce, sometimes, lifesaving drugs. Ultimately, all of our clients make a difference to patients.

Blackfield is a rewarding place to work, where your contributions are recognised. Last year, we visited Barcelona, which was a great trip and came off the back of team success. I’ve also been lucky enough to be given a platform by my brand, to enable me to qualify for the ‘High Achievers Club’ in 2023. This culminated in me being able to visit Las Vegas, with colleagues from across the Group.