About me
My beginnings and background
As well as a love of the creative and performing arts, I also love afternoon tea, lots of cups of tea (anything with tea in it). My favourite thing to do is going to the theatre to watch a matineé show, followed by a cup of tea and a scone over which to analyse and discuss the production. My favourite holiday is going to Edinburgh to visit the fringe festival.
I have been involved in the performing arts since a young age. I quickly graduated from playing an angel in the nativity and performing in concerts on the violin or steel pans. Never truly comfortable in the spotlight, I found my true passion is being behind the scenes helping to make it all happen.
Since graduating over fifteen years ago, in arts management, I have mainly worked in theatre administration and general management. This has taken me from theatre in education and fringe theatre to the West End and London producing houses (including the National Theatre).
It seemed a natural progression to move into Human Resources (HR). I completed a qualification five years ago. After a short break from theatre-land, for the private sector, I realised I missed it too much. Since February 2018 I have been working as a freelance project manager and administrator. You can read more about my journey to freelance life in my blog HERE.
Creative and performing arts are such a big part of my life. In my spare time I can be found at my local theatre where I am a member of the resident theatre company. My roles include deputy stage manager and front of house manager. During lockdown, I have been watching a lot of online theatre. I also picked up Dame Maggie Smith’s biography again to finally finish. Last but not least, I built this website, learnt how to write blogs and reached 500+ LinkedIn connections. You can also hear me discussing why I do what I do and how I do it when I appeared as a guest on ‘A Better HR Business’ – The Podcast About Growing Human Resources Businesses’ HERE.
What's it like to work with me?
No doubt you’ve got lots of questions about working with a freelancer and bringing someone into your organisation who you don’t know. Let me put your mind at ease and tell you about how we would work together.
One of my values means I strive to uphold the utmost professional approach in all my work and be positively recognised for fulfilling the brief. As a CIPD accredited HR practitioner this is ingrained in me. To see my other values, please visit my FAQs page HERE. My Hello page HERE tells you about what I can do for you, your team and your organisation. I’m sure you’re thinking, that’s all great but how do you work with us.
I enjoy working with small, creative organisations to support them to run more smoothly. I like getting to know people and establishing a rapport at all levels within the organisation. Being able to communicate with tact and empathy is important to me. It enables me to share their perspective and understand how things at work are affecting them. This helps me know how to make things easier. It also helps me to fit in swiftly with the team.
I’m a friendly, caring and supportive person. By being approachable and a great listener, I’m able to build trust and confidence in my relationships with people. This enables us to work well together to achieve our goal. I believe that these goals will make a difference in people’s work lives. This results in happier, fulfilled, hard-working people who are more likely to be loyal to an organisation that has invested in making their work lives easier.
Being methodical, meticulous and dedicated, I have an eye for detail. I ensure projects are carried out to the highest standard and often find myself going beyond what is required. This is because I’m not only conscientious and driven but genuinely enjoy what I do. I like to see the positive impact it has. Finding a resolution to a day-to-day challenge is immensely satisfying to me. It might not seem like a big thing but it can make a huge difference.
You can rely on and trust me to do a great job for you. I am self-motivated and can work autonomously. I will ensure you know what to expect from me and keep you updated along the way. You don’t just have to take my word for it though, have a look at what my clients say HERE.
Where do I work?
I work remotely from my fully equipped home office but I’ll enjoy coming into your office to see you all in person too.
How do you get in touch with me?
I love to help leaders in the performing arts successfully manage their people and create better organisations.
If you’ve got any questions do feel free to check out my FAQs page HERE. To contact me, please click HERE or email me on contact@rachelpbarker.co.uk and we can arrange to have a chat.
Stay safe and well and I look forward to hearing from and working with you soon.
Thank you, Rachel
