Working for a better world: The Butterfly Foundation’s Mini Deb

People find amazing jobs on EthicalJobs.com.au every day. This is part of a series of articles, which go behind the scenes to meet some of the people, and organisations that are finding each other through EthicalJobs.com.au.

Today’s story is from Mini Deb who found her Office Administrator role with the eating disorder support organisation The Butterfly Foundation, after seeing the ad on EthicalJobs.com.au.

Congratulations on your new role at the Butterfly Foundation, Mini. Can you tell us about your first ever paid job?

My first ever paid job was at the age of 20, in a little village called Mazvikadei in Zimbabwe. My parents live in Mozambique, so after I finished a three-year Diploma in Hotel Management, I worked in Zimbabwe for a year in order to see them more often. I was lucky enough to get a job as the Rooms Division Manager at Mazvikadei Resort for five months. It was a hugely challenging but immensely exciting job that kept me busy from 5am to midnight every day! I lived on-site and boarding and meals were included in my salary package, so it was a pretty cool job for someone fresh out of University.

Tell us about your education – what did you study at University, and has it had a significant impact on your career so far?

My first degree was a Diploma in Hotel Management, which was certainly interesting and helped build my customer service skills. However, a few years later, I came to Melbourne to do my MBA, and that has had more of an impact on my career as it opened up a whole new array of career opportunities, and also helped build my leadership, team work, report writing and communication skills.

What inspired you to first become involved in the not-for-profit sector?

Following a rewarding but stressful few years in the finance industry – and having realized that Operations and People Management were where my core strengths lay – I took a break in 2010 to reassess my career path. This led to a wonderful opportunity as Business Manager at the Australian National Data Service (ANDS), a federally-funded project responsible for building research data infrastructure for the nation.

Working at ANDS made me realize that I wanted to turn my focus to causes that had more value than just meeting my financial needs. However it was only because my husband encouraged me to take the time to find the right role, that I was able to make the somewhat difficult transition into the NFP sector.

How did you first come across EthicalJobs.com.au?

When I started looking for roles in the not-for-profit sector, EthicalJobs.com.au was the first site that I visited via web searches, and it also came highly recommended by my colleagues.

What does the Butterfly Foundation do, and what first attracted you to the organisation when you saw the ad on EthicalJobs.com.au?

The Butterfly Foundation provides high quality, evidence-based support and counselling to anyone suffering from eating disorders and negative body image issues, as well as to their carers.

While Butterfly has a range of support services, it also works collaboratively with other support organisations across the nation to increase awareness of eating disorders, the warning signs and what to do to intervene, so it focuses not just on treatment, but also on prevention and advocacy.

Additionally, the Butterfly Research Institute has been established to facilitate multi-disciplinary research into eating disorders, while the Education Services program offers interactive workshops for schools, professionals and parents to provide young people with awareness, strategies and tools to actively support their self-worth and body confidence. This multi-pronged approach to tackling the issue of eating disorders is what first attracted me to the organisation.

Do you have any tips you could share about moving from the private and government sectors into a not-for-profit job?

I personally have found it incredibly difficult to make the transition into the not-for-profit sector even though my skills are transferrable and are in fact, particularly useful for a sector that is short of funding and needs to minimise operational costs.

What I have realised is that a lot of the jobs in the sector are available through networking. It is about making as many connections as possible in the type of organisations one wants to work in, for instance by attending events, and in particular by volunteering. Volunteering in the sector seems to open many doors, either directly by leading to a role within the same organisation, or indirectly by making connections at partner organisations, or simply by adding to your experience.

In January 2014, I also took up a skilled volunteering role at a small not-for-profit called Asha Global, as Operations Manager, and have been setting up processes for their finance and administrative functions and also providing input into their strategic planning process. This provided me with unique insights into how the sector operates and also increased my knowledge of compliance requirements for organisations in this sector.

Many people who work for not-for-profits are well aware that they could earn a more lucrative salary in the public or private sector. What has motivated you to work in the not-for-profit sector?

Money has never been a strong motivator for me. I am a self-motivated person driven by the need to do the best at whatever role I take on. Of course I do value my skills and want to be paid accordingly, but the right salary is relative to the sector you choose to work in.

My ultimate goal is to work for an organisation that supports women and children who are affected by domestic and/or sexual violence. This is an issue I feel extremely strongly about, and is what motivated me to make the transition into the not-for-profit sector.

In the meantime though, I am finding it incredibly fulfilling and interesting to work at the Butterfly Foundation and am proud to be part of a high-performing team that is delivering tangible benefits to the community.

What advice would you give to the many ethical jobseekers that dream of a landing a job like yours?

Take on volunteer roles while looking for paid roles, because this will help you build your network, provide you with experience and exposure to the sector, and not only provide you with insights into the kind of skills that are useful in the sector, but also help you identify the type of organisations that you are attracted to work in.