Profile
Jenna Matthews
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About Me:
I live with my cat, my two year old daughter and my husband near Gatwick Airport. I love travelling, adventure and yummy food!
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I am 34 years old.
My favourite animals are lions. I spend my weekends eating chocolate and taking my daughter to softplay.
I work in aviation and my husband is an Air Traffic Controller.
I have worked in aviation for 10 years. I work with pilots, air traffic controllers and aircraft engineers.
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My pronouns are:
she/her
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My Work:
I lead a team to design and make brand new things, like a toy or a new app on your phone.
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In my job as a Product Owner, I create a vision for a product and lead a team to build it. A product could be a new app on your phone or a new toy. I talk to lots of people to find out what they need and what would make their lives easier. Then I choose the most important ideas and work with designers and computer experts to make them happen. I use maths and teamwork to solve problems and create things that people will like. It’s a bit like being the captain of a project—making sure everyone knows what to do and helping guide the way so we can make something amazing together!
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My Typical Day:
I wake up and get my toddler up. We have breakfast together and I drop her at Nursery. I get to work for 8.15am. I have catch up calls with my teams in the morning to agree the plan for the day. Then I normally have a lot of meetings. I always have something to review like a new design or plan. I give feedback to my team on what I like and what needs to change. I might do some user research which means talking to customers and finding out what they like. At the end of the day I catch up on emails. I finish at 5pm. My husband picks our daughter up from nursery and I go home to play games with them before bedtime.
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What I'd do with the prize money:
I’d love to get some students involved in designing part of our new system – which will be a digital pilots licence ( a driving licence for pilots).
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Education:
I went to Boroughbridge High School and studied Maths, Science, English, History, French, Spanish, Music, Drama, & Dance.
I then went to St Aidens Sixth Form and studied Business, Law, French and Spanish.
I then went to Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh (2009- 2013) and studied Translation and Interpreting from French and Spanish into English.
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Qualifications:
GCSE’s – 1 A*, 7 As and 2 Bs.
AS level – Business (A)
A levels – Law (A), Spanish (B), French (C)
Master Degree – 2:1 – Applied Language and Translating (French and Spanish)
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Work History:
Quality Manager – Transperfect Translations. Proofreading translations to checking for mistranslations, errors and formatting issues. I do this job in my spare time.
Customer Relations Executive – Menzies Client Solutions. My first job after university. Resolving passenger complaints about airlines.
Senior Customer Relations Executive – Menzies Client Solutions. My first promotion. Taking on more responsibility within the team.
Office Supervisor – Menzies Client Solutions. Running the office on a day to day basis. Managing the team and allocating work.
Business Development and Support Manager – Menzies Client Solutions. Running the small company. Hiring and firing staff. Looking after customers and trying to win new customers.
Team Manager – Civil Aviation Authority. Managing a large team who issue licences for Pilots, Air Traffic Controllers and Engineers.
Training Lead – Civil Aviation Authority. Creating training for the department. Making sure we follow the law.
Product Owner – Civil Aviation Authority. Making brand new things for customers. Deciding what the team should make and making sure it works well for the people who use it.
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Current Job:
Product Owner.
A Product Owner helps choose the best ideas for a product.
They work with a team to decide what to make next.
They make sure everything is useful and easy for people to use.
Their job is to guide the team so the product turns out amazing! -
Employer:
Civil Aviation Authority
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My Interview
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How would you describe yourself in 3 words?
Lion-obsessed Product Owner
What did you want to be after you left school?
An Interpreter
Were you ever in trouble at school?
No
If you weren't doing this job, what would you choose instead?
Travel Writer
What's your favourite food?
Chocolate
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