Lorna Simpson - Team Secretary

"I get to mix with people at all levels and liaise with external organisations which suits my personality down to the ground!"

“Diverse. That's how I'd sum up my role in a word – both in terms of the variety and the nature of my role. What I do has changed a lot over the thirteen years that I've been with the Commission.

“I've moved around quite a bit and worked under four different managers, but always within a secretarial capacity as clerical work is my forte and it was always my goal to work in a big organisation and I'm great at getting things done.

“Now, I primarily deal with diversity and equality awareness, from gay and lesbian issues, for which we've recently joined the top 100 for being a gay-friendly workplace – a fantastic achievement, to disability, age and race discrimination issues.

“At the moment our team is leading our corporate diversity training programme, designed to refresh and update everyone across the organisation. This is very interesting as we use actors to role-play challenging situations because the ‘best way of remembering is doing', especially when it comes to highly emotive issues.

“I get to mix with people at all levels and liaise with external organisations which suits my personality down to the ground! The small team I work in is a necessary part of the growth and success of the Commission as a whole, so our consultative and engaging approach is key to our effectiveness.

“Overall the Audit Commission is a great place to work, as it offers flexibility and competitive benefits, not to mention the fact that it is a caring organisation. Many places make a lot of noise about diversity and wanting to look after their staff, but here, they genuinely apply their ethos throughout.”