My first job in Hong Kong was as a practitioner in an international pre-school. I enjoyed working with the children, but kept my eye out for a job that would enable me to use my leadership skills gained in the UK, in the non-profit sector. When the opportunity came up for the post at Hong Kong Pre-school Playgroup Association, it seemed an ideal way to use my experience to make a difference to the lives of children in Hong Kong.
The Association is a non-profit charitable organisation that runs English-medium pre-schools and playgroups. These are based on parental involvement and a learn-through-play philosophy very similar to the UK. In fact, the Association was originally set up as a branch of the Pre-school Learning Alliance.
My job as director involves setting policies and procedures, developing a play-based curriculum and offering support and guidance to pre-schools to implement the new procedures. In addition, I am working on obtaining grants for further development and developing accreditation for English medium pre-schools in Hong Kong (we are currently liaising with the Pre-school Learning Alliance with a view to using their resource 'Reflecting on Quality'.)
8.30am: Arrive at the office and check and respond to my e-mails. Communicating with different government departments can be a challenge at times because of the language difference as well as cultural etiquette.
10.00am: Meet with the Executive Committee to look at future funding sources, revise the constitution and make plans for a possible 30th year celebration. The Committee is made up of parents who have an interest in the education of their children and want to make a difference to others.
12.30: Time to have some lunch and catch up with the staff at one of our pre-schools.
1.00pm: Facilitate a workshop around the implementation of the Early Years Foundation Stage. HKPPA has decided to use the EYFS as the basis for their curriculum across the three pre-schools. The staff are all from different backgrounds with varying degrees of training, so a new curriculum is a challenge for them to adapt to. But they are all enthusiastic, which is a good sign!
3.30pm: Towards the end of the session it is good to get feedback from staff on what they feel they are getting out of the training.
4.00pm: Time to clear up after the training and to check my diary for the next day. Tomorrow I'm off to visit one of our pre-schools in the countryside out in the New Territories to help with staff development. There is always something different and challenging, and living in Hong Kong is fascinating as well.
WHAT IT TAKES
By Tina Jefferies, workforce development specialist for Red Space, www.redspace company.com
Leadership in a voluntary sector organisation requires competence in managing resources wisely and efficiently. Changeable funding conditions and the organisation's charitable constitution will dictate what the service delivers, and how. To do this overseas increases the challenge. Running high quality provision within a different culture will inevitably mean making modifications to professional knowledge and practice.
The director, or manager, of a voluntary sector service is required to regularly report to the management board, external funding agencies and government departments on the organisation's progress towards contractual objectives. Therefore, management skills in finance, organisational development, research, evaluating and reporting achievement are important.
Professional resilience and an adaptable approach to working practice are necessary, particularly when dealing with the demands of language and cultural adjustments.
Adapting to a new lifestyle away from family and friends, as well as the need to plan travel and overseas work permits, will require maturity of mind, independence and confidence.
In any organisation, leadership should combine the ability to be visionary, motivating and strategic, with capability in deployment of tasks and resources in a wide range of projects. This can be stressful, especially when complex situations arise such as budget cuts, policy changes or personnel issues.
Project management training would complement early years care, learning and development qualifications at level 3 and 4 in this role, along with further continuing professional development (CPD) in leadership and management, at degree level.
Before working overseas it is advisable to research as much as possible about the culture you will be living and working within, to make the transition easier. Where necessary, it is important to learn to speak the language at a professionally conversant level.
Returning to work in the UK, or moving on to work in other countries, can be enhanced by the experience of delivering provision within different cultural contexts, so, if it is well evidenced, can be a very beneficial and transferable background for the professional CV.
