Alumni - Nadia McLeod | SELCS - UCL – University College London

BA Modern Languages (French and Spanish), 2017. Senior Strategy Advisor and Cabinet Advisor, Essex County Council

After graduation I joined Chelmsford City Council on a one-year graduate scheme (which was really more of an internship) having been unsuccessful at applying for the Civil Service Fast Stream. While at Chelmsford, I reapplied for the Fast Stream and was offered a role in communications at the National Crime Agency through the Direct Appointment Scheme, which I accepted. A few years (and another job) later, I joined the Home Office to work on national security policy. In 2022 when I saw the job ad for my current role, I couldn’t resist the opportunity to negotiate a devolution deal for Greater Essex and work on policy issues closer to home.

I actually wear two hats in my role at Essex County Council. I am a Senior Strategy Advisor and a Cabinet Advisor to the Cabinet Member for Planning a Growing Economy. My job involves a lot of meetings! I might be advising my Cabinet Member at Political Leadership Team meetings or formal Council meetings or attending my own team meetings. ! In between, there are press releases, Cabinet Member Actions and other decisions which need reviewing and sign off. I also work with officers across the organisation to produce briefings, research and write policy papers to support devolution negotiations. Every time I write a briefing paper, I think of the summaries we used to write in final-year ‘Use of French’ with Marie Fournier. Honing critical thinking, written and oral communication skills in French and Spanish while at UCL helped to sharpen my English too. The experience of regularly researching, preparing and delivering oral presentations in Spanish during my degree built my confidence and has been a real asset to me in the work I do now.

My desire to join the Fast Stream was a common one at the time and I suspect it still is! I was motivated by the opportunity to be at the heart of change, involved in the issues of the moment and to work on creative solutions to complicated problems. It’s worth knowing though that you really don’t need to get on a graduate scheme to join the Civil Service, local government or wider public sector. There are many roles you can apply for directly with the bonus of knowing what it is you are signing up for. Also, careers are long, so don’t be in a rush!