Ospreys in the Community have expanded again with the creation of four new full time roles, which will take the team to 10 staff just two years after it was founded.
Since its inception in 2015 and after receiving charitablestatus last year, the Ospreys in the Community Foundation has grown rapidly. Recently the team has almost doubled in size after creating four new roles to look after the charity’s commercial and community engagement, media, public relations and finance.
Mark Douglas, former Director of NatWest in Wales and the South West comes on board as Commercial and Community Engagement Manager. During Mark’s career at the banking giants he led several multi million pound national transformation programmes and projects using leading edge business solutions. He oversaw the NatWest Cymru rebrand that was designed to make the company feel more localised and customer centric, receiving praise and recognition from the media and Government.
In the business world Mark has been recognised for leadership, strategic planning and his creation of innovative customer solutions, designed by working closely with customer groups and key stakeholders. This is shown in his top net promoter and customer service scores and his finalist status in leading Welsh awards.
Mark commented on his appointment:
“I’m delighted to be joining Ospreys in the Community. Having worked in the business and financial services sector for over 20 years until my recent retirement, I’m looking forward to the new challenge.
“Something I focussed on during my time at NatWest was community engagement, such as the sponsorship of grassroots and schools rugby and raising money for various charities so it’s a very exciting opportunity for me to now take on this new role working directly for a charitable foundation.”
Laura Kerslake joins Ospreys in the Community to look after the Foundation’s Media, PR and Marketing. Having worked for Ospreys Rugby for the past five seasons as Media Assistant and Digital Content Co-ordinator, Laura is well placed to grow the team’s profile in the media and their online presence.
Completing the new recruits is Community Officer Emily Owen who is on a research placement, combining the role with studying for a Masters at Swansea University thanks to KESS funding. Emily will be focusing on the Tackle project, working with pupils across the region in danger of becoming NEET.
Ospreys in the Community have also created a Finance Officer position, which will be advertised in the coming weeks.
Paul Whapham, Foundation Manager Ospreys in the Community, remarked on his team’s growth:
“It’s a very exciting time for the Foundation, its growth over the last two years has been unprecedented and these key appointments, thanks to the European Regional Development Fund, gives us the opportunity to operate independently and to go up another level again.
“Mark Douglas joining the team as Commercial and Community Engagement Manager is a great coup. His financial and business acumen is invaluable, as is his experience of working in partnership with major organisations such as the Welsh Rugby Union and the Welsh Government. The creation of his role gives us huge opportunities for further engagement and growth.”
The creation of these roles has been supported by the European Regional Development Fund through the Welsh Government.