Clare Thomas is Managing Director of The Intermediary Cooperative. Here, she talks about her varied professional background, why she is passionate about the work that TIC does and how she once cooked for the Queen.
Q: Tell us a little bit about your early career?
A: After graduating from Manchester Met University with a degree in Business Management, I followed a traditional corporate route, working for blue chips including Marriott Hotels, Hilton Hotels and Tesco in various business operations, HR and, latterly, training and development roles. Throughout all my working roles I am passionate about excellent service delivery, continuous improvement and skills development.
Q: Why did you decide to move into the Third Sector?
A: The charitable sector was a sector that had always interested me and I had got some experience in extracurricular activity while working in the corporate space. I had a passion for helping and supporting people in work and I was also excited by the challenge of working for a not-for-profit organisation.
My decision to join the Shaw Trust, which transforms lives through education and employment, was based around my values and motivation rather than money. I had taken the decision to step off the corporate ladder and move into an area where I felt I could make more of a difference to people’s lives.
I had a great time with the Shaw Trust, working in a variety of roles, starting with responsibility for a caseload of service users, working on the frontline helping them to find work with employers, before moving into programme delivery roles. This brought me into contact with the likes of the European Social Fund, Big Lottery Fund and Department for Work and Pensions.
I also gained experience of international development including working closely with other charities in the US, Australia and Europe.
Q: After the Shaw Trust, you spent time working with the Railway Children and Groundwork Wales. What did these experiences give you?
A: I gained a huge amount from my time at the Shaw Trust, but the missing piece was CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility), and becoming CSR Manager for the Railway Children, the charity that works with street children in India, Africa and the UK, gave me this opportunity at a time when the charity had just secured a major partnership with Aviva.
After this, I moved to Groundwork Wales, working as Head of Business Development and doing some interesting work, working with Welsh Government and helping to win funding for important health, wellbeing and environmental projects.
After moving from South Wales to Cheshire, I subsequently had spells strategically supporting charities including Cheshire West Voluntary Action, where I was a Trustee, Save The Family and Cheshire Community Foundation.
Q: How did the opportunity to work for The Intermediary Cooperative come about?
A: I got to know one of TIC’s founding members, Rachel Cohen, who lives in the same Cheshire village. I also provided swimming coaching for Rachel’s daughters.
We chatted about TIC and its plans including establishing as a cooperative and then winning a place on the Ministry of Justice’s contract for the provision of intermediary services. Following this, the opportunity arose to get involved as Operations Manager and, subsequently, Managing Director.
The role played to a lot of my strengths and background including working with Government, business planning, budgeting and operational management, and quickly went from a couple of days a week to full time.
Q: What are the things that most excite you about TIC?
A: Most of all, the huge potential that TIC has to make a difference to the lives of vulnerable people who depend on the experience and skills of our intermediaries to gain fair access to justice. I am passionate about how the communication support that our members provide educates and informs other professionals and can make such a difference.
I am also fascinated by the wider potential of the cooperative movement in England and Wales (TIC is a member of Co-operatives UK) and its potential to have a widespread impact on people’s lives and society as whole.
Thanks to the hard work and dedication of everyone involved with TIC, the cooperative has made so much progress since setting up in March 2021, and there is so much more to come.
Ever since I joined the Third Sector, my driving force has been about working for organisations that can make society a better, kinder, fairer place, helping vulnerable people when they most need it.
Q: How do you relax away from work?
A: I have two young sons, aged 3 and 6, and a dog who keep me busy!
Although I live in Cheshire, I love the sea and the mountains and over the years I have gained various qualifications for the likes of outdoor trekking, triathlon and swim coaching.
On occasions, I delivered pre-season training to Warrington Wolves rugby league players, putting them through their paces in Three Peaks and Snowdonia and a bespoke outdoor activity trip for The Girl Guides in Slovenia helping them to establish a new World Bee Badge.
Q: What’s your greatest claim to fame?
A: While I was a student at Manchester Met, the late Queen and Duke of Edinburgh visited to open a new building and I was part of the team that cooked and served for them. The Queen was very particular and insisted on Smoked Salmon followed by Salmon Fillet!