Ketchum UK's Inclusion Council 'spotlight series' with Nasheka Grant

Ketchum UK’s Inclusion Council returns with another ‘spotlight series’, this month featuring Nasheka Grant, Finance Business Partner, who sheds light on her journey into PR and her role at Ketchum.

 

Describe yourself in 5 words or less.

Plant-loving, travel-obsessed foodie

Describe your role within Ketchum in 10 words or less

Providing financial partnership and support to our client-facing teams

What does your typical day look like?

My day naturally starts with emails, after a quick chat with my finance team to catch up. I partner the Ketchum Health, Corporate and Create teams so the morning is usually spent responding to requests/queries from my stakeholders, and any new project updates that need to be fed into the OneLondon finance forecast file. I’ll then break for lunch and go to my favourite place near Southwark (Pollomama) to pick something up before heading back to the office.

The afternoon is a flurry of stakeholder calls, more forecast updates, billing queries, and a load of ad-hoc requests – before I know it, it’s home time!

How did you get into finance?

I studied Economics at university and considered several career paths when I graduated as it’s quite a broad subject. I decided to look for a more structured start to my career, so I sought out graduate schemes. I gravitated towards finance graduate schemes, as they tended to offer study support for an accountancy chartership across the 3-year period, and I liked the idea of furthering my studies at no extra personal cost. I applied for a few, went to my first assessment centre and got offered the job…the rest is history!

What made you pursue finance in a comms environment?  

I always liked the idea of working in an industry that felt more in line with my interests. I liked the vibrancy and variety that comms offered, and I wanted to find out more about it. I researched several companies – read reviews and employee profiles and got a better idea of what I assumed would be a good fit for me. My findings were all positive and I decided for my next role, I would pursue a finance role in an agency.

Is previous comms experience essential to your role?

Not at all! Of course, it helps, because comms is ever evolving and if you’ve experienced it previously, it might be a little more familiar. My most recent role was at a Media agency, which I thought was pretty similar, but have found to be quite different indeed! If you have the transferrable finance skills and knowledge for the role, everything comms specific can be learnt along the way.

Were there any surprises when you joined the industry?

The pace. Previously, I was used to a slower paced approach to client work and contracts – for example, a client may take months to on-board, and the contract could span 5 years or more in some cases. That allows a more standardised steady approach to work and milestone delivery. Coming into PR, it’s the complete opposite – that’s because the work we do is rooted in current affairs, events, campaigns and can be very reactionary in some cases. There’s a vibrancy that comes with that because there’s constant variety in what you might be working on day to day. In turn, the way the finances are done and the processes we follow have to fit this way of working, so that was a surprise for me – a nice surprise!

What energises you most about your role?

The variety it offers. The range of tasks I get through in a day is broad, and it keeps me engaged and eager to deliver. I really enjoy being a partner to my stakeholders and helping to make the finance part of their role as easy as possible. Whether that be training, reviewing contracts to get projects off the ground, giving an overview of the teams’ financial position or forecasting for upcoming projects, to name a few. I also work with a fantastic group of people – that includes my finance team, direct stakeholders and my wider Ketchum family! I love the people aspect of my role, which traditionally might not be associated with finance, but there are so many commercial finance roles that give you such a great balance between the numbers and the people.

What are your top 3 tips for getting into the industry?

– Do your research

– Hone your skills

– Might sound cliché but honestly…be yourself!

What’s been the best piece of advice you’ve received?

Feel the fear and do it anyway!

What can the sector do to encourage diversity?

I think outreach is extremely important – finding ways to show the younger generation that there are no boundaries, and anyone can excel with the right skills. There is no ‘blueprint person’ for a role in comms and demonstrating the wide range of people that are in the industry through so many different specialisms is a way to break the misconception that you must come from a certain background, or look, behave, or speak a certain way.

Other things like companies putting DE&I as a main priority and ensuring that it’s genuinely reflected in their policies, hiring and output, are really important in relaying a sincere message that they care about the issue and are actively working towards encouraging diversity.

My favourite work perk is….

All of the great ways we celebrate different people, cultures and holidays through our amazing Inclusion Council!

When I’m not at my desk you’ll find me…

Either travelling, or at a restaurant somewhere – making it my life’s mission to find the best cacio e pepe out there (I think I’m getting close!)