Employee Spotlight: Teresa O'Malley, Bid Manager

In this month’s #employeespotlight Teresa O'Malley, Bid Manager for our Public Services pod, tells us about her background and what she likes to do outside of work. She also discusses the projects that she has enjoyed working on most since joining the cxpartners team a year ago and why she chose this job in particular.

The path to working at cxpartners was a bit of a meandering one - I didn’t come from a design background at all! I grew up in Redbridge, somewhere in the fuzzy part where Essex ends and East London begins. Growing up I didn’t really have a clear idea of what I wanted to do, but I knew writing was the thing I enjoyed most. 

After university I started working as a bid manager for a construction company, where I got my first exposure to public services. My favourite part of my job was seeing how the work we did improved people’s lives, transforming their homes, neighbourhoods and communities. 

In 2016 I decided to try a different tack, and spent a year travelling and working on political campaigns before returning to bid management - this time in Financial Services. FS presented all sorts of new and interesting challenges, but ultimately, I realised that the public sector was where I wanted to be - working on projects centred around improving people’s lives.

I’d heard about UX Design in my previous role, and the idea of delivering services aligned to user needs was really appealing to me, even though I didn’t know a lot about it.  

But from my first interview with cxpartners, I felt completely at ease. The team were warm, friendly, and genuinely enthusiastic about the work they do, and the impact user-centred design can have. The work sounded varied, exciting, and full of possibilities. Even though I didn’t come from a UX background, I knew I wanted to be a part of this team, working with them to find and win new opportunities for clients across the public sector.

I’ve been at cxpartners for almost a year now, and one of the things I love about working here is the range of opportunities I get to work on. Our work with the NHS Innovation Lab earlier this year was a real highlight, helping the team explore potential uses for voice-assisted technologies, to make patient care more accessible and inclusive. It was fantastic to put together a successful proposal, and then see our brilliant team bring it to life.

cxpartners are committed to a people-first approach, and I think this comes across not just through the work we do, but through our values as a company. Personal and professional development are so important here! 

There’s a lot of opportunity to take on new challenges, grow and develop in your career - and also a really flexible, remote working environment, excellent benefits (including a fantastic hobby fund - I’m using mine this year for snowboarding gear!) and a real desire to help you learn. 

Everyone at cxpartners is friendly, enthusiastic and willing to learn and share their knowledge and experiences. Whether you’re new to UX like me, or you’ve been working in the field for a while, there’s so much to learn here - and a really strong focus on designing solutions that are accessible, inclusive and sustainable, which is really important to me.

I’m a regular volunteer with my local foodbank, and I often get involved in political volunteering too. Outside of that - I love a good musical, going to gigs and comedy nights -  and I’m very concerned that I might not get Taylor Swift tickets next year!

We're on the lookout for talented and interesting people. Take a look at our careers page to see what roles we're currently recruiting for. However - if your skillset doesn't quite match the roles listed and you're interested in hearing more about working at cxpartners, still get in touch. We always want to hear from passionate and skilled people!