Noella Ngugi

From I was born in Nairobi, Kenya and grew up in Reading, UK.	Place of study and course English Literature at the University of Warwick	Fun fact I can sing and harmonise to any song in soprano, alto, and tenor – although, my vocal range comfortably sits in the lower female register, so I mainly sing alto and tenor

What makes Commercial Management stand out to you? 

What makes Commercial Management stand out to me is its unique position somewhat at the heart of NRF Transform. Coming in as a graduate, there is a lot to learn and understand due to the variety of projects and teams involved. Commercial Management works closely with and supports many NRF Transform teams, allowing me to meet a wide variety of people very early on in the scheme. This has given me significant exposure to the work of other teams and allowed me to develop a broader understanding of how teams within NRF Transform interact and intersect.

What is your favourite thing about working in Commercial Management? 

One of my favourite things about working in the Commercial Management team is that there are always opportunities to take on new and exciting work, allowing me to make the role my own by focusing on the projects I find most interesting and developing the skills I want to enhance. My team is also incredibly supportive, and I always feel like I am learning and improving, which has significantly boosted my confidence. Plus, I ask a LOT of questions and not a single one has ever gone unanswered! 

What is your favourite project you have worked on so far?  

One of my favourite projects so far has been creating the Q3 sales report, which was roughly two months into my role. This project was a significant learning opportunity for me as I had to use PowerBi, a platform I had never used before, to analyse the data. As a new team member and being relatively new to the business, this was initially quite daunting, but I was eager for a challenge and excited to learn something new, so I embraced the opportunity. I then put together a presentation to share the data and insights, which was ultimately shared with senior leadership and has since been published as a shared resource internally with all the teams within NRF Transform. This is just one example of how, both in Commercial Management and the wider scheme, graduates are given the opportunity to take ownership of projects and have responsibility early on. It is incredibly rewarding because you get to make a real, meaningful impact and tangibly see that your contributions are valuable to the business from the very beginning.