Madeleine Browne – Office Manager and PA 

I am the Office Manager and Debbie’s PA, which means I take care of all the behind-the-scenes admin and procedures. I get to wear many hats, be it submitting the payroll, doing data analysis of our timesheets, managing Debbie’s busy calendar or making sure the office is always well-stocked with biscuits.  

I’ve also been getting stuck in with some PR work, with a view to becoming a full-time Account Executive in a few months.

I grew up in the local area before going to Pembroke College, Cambridge to study English. The frantic pace of researching new topics every week and editing for the student newspaper in my spare time was intense but wonderful and I will be forever grateful for the experience. After graduating in the summer of last year, I wanted to find a career that would challenge me in the same way, let me keep learning and allow me to write as much as possible. 

I came to the office for two weeks’ work experience at the start of this year to learn more about PR and the work bClear does for its clients – and now here I am as a permanent member of staff! 

The opportunity to change something. I always like to leave something better than I found it, even if it’s something small. It’s a great feeling to get to help our clients use words and stories to gain recognition as key players in their industry or raise the profile of the changes that they’re making.  

At the core of this is the desire to always be learning more – about market trends, how people like to work, or how to tailor our communication to a client’s voice. And when you understand the roots of a problem, you can find out how to start solving it.

The variety of my role and of bClear’s client work is exactly what I hoped I could find when looking for a graduate position: no day is the same, and that’s how I like it! I love getting stuck into the day-to-day admin as well as projects for the team because then I get to see all the different aspects of the business and how each element works behind-the-scenes.  

I’ve also relished the chance to develop within the role and grow more confident. The whole team have been very generous with their time and advice and patiently answered all my questions! 

At every chance I get, I love to get stuck into a good book, mostly the million and one titles that I didn’t get to read for my degree. I also love to write creatively and have had my poetry published in an anthology run by Oxbridge students and guest edited by professional writers. Since returning from university, I’ve been keen to reconnect with the local arts scene that I loved as a student and keep up with my own writing.  

If you don’t find me with my head in a book or scribbling on a page, I’ll usually be found on a walk (most recently to the Brecon Beacons), at the cinema or swimming in the sea in the warmer months, the same waters that we can see every day from the bClear office. 

This photo was taken outside the Hay Festival in Hay-on-Wye, one of the country’s biggest literary festivals. The whole trip summed up just the kind of experiences that I treasure: exploring new places and the natural world, attending literary events, going hiking and spending time with my friends.