Jennifer Rodley

PhD Researcher, University of Leeds

• Managing a PhD project, including budget and resource management
• Analysing and interpreting data to identify trends and anomalies
• Preparing proposals and reports
• Presenting at international conferences and organising international travel and accommodation
• Liaising with internal and external supervisors and stakeholders
• Preparing graphics and other materials for presentation and publication

Health and Safety Officer, University of Leeds

• Assessing and providing guidance for risk assessments for travel, fieldwork and lab work
• Providing guidance to students on study abroad years
• Conducting and reporting on lab and office health and safety inspections

Research Support Administrator (temporary post), University of Leeds

• Developing and maintaining project websites to disseminate information and provide updates to academic and public audiences
• Generation and circulation of project newsletters
• Sourcing and circulating details on research funding opportunities
• Budget monitoring and reporting to Principal Investigators
• Generating and maintaining mailing lists for project communications
• Organising meetings and seminars
• Coordinating plans for visiting researchers including travel, accommodation and office space

Demonstrator (casual post), University of Leeds

• Assisting with teaching for first year undergraduate students
• Providing one-to-one teaching support for students
• Marking assessed weekly assignments
• Markng assessed end of semester exams
• Developing novel mothods of communicating abstract concepts to students

HR Administrator (temporary post), University of Leeds

• Organisation and management of School recruitment
• Management of human resources including absences, annual leave and staff reviews
• Provision of cover for the PA to the Dean of the School of Dentistry

Ore Deposits & Commodities Intern, British Geological Survey

• Manipulation of statistical data to develop material for publication
• Researching and compilation of information on specific commodities for publication
• Preparation of graphics and text for publication
• Researching and writing a paper for publication on the history of the UK mineral statistics using internal and external resources

Events Administrator, University of Leeds

• Assistance in the delivery of events by the University to internal and external clients
• Recording and updating information on the events database
• Preparation of guidance documents for staff to maintain consistent product quality 
• Development of an office manual to train new staff and inform existing staff on booking protocols and procedures

Schools Liaison Manager, Research Toolkit Ltd 

• Development of systems and procedures for the West Yorkshire STEM Ambassadors Programme including: STEM Ambassador inductions; collation and maintenance of Ambassador and schools databases; Ambassador and school communications; and coordination of Ambassador/school projects
• Development and maintenance of relationships with schools and Ambassadors to promote the STEM agenda and develop STEM activities
• Liaison with external stakeholders to develop the STEM agenda
• Updating the national STEM database with objectives, agreed plans and meeting notes
• Organisation and completion of CRB checks for STEM Ambassadors
• Development and distribution of promotional materials
• Event management including regular volunteer induction sessions
• Promotion of the STEM Programme and recruitment of STEM Ambassadors

Personal Assistant, University of Leeds

• Provision of support for the Head of Service
• Liaison with internal and external contacts including offices of the Vice-Chancellor and Pro-Vice Chancellors, Deans, academics, students, local MPs, Local Government Office HEFCE and DfES
• Project management of University-wide initiatives, specifically management of projects related to the University’s fundraising Campaign which involved: liaison with University staff at all levels, external key alumni and external service providers; coordination and dissemination of information on Campaign projects to academics and alumni; communication of project deadlines to key stakeholders; and acting as a central point of information related to project progress
• Organisation of events from meetings and small-scale dinners to large University celebrations
• Participation in meetings with major donors
• Servicing high-level committees including: taking meeting minutes; and collation and distribution of meeting papers
• Management of departmental human resources including recruitment, absences, annual leave and staff reviews
• Drafting correspondence for the Director of Alumni Development, Vice-Chancellor and other senior staff
• Maintenance of comprehensive alumni records using bespoke contact management software
• Planning foreign travel including: flights and accommodation; restaurant bookings; and meeting venues
• Diary management and organisation of UK and overseas travel
• Line management for the Receptionist and Office Assistant

Various roles in the financial services industry

I initially worked as a receptionist and progressed in several companies to become a fully qualified corporate pensions advisor. In the later stages of my career in this field I managed a portfolio of large corporate clients providing pensions advice to management and employees.

As an Undergraduate Research and Leadership Scholar I undertook research alongside my studies.  My scholarship enabled me to work with Dr Crispin Little on his research into fossilisation processes at deep-sea hydrothermal vent sites.  

Although vents and the communities that inhabit them are thought to have existed for millions of years, these sites were only discovered in 1977 and consequently research in this field is still relatively new.  Little is known about the processes that fossilise vent communities and a better understanding of these processes could ultimately be used as a proxy for past environments.  To better understand the mineralisation and fossilisation processes at work, Dr Little submerged a series of identical titanium cages containing organic and inorganic material at two discrete vent sites along the East Pacific Rise and these were left for around one year.  Retrieval of these cages and the specimens contained within has allowed comparison between the different samples and the different vent sites.  Microscopic analysis of these specimens and sulphur isotope analysis formed the basis of my research.  A selection of the scanning electron microscope images I took during my research can be found here.  I presented a poster on my research at an international conference which can be found here.

• Microsoft Office (including Word, Excel, Access, PowerPoint, Outlook and Publisher)
• OriginPro
• CorelDraw
• ArcGIS
• Midland Valley Move (structural modelling software)
• Digimap
• Athena (XAS software)
• pyMCA (XRF mapping software)
• SAP (HR, finance, sales & purchasing)
• Raiser's Edge (contact management software)
• Banner (student record management)

• Operating binocular, petrographic and scanning electron microscopes
• SEM preparation including carbon coating, consolidation and mounting
• Rock cutting and polishing
• Making and polishing polished blocks
• Maintaining a comprehensive and accurate lab book
• Selecting and preparing samples for sulphur isotope analysis
• Following wet and dry lab health and safety procedures
• Sequential extraction procedures
• Preparing samples for ICP-MS analysis
• AAS analysis
• Preparing samples for XAS analysis
• XAS analysis and XANES processing

• 7 days in South Wales looking at igneous and sedimentary rocks ranging in age from Precambrian to Carboniferous
• 12 days in Assynt, North West Scotland, examining a thrust system (the Moine Thrust) in sedimentary and metamorphic rocks
• 7 days in County Clare, Southern Ireland, looking at Carboniferous basin deposits
• 7 days in Connemara, Southern Ireland, examining Precambrian to Ordovician intrusive and extrusive igneous lithologies
• 21 days in North Yorkshire investigating Carboniferous limestones and sandstones with MVT mineralisation

• Full UK driving licence
• Full UK passport