Ten Group

Career development

We are committed to developing our people and offering a rewarding career path. All employees have individual personal development plans and are encouraged to incorporate their aspirations and interests into their careers at Ten. Below are just a few of examples of career paths at Ten:

Sally McNair, Associate Director for Service

My first proper job was with Marks and Spencer, where I worked for five years. Having joined their graduate training scheme I eventually found myself in the fresh food buying departments at head office, first in fresh meat and then in fresh vegetables (the glamour!). I then continued my romance with the world of fresh produce by working for a very small produce broker. However, I was looking for a change and wanted a career in an industry that was ‘sexier’ than vegetables.

I applied to be a lifestyle manager at Ten, where I started my career with the entertainment team. I loved recommending exciting places for people to eat out and was involved in writing the first editions of our weekly newsletter. After a short sabbatical travelling in South America, I returned and joined the business development team as an account manager, looking after some of our biggest corporate accounts.

In 2007, wanting to re-engage with Ten’s individual members, I took on the role of operations development manager, focusing on operational process change and a new project called member satisfaction.

I was appointed Associate Director for Service in September 2009, and am now principally responsible for service quality, member satisfaction and training teams. I also continue to work closely with business development on new corporate launches. I will have been with Ten for eight years this October, and I love working here. I have developed my skills within the company and I love the dynamic, exciting and challenging environment.

Richard Jewell, Executive Manager for Professional Support

I started my career at the House of Commons, in the political office of a Home Office minister. I then joined Ten in 2007 as an education researcher for The Key, Ten’s first professional support service. The transition was ideal. Ten enabled me to continue contributing to public life, as The Key supports headteachers and school leaders, whilst also offering a refreshingly fast-paced, dynamic working environment at a company committed to rewarding and developing young talent.

In Westminster there was a very ad hoc approach to performance management. Things were immediately different at Ten. As a new researcher, I had weekly catch-ups, coaching sessions on my writing style, quarterly performance reviews and 360-degree feedback from my colleagues. Ten’s commitment to developing its people was absolutely critical to my progression.

Within around 18 months of joining the company I successfully applied for the position of Research Team Leader. I was well supported and well challenged. My main focus was to improve the quality of our responses to school leaders, whilst reducing the time it took to produce them.

After being with the company for three years I was promoted to Head of Business Development for Education. My role was to find opportunities to develop new support services for professional groups. Within a year we had developed Ten Governor Support, a service specifically for school governors. Now, as Executive Manager of Ten Professional Support, I aim to ensure that new projects and services, such as Ten Governor Support, are operationally efficient and commercially successful.

Sara Nash – Associate Director of Operations, The Key

Before I came to Ten, I completed a four-year management studies degree at Brunel University, spending my placement year working in the marketing department of British Airways. After graduation I became a marketing and PR manager at a small design consultancy in Kent, before becoming a VIP lifestyle manager at Ten.

I felt like I had found my dream job:- a chance to put my organisational skills into practice whilst working in a fast paced, customer facing post. I built up strong relationships with my members and handled a wide variety of tasks for them. No day was ever the same. I worked within the VIP team for 5 years before moving over to join the Key – Ten’s flagship professional support service.

From day one I was heavily involved in setting up The Key, initially as lead support manager responding to the enquiries we received from schools. I then became Operations Manager, which involved recruitment, process development and management of service delivery.

Furthering my development, I have recently been appointed as the Associate Director of Operations. This will see me taking on an even wider remit and ultimate responsibility for the operational management of The Key. It is a fantastic opportunity and I am really looking forward to being involved in the development of new professional services at Ten.