Meet the Team: Eloise Siani Djiakoua
In our Meet the Team blog series, we’re shining a spotlight on different members of the Local Digital team to showcase just some of the incredible expertise and hard work that goes on behind the scenes.
In this issue, Eloise Siani Djiakoua delves into her role as a Project and Admin Support Officer within the Future Councils team. She also tells us about her journey from being on the LGA’s National Graduate Development Programme (NGDP) to joining the DLUHC Local Digital team earlier this year.
My career journey so far
I’m still quite early on in my corporate career as I graduated from Nottingham Trent University in the summer of 2020 with a Psychology degree. One thing that really stood out to me during my studies was just how many external factors can impact someone’s quality of life. From studying this, I knew that I wanted a career where my work would have a positive impact on the communities around me.
This is what sparked my interest in government and resulted in me successfully gaining a place on the National Graduate Development Programme (NGDP). This is a scheme run by the Local Government Association (LGA), which helps graduates to develop their management skills and learn how to deliver key projects in a time of austerity.
During the scheme, I was placed in Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council and I thoroughly enjoyed my two years there. I worked in Customer Services, Children and Young People’s Services, and in Regeneration. I was really inspired by the Levelling Up funded projects I supported during my time there.
This fed quite nicely into me joining DLUHC and the Civil Service in July 2023. I have first-hand experience in how difficult it is for councils to work digitally, but also how passionate council staff are towards improving their boroughs and communities, and this is something I’ve brought with me to the department.
My role and what I’ve been working on
I am a Project and Admin Support Officer within the Local Digital team, specifically working on the Future Councils programme. This is a really varied role, which involves everything from helping to organise events, to sorting out the team’s finances and being a point of communication between the team and councils.
Recently I’ve been working on getting the Future Councils Roundtable events from an idea to a reality. It took a lot of organisation, planning and team work to pull together events in Leeds, London, and Exeter but the feedback we got from the attendees made it all worth it. Many rated the event excellent and that was proof alone that our hard work had paid off! I look forward to continuing to support the team with our future projects.
How this role is helping to shape my career
So far this role has been a great aid in developing my career. It has helped me to discover that I would be interested in becoming a Delivery Manager or a Collaboration and Engagement Manager, and I am already gaining some valuable skills!
For example, I have learnt how a project is run using Agile principles. I have had the opportunity to lead a stand-up and a retrospective session (which are usually led by the Delivery Manager) and this was a great development opportunity. I have also reinforced my learning by attending an agile training course.
Furthermore, I’ve had the fantastic opportunity to shadow the Comms team and this blog post is a result of that! I have also been shown the behind-the-scenes of the website, how to review a programme report and how to develop a content plan (amongst many other things)! This has provided me with a different perspective into our Future Councils work by helping me to understand how it is consumed by our audience.
What I have enjoyed and found challenging so far
I have really enjoyed travelling to different cities, such as Bristol, Newcastle, Leeds and London to attend conferences, meet our pilot councils or to host the Roundtable events.
During my first month I travelled to Newcastle to meet one of our pilot councils and join them in a workshop hosted by my colleagues. Initially, I found it quite daunting to present myself to a council in person as I was so new to the team. However, I quickly became a part of the discussions on the day, as I was able to draw upon my previous experience of working in a local authority.
Overall, I ended up having a great and productive time. At first, it was quite challenging to join the Future Councils programme more than halfway through and I certainly had to hit the ground running. Nevertheless, the team is so supportive and are always there to answer any of my questions, so I soon fit right in!
My advice for anyone interested in getting into the civil service
Before getting onto the NGDP, I had applied for the Civil Service Fast Stream but was unsuccessful. I thought that I would never make it into the Civil Service but here I am!
I would highly recommend applying to the NGDP for anyone interested in a public sector career, as I learnt a lot about both local and central government, and this has better equipped me to be a civil servant.
The lesson learnt here is that it’s never too late to apply for a Civil Service role. Even if you don’t get the first job you apply for, gaining any relevant experience in a similar field will be super helpful for your future Civil Service career — so don’t give up!
The Local Digital team carries out its work openly, and therefore you can stay updated on our activities and follow our ongoing progress on Twitter, LinkedIn, Sprint Notes, the DLUHC Digital Blog or our fortnightly newsletter.
