Smart Works Newcastle, a charity that helps unemployed women back into work, has appointed a new member to its Board of Trustees.
Julie Cuthbertson, Corporate Finance Manager at RMT Accountants & Business Advisors, joins the Board at Smart Works Newcastle. Julie brings invaluable skills from providing businesses with tailored strategic support, as well as finance expertise.
Smart Works has been doing instrumental work to develop women in the North East, smashing targets for numbers supported with appointments and appointing Sara Davies MBE as their North East ambassador. New trustee Julie will add further strength and experience to the team.
Leading growth plans to double the number of unemployed women that the charity support, Smart Works Newcastle’s Chair of Trustees, Sophie Milliken (who is also CEO of Moja Group, a profile building agency) is delighted with the new appointment.
Sophie said: “I’m really proud of the incredible work the Smart Works Newcastle team have been doing to support women into employment. The appointment of Julie is another exciting development, and she will play a key role in driving further growth to help more women into fulfilling careers.”
Taking her place as a new trustee, Julie will complement an already diverse and experienced board that is responsible for overseeing day-to-day operations and fundraising, as well as encouraging participation in the charity’s coaching and dressing service.
Smart Works Newcastle is an individual charity which sits under a national, volunteer-led charity Smart Works, that was set up in 2013 in London. It since opened centres in Manchester, Edinburgh, Reading, Birmingham, and Leeds. The Newcastle centre was set up in 2018.
The charity helps hundreds of women back into work each year through a large national referral network including JobCentre Plus.
It has a team of highly-skilled, fully trained volunteer coaches, as well as stylists to provide women with advice and access to professional workwear. Clothes and accessories are all donated through retail partners including Hobbs, Marks and Spencer and John Lewis, as well as through donations from the general public.
On joining the board, Julie said “Smart Works is making a real difference to so many women who are seeking employment across the North East, and I am delighted to have secured a position alongside the existing board at this exciting time as we plan to double the number of women we support.
The success of any organisation is underpinned by its people and Smart Works has a fantastic team who are doing an incredible job for the women in our region.
I am hugely passionate about collaborating for the benefit of all, and firmly believe the work Smart Works does will continue to see great success as we deepen our relationships across our referral partner network. We have some fantastic relationships in place and the opportunity to expand this network and in turn help more ladies benefit from our service and achieve our hugely ambitious growth plans is significant.”
