Laura Collier-Keywood

I started my career at PricewaterhouseCoopers (now PwC) where I trained and qualified as an accountant. I always had a keen interest in the charity sector and during this time I volunteered with several charities, including some overseas placements where I was able to use my accounting skills.

During this time, I also travelled frequently to The Gambia where I co-founded a small charity that provides education and healthcare facilities in remote regions. I soon realised that I could build a career doing this type of work and began looking at finance roles within the charity sector. Not long after, I got my dream role working as a project accountant at BBC Media Action.

Over four years at BBC Media Action I worked in a number of different finance roles and most enjoyed working closely with our country offices. Although I travelled to several of our country offices rolling out a new finance system, it wasn’t until I was on a separate volunteering trip in The Gambia that I got to experience the work of BBC Media Action first-hand, when my colleagues delivered Lifeline training on the Ebola outbreak. It was a wonderful opportunity to really see the impact of our work.

I love learning new things so after working for over four years at BBC Media Action, I decided it was time for a change, and then spent time working at Nesta and Citizens Advice, both UK-based charities. It was a valuable experience to learn more about how other large charities operate; however, I also kept a toe dipped in the waters of international development, as treasurer of the Communication for Disaster-Affected Communities (CDAC) network – first co-founded by BBC Media Action - with a view to returning to international development at some point. So when the role of Chief Operating Officer came up, I jumped at the chance to return to an organisation that I’d always loved.