Faces behind the frog: Stephen Rodwell

As part of our 'Faces behind the frog' blog post series, we talk to Stephen about life as the Unifrog Operations and Finance Lead and what he'd want if he was stranded on a desert island. 
 

Describe your role as Operations and Finance Lead at Unifrog

I'm responsible for the smooth running of the office from day-to-day, whether that means coordinating our programme of UK and International conferences or helping to improve our team workspace. I also manage the company's finances along with Hayley, our Head of Operations. Essentially, this means I keep a close eye on our income and expenditure and try to save money wherever possible! If I ever find a spare moment (rare!), I really enjoy getting involved in other parts of what Unifrog do, whether that's writing and editing for the Unifrog platform or getting stuck into data research.

When you first started, what struck you about Unifrog?

It's a great team of people who support one another and celebrate each other's successes; everyone is eager to help and push the platform forward. It's also inspiring that we have a group of experts in Higher Education and post-16 opportunities who are helping lead the discussion about the future of young people.

As a former teacher, why do you think that what Unifrog is doing is important?

Although I worked in a primary school, I know that my Year 1 pupils would still have loved exploring the different careers on the platform! Every year my class made a ‘Book of Dreams’ where each child drew a picture of what they wanted to be when they were older. In a way, Unifrog is just a grown-up extension of that! Even from a young age, giving children ideas about what careers are out there is hugely important in shaping their aspirations.

If you were stranded on a desert island, what three items would you want with you and why?

A corner sofa, the Beatles discography, and a lifetime supply of cheese. What more could you want?

You can take a look at all our other staff profiles over on the Unifrog contact page.