IT ’ S PEOPLE WHO FIGHT A PANDEMIC
No question , the COVID-19
pandemic has changed the world . Our lives are not the same ; constrained by disease and restrictions designed to help stop its spread . The Government ’ s COVID-19 Task Force was created to mount a coordinated response to the pandemic and Godfrey Atuahene Junior BA ( Hons ) Business Studies & HR Management ’ 11 is at the heart of it , working as a Secretariat Task Force Lead at the Cabinet Office .
Godfrey joined the Cabinet Office in September 2020 , mid pandemic , and was instantly thrown into assisting with everything from testing and guidelines for the public , to mass vaccination . He manages a team that , to the extent possible , ensures ministers have the right papers , at the right times , to make the right decisions . This means gathering and sharing information from across all areas of the response effort .
He explains : “ The Cabinet Office is like the mothership of the response . My role is very much central , working with a number of different teams to ensure we get the right decisions administered . I ’ m talking to the vaccine team almost every day , and understanding how we can respond , to get vaccines in people ’ s arms . It ’ s super busy and very much all hands-on deck but I really enjoy it . It ’ s great seeing the results of the work we do , helping the public . We ’ re like the nerve centre that coordinates all mass testing and vaccines , which is absolutely amazing .”
Delivering at pace , communicating and influencing , working together , leadership . These are all skills Godfrey uses on a daily basis and he believes he owes many of them to his time at the University of Portsmouth . At the University , he gained the confidence and grew the competencies he now needs to do his job well .
“ Studying human resources was all about the people ; ensuring that people are empowered to be our best resource . People make things happen ; people make things change .
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