Wanida McEwan

Organized and dependable candidate successful at managing multiple priorities with a positive attitude. Willingness to take on added responsibilities to meet team goals.

I am currently working at Dochas Carers Centre in Lochgilphead. I am passionate about the work they do for unpaid carers. I feel a part of my life has been fulfilled by helping unpaid carers in their caring role and making a difference in their lives. It is a rewarding job. I love the work I do at Dochas and feel very proud to be a part of this charity. However, after 12 years (2012-2024), I feel it is time to broaden my life experience within the community.

The Dochas Centre, a registered charity, provides free support, information and advice to unpaid carers across Mid Argyll, Kintyre, Islay and Jura. I joined Dochas as an administrative assistant at the early stage and worked alongside the founder, a manager, and an outreach support worker. My initial role was to provide support to our small team in all administrative duties e.g. responding to enquiries, handling mail, welcoming visitors, facilitating support groups, assisting with fundraising events, scheduling appointments, ordering supplies, creating a website, flyers and leaflets including social media, maintaining IT equipment and property, taking minutes at meetings and circulating to the trustees and staff. The Dochas Centre however serves our community in a second and very important way. It also acts as a gallery providing a pleasant, welcoming, and much needed space for local artists to exhibit their work. In this capacity I am always present to offer support and show how to use our display system, wrap and unwrap things, lift and move things, attach price tags and tidy up the place.

The founder quickly realised I was very efficient so she offered me more hours and increased my responsibilities to cover bookkeeping, managing accounts, processing invoices and payments, processing payrolls and filing tax reports, claiming gift aids, budgeting and presenting financial reports. Reading financial reports is not everyone’s cup of tea, so I create PowerPoint presentations to explain and translate figures into easily digestible visuals. As the charity grew, I became involved in funding applications by providing statistics and costing for the projects. I then keep financial records of how the funds are spent for the end-of-project reports. I carefully manage and control the funding of up to 10 projects. The charity’s mainstream funding comes from the Scottish Government as a result of the Carers Scotland Act 2016 and is commissioned via Argyll & Bute Council to all carers centres. For evaluation and performance monitoring purposes, the carers centres are obliged to complete the Unpaid Carers Census annually for the government and quarterly Key Performance Indicators reports to the council. Collecting and collating data from the services the Dochas Centre provides in all areas and by 3 core teams (carers support team, counselling team and befriending team using volunteers) proved challenging. The old data management system couldn’t be adapted while costing a lot to the charity each year. I offered to explore several alternative systems in the market. I finally identified a cloud-based system, Jotform for a year trial in 2017 as a new platform to collect data. I learned how to import, prepare data and migrate from the old system to Jotform from the online videos provided by the company. The new system is very easy to use, flexible to adapt to the needs and can be modified by the admin, costs a fraction (£90 a year in comparison to £2,500 for the old system) and streamlines the work of all teams with an automation system. Examples of some benefits;

• Encourage and increase collaboration within the teams by 50%. Using online form builder to share ideas when creating new forms together.
• Improve workflow by reducing waiting time to process referrals and makes contact with carers. Professionals and partner organisations can request a link to complete the Registration form with full information. An email notification will be sent to the support worker to arrange an appointment/meeting ASAP. Funding applications can be approved faster and the outcome will be notified automatically to the carer, staff and me. Overall, this reduces repetitive tasks and staff can spend more time in providing practical and mental health support to carers.
• Reduce errors by cross-checking referrals among 3 teams.
• Eliminate paperwork by 90%. The system can be accessed on mobile devices to input information and share it with the team instantly.
• Monitor work performance from remote areas efficiently. Timesheets, expense claims and work records are submitted online and made available to the manager to check and for payrolls to be processed timely.
• Collect, manage and analyse data much more quickly by utilising online surveys and analytics tools.
• Room bookings for appointments and meetings at the centre are managed efficiently with an integrated online calendar.

Every year before the service contracts expire, I search and compare prices to get the best deals for the smooth and cost-effective running of the centre, for example, utility contracts, broadband and mobile phones, cleaning and catering. I am also an administrator for a Microsoft server. I am not an expert. However, the installation of the video conferencing system in the centre provided me with the opportunity to gain new knowledge. I dealt with the migration of the mailboxes from Zen to Microsoft server, set up Teams Room and introduced SharePoint. Last year I was aware of the Government's plan to switch off the Analogue telephone and move to a Digital phone system in 2025. I proposed to the manager to make a move when the phone and broadband contracts were about to expire. I dealt with the transition from comparing prices from different providers, to explaining the benefits, process and timeline of switching over. It wasn’t a smooth transition but through my efforts in dealing with problems, I made it work.

I also engaged in recruiting volunteers for the Befriending group. I made an information board and flyers, set up a table at the Co-operative in Lochgilphead and chatted with people who showed an interest.

Among my many and varied duties, I also provide practical support to the manager, colleagues, volunteers and carers to the best of my ability. During the first Covid lockdown, the new manager started his job in May 2020, and the transition process proved challenging. The team meetings and communications were limited to telephone calls and via Zoom. I took the lead in establishing the Zoom Video Meeting platform. I learned quickly how to use it and provided training on the phone to the manager and all colleagues in setting it up on their laptops and mobile devices and explained to them step-by-step how to join the meeting and the features they could use. I was also available from 9 to 5 for my manager to contact when he needed assistance or information about the work and services Dochas provided as he was new to his role. I also attended the funders' meetings (online) together with him in the early stages to provide support in case he needed further clarification on the reports. Whenever my colleagues called to seek assistance in any matters, I always attended to their requests enthusiastically to find them the answers or help resolve problems i.e. laptop, phone, email, etc. As lockdowns extended, I became used to working from home with a self-disciplinary, hard-working ethic and staying focused on my responsibility and many times went the extra mile to facilitate the teams and carers. I offered assistance with shopping and delivery to a few elderly carers whom I was aware had no family in the area. I contacted volunteer drivers and arranged the delivery of meals or food orders to carers. I set up a small hub at the centre for second-hand aid equipment where Dochas Centre receives donations from ex-carers and lends or gives away to people who need them; for example, wheelchairs, zimmer frames, walking trolleys, incontinent pads, shower stools, etc. After lockdowns, Dochas is now operating hybrid working between working in the centre and from home. Maintaining a work and life balance is not a problem.

I was promoted to the Centre Administrator in 2021.

My responsibilities are extensive but I have never failed to meet deadlines for reports while also continuing other day-to-day or regular tasks. I prioritise my workload and schedule the tasks based on importance and urgency. I have gained the trust of the founder, trustees, my line managers (past and present), colleagues and carers with my strong work ethic, reliability, efficiency, honesty, caring and authenticity.

I will be happy to provide further information about my work experience either before or at the interview. Please do not hesitate to get in touch.