Spotlight On ...

This issue our staff spotlight falls on ... Shauna Cunningham

Name: Shauna Cunningham

Job Title: Macmillan Move More Coordinator

How long have you been with East Lothian Council. I started in February this year in a three-year Macmillan-funded role, in partnership with East Lothian Council and enjoyleisure.

What is your background?  My background is in digital project management and, more recently, working within the third/charity sector.

What does your job involve? My role involves setting up a new physical activity referral programme for people living with cancer in East Lothian, from point of diagnosis, throughout their treatment and beyond. I support individuals to not only become more active, but to help increase confidence and improve their strength and balance. Another important part of my job is developing key partnership links across the county with East Lothian Council and enjoyleisure colleagues, NHS/Healthcare professionals, community groups and organisations, Cancer Support services/groups and many more, to collaborate in referring people into the service (although people can self-refer too) and in delivering a varied range of activities, including the core programme of gentle movement classes, circuits, gardening and walking groups.

What do you like about your job? I feel really privileged to be able to do the work that I do – every day I feel a real sense of purpose, knowing the programme is making a difference to the lives of people living with cancer in East Lothian. And the participants are an inspiration to me every day!

What big projects have you been working on? Getting the programme set up has been my main focus since starting the role but now that participants are joining Move More East Lothian, I am actively recruiting gentle movement class lead volunteers to train and deliver these classes and will be working towards the official launch of the programme later this year, which is very exciting! Keep your eye on the Move More page of www.activeeastlothian.co.uk  for more info.

What do you enjoy doing outside the office? I have lots of interests! I am currently studying/training toward a Diploma in Transformational Coaching, which I know will also be really beneficial in my Move More coordinator role. But I also love volunteering – I am a gentle movement class lead for another Move More programme in the Borders, help deliver hot meals for the ‘Food Foundation’ to isolated people in my local community and support a local ‘Days for Girls’ group, who make reusable feminine hygiene kits for girls all over the world, who would otherwise go without. If I’m not doing these things, I’m usually out running or mountain biking. It all keeps me pretty busy!

Meet David and Amanda!

They both work as part of our Contact Centre, being the first point of call for a range of customer enquiries. It’s a varied role that sees them both work across a wide number of council departments including property maintenance, waste services, council tax and, in Amanda’s case, children and adults’ social work. This variety is part of the appeal of the role, as Amanda explains: “There’s no day the same. In the six years I’ve been here there’s always something new but you have people around you to support you.” David agrees, adding: “There’s always somebody if you want to ask a question and they’ll try their best to help.”

Having a naturally helpful attitude is key to working in the role. David previously worked in retail but has enjoyed the chance to work in a different customer service environment. “It’s great when you’re able to help the customer and see the issue right through to its conclusion. It feels satisfying as you’ve helped them with their problem,” he says.

As well as taking and resolving calls and referrals, team members work with departments across the council, using their customer knowledge to help make positive changes in how services and systems work. They also visit different departments and areas to see how enquiries are dealt with after they leave the Contact Centre.

“It’s great. There are opportunities to learn more skills, train people, get promoted or move within the council,” says Amanda. “The job fits in with me around my kids but it’s also allowed me to pick up studying again for my professional qualification. Everyone’s really friendly and we are a close team.”

Organisational Development team - find out more

Who are you?

We are a small team – Adrian Hynd, Alison Fallen, Rebecca Grangeret and Stuart Hiles, and we work across the whole of East Lothian Council.

What do you do?

We design and deliver learning which is accessible to all services across the council. We are involved in your development right from when you start employment in ELC with your induction, all the way through to when you retire with pre-retirement courses.  

We support managers with service reviews and planning, annual self-evaluation (How Good Is Our Service?), conferences and away days, coaching, employee benefits and engagement and team development.  We also run council-wide initiatives such as Performance Review & Development (PRD), the new East Lothian Way (staff values and behaviours) and Customer Service Professional Qualification.

We manage all of the e-learning modules on the council’s learnPro e-learning system. There are over 85 modules to choose from on a wide range of topics that we are regularly adding to. We can also create new modules to help you develop your teams - so if you have a topic you want put online, please get in touch!

You can access learnPro from work or at home. All you need to do is register. If you haven’t done so already, click here to register. If you have forgotten your login details, We can help you – email
e-learning@eastlothian.gov.uk. 

You can find out more about our courses by visiting the Learning and Development section of the intranet. We also produce a calendar of events. You can login to learnPro for further information, to apply for events and enrol on e-learning modules. All of your learning needs should be identified in discussion and agreement with your line manager through PRD discussions, based on what you require to be effective in your role.

New in 2019: Introduction to Lean Thinking, Mental Health First Aid and Project Management. We have also revised our Leadership and Management programmes aimed at those with people management responsibilities – from First Line and Supervisory / Team Managers through to Service Managers.

Do you run all East Lothian Council courses?

No, other services/teams including East Lothian Works, Education, Health & Safety, and the Health and Social Care teams also provide a separate calendar of learning opportunities to support you.

We are here to help. If you have a question, get in touch: email organisationaldevelopment@eastlothian.gov.uk