TESTIMONIALS

I recently met Jen and I have to say she's the most friendly, approachable and warm person. She's obviously extremely knowledgeable about what she does as well as being just great to be around. I wouldn't hesitate to work with her!

Alice Slee

Photographer

Alice Slee Photography

I've worked with Jen during her time at the University of York. Jen's organisational skills are unparalleled, whether it concerns physical clutter, time management, or IT systems. Jen is professional, a wonderful listener, and a really fun person to be around. She is knowledgeable, reliable, and generous, and will be a real asset to anyone who gets to work with her!

Paulina Melichova

Associate Lecturer for Skills Development

University of York

I met Jen when I first inquired about the PhD programme she was managing which i subsequently joined and my feedback can be simply summarised with the statement she is wonderful to work with. The entire process for me has been very challenging, and she has been nothing but supportive and professional. She kept me on the straight and narrow while dealing with important deadlines, while we both juggled other jobs (she with far more grace than I). Her ability to see the individual and support them in the way that they need is not to be underestimated. I would recommend Jen as a personal assistant to anyone. She is really very good at what she does and as a lovely bonus, she happens to be a lovely person and is really very nice to work with.

Benjamin France

Head of Technical, Quality and Systems

Blended Products Ltd

I only met Jen a few weeks ago as she handed over the reins of the EPSRC Doctoral Training Programme at the University of York to me. It was the most organised, detailed handover I could have asked for when starting a new job. Within a few hours, she had introduced me to the key people, talked me through all the paperwork and budgets, already having notified our broad range of stakeholders that she was moving on and handing over to me. I would highly recommend Jen if you need any aspect of organisation in your life!

Vicky Jackson

Pre-award grant coordinator

University of York

I am delighted to recommend Jen as a virtual assistant. Over the past three years, she has managed the PhD programme I am currently enrolled in with remarkable efficiency and professionalism. Jen is exceptionally well-organised and ensured the smooth running of the programme at all times, handling challenges swiftly and effectively. Her excellent communication skills, precise note-taking, and thorough reporting have been invaluable throughout. Jen’s kindness, politeness, and ability to remain composed in all situations make her a pleasure to work with. She has a natural talent for managing diverse responsibilities while fostering a positive and productive environment. I wholeheartedly recommend Jen to anyone in need of a capable and dedicated virtual assistant. She is a true asset who will integrate seamlessly into any team and deliver exceptional results.

Rashmi Deshpande

PhD Student

University of York

An outstanding person both professionally and personally. Jen is the best in organising and supporting administrative functions, so you don’t need to.

Emma Smith

DTP Manager

Brunel University London

I worked with Jen in her previous role for around four years, and her admin skills were fantastic. Her contribution to the success of our project was critical. She liaised with stakeholders brilliantly and made an enormous impact all the way through a complex pilot scheme, working with academics, funding bodies, a range of companies from tiny to huge, as well as with a cohort of students, many of whom operated remotely. Throughout she was proactive and an excellent communicator.

Victor Zanchi

Reckitt Head of Sustainable Integration

Jen is a stellar administrator - approachable, responsive, and always one step ahead of any queries or concerns. In my experience, her positivity and proactivity meant not only that everything was dealt with in a timely manner, but also that everyone involved was kept informed throughout. She's an absolute joy to work with, and I'd highly recommend her services to anyone needing some order in their chaos!

Duncan Macquarrie

Reader

University of York

I would be delighted to recommend Jen to you as an admin/project/virtual manager/assistant. I worked with her for 3 years or so on a project, which she totally ran and managed. This was a challenging new PhD program from the University of York, which required new processes and thinking and working with diverse external partners. Jen did a fantastic job in this role, making everything run seamlessly for us, in terms of preparing meetings and materials and general organisation, but she also worked well beyond this core role in making new contacts and seeking ways to improve our program and share our knowledge with other stakeholders. She has a kind and controlled manner when running meetings to time, often as the preparation has been done well in advance. I would employ her again in an instant if I needed a new virtual assistant for a larger project or a small business.

Gavin H. Thomas

Chief Scientific Officer

MORF-db

In all my interactions with Jen she has been great. She has an eye for detail and keeps a lot of different things in her head at once which allows her to see, suggest and enact efficiency solutions to make everyone's life easier and more productive.

Iain Larmour

Research Environment and Development Team Leader - Faculty of Sciences

University of York

Jen played a crucial role in our small team while we navigated our way through a transition. Her problem-solving and admin skills are second to none! She supported our team with diary management, travel arrangements, recruitment, figuring out solutions for our hybrid team and writing up excellent notes from meetings, for which I am forever grateful. It's been an absolute pleasure working with her!

Monika Antal

Strategy and Partnership Manager

White Rose Forest

Jen joined the YU Executive Team, as a Virtual Assistant (VA) in February 2023. She brought a huge amount of professionalism, skills, experience, and an immediate willingness to work as part of a remote team. Her administrative skills were a vital component of the YU operation and enabled us to achieve a significant amount of success in 2023. Her management of my diary was first-rate, and she formed effective relationships with EAs in the offices of senior leaders in HE nationally and in Yorkshire. I would, at the drop of a hat, work with Jen again, and would recommend her to anyone seeking to bring in high-quality administrative capacity and skills into their team.

Peter O'Brien

Executive Director

Yorkshire Universities

What a wonderful and effective cog in the YorSpace machine Jen was! I had the pleasure of working closely with Jen throughout her time as Secretary to the Board. As well as her volunteer work with the Board, YorSpace were lucky to have Jen provide the organisation with effective administrative and project management support. We were sad to see her go, but we are incredibly grateful to have had Jen along for the ride for so long. I will definitely find a way of working with Jen again.

James Neward

Chief Operating Officer

YorSpace

Jen stepped in to provide support to a project on behalf of Optimo at short notice and quickly rolled her sleeves up and got stuck in. Feedback from stakeholders was very positive and her organisational skills were super useful to help keep the project team operating effectively at a crucial time. Look forward to working together again in the future!

Danielle Heward

Founder

Optimo

I enjoyed working remotely with Jen after I joined the YorSpace board. As a board, we could always rely on her organisational skills and where needed, her ability in gentle upward management. A great communicator and pleasant to work with, Jen always felt a safe pair of hands. Highly recommended.

Mikyla Limpkin

Ideas generator

The Company of Smiles

Jen was a pleasure to work with: supremely well organised, reliable and good company too.

Richard Sved

Founder & Director

3rd Sector Mission Control

Jen has been a joy to work with and brought much-needed support and organisation at a very busy time for our company. She took on multiple projects with varying needs and was always calm and considerate in her approach to our clients and with her Halpin colleagues, always with an excellent dose of good humour. I would highly recommend her if you are in need of project management, administrative support and general organisational help.

Rachael Magee

Consulting Manager

Huron

I worked with Jen in a high-pressure environment and even then she was able to maintain her professionalism and fulfil her duties as an administrator. I was really impressed by how everything that went her way turned into something neat and organised. She never loses her positive, problem-solving attitude. A pleasure to work with.

Cristina Iacobone

Permanent Associate Lecturer in English for Academic Purposes

UCL Centre for Languages & International Education

Jen is the most efficient person I have ever worked with. She is a quick thinker and flexible to your needs. I highly recommend her to support your business with her VA skills.

Jenny Heylin-Smith

Creative Director

HeylinSmith Ltd

Jennifer and I crossed paths throughout our various roles at the University of York. Most recently, Jen was involved in the handover of numerous large complex projects to me in my new role. Jen was extremely organised and methodical in her approach, which was very much appreciated. Starting a new role/job virtually during a global pandemic is certainly a challenge but Jen ensured that this ran as smoothly as possible. Jen is an asset to any company as she is extremely organised, helpful, kind and patient. Her ability to juggle so many tasks with ease should be commended. Thank you, Jen.

Katy Holmes

Administrative Assistant

University of York

Jennifer was a Senior team member to me. She is an outstanding leader. When working on a project that was ever-changing and evolving throughout this year, she proactively came up with bright ideas to increase our interaction with students. She has incredibly strong organisational skills and was always prompt to make sure team members were adapting well to the changing situation.

Tasnim Al Wazed Nayeem

Technology Consultant

Accenture

I can't recommend Jen enough. The project we worked on together was often challenging, ever-changing and fast-growing. There were new issues emerging on an almost daily basis and the need for a level-headed, super-organised and innovative, positive co-ordinator was essential to the successful running of our operation. Jen was all of those things. She was calm personified and able to meet and overcome any challenge we faced methodically and positively. She was solutions-focused and always had a well-researched and reasoned response to the issues we encountered. She welcomed new members to the team warmly, encouraged collaboration and was supportive of those who needed to build their confidence with systems. She inducted staff patiently and was responsive to their needs. Jen manages her time and commitment very well. She is able to measure her engagement with each aspect of her work to ensure deadlines and task demands are met, and is clear about what can be done and when. This is a reassuring and clear approach, which means that nothing slips through the net. In addition to all the above administration-related skills and abilities Jen possesses, there is one which I almost value more than these essential characteristics of your dream co-ordinator....Jen has an amazing sense of humour.

Victoria Jack

Skills Manager; Lecturer in Academic and Communication Skills

University of York

Jen is fantastic to work with. One of the most efficient and level-headed administrators you will come across.

Matt Bell

Director

Forward Global

Amazing service, professional clarification of the requirements from the outset. Validation of example before completion and the added value of an executive summary. Being self-employed with limited administration support, Jennifer has converted me to the F.A.B., a virtual assistant can provide. I would have no hesitation in recommending Jennifer.

Sue Reed

Director - Talent Development

R & S Reed Consultants LTD

I thoroughly enjoyed working with Jen at St Edmund Hall. She was a supportive colleague, with impressive planning, organisational and problem-solving skills. Jen's strengths lie in her combination of a methodical and creative approach, and I would certainly recommend working with her. She's excellent at what she does, plus very personable and easy to collaborate with.

Claire Hooper

Internal Communications Manager

KiwiRail

I worked with Jennifer on a major project at the University of York. The success of the project, a major initiative involving hundreds of staff, depended significantly on Jennifer's invaluable support as project administrator. Jennifer got to grips with the complexity of the work quickly. Her work included setting up project resources and managing a central e-mail inbox, requiring good IT and good communication skills. I was particularly impressed by Jennifer's proactive approach and problem-solving skills: many problems were solved before I was even aware of them, which significantly eased my work as project lead. Jennifer was able to manage multiple tasks simultaneously, often to tight deadlines, whilst maintaining a calm and professional manner. It was common for me to assign Jennifer complex tasks, to find that they were completed, to a high standard, far sooner than I had anticipated. In summary, I cannot commend Jennifer highly enough.

David Gent

Evidence and Impact Manager

University of York

Jennifer was an extremely friendly and polite colleague to work with. She was well organised and efficient in her work. She would be an asset to any organisation.

Annette Holman

Policy and Projects Officer

Greater London Authority

Jennifer Gibbard is an incredibly efficient, knowledgeable administrator and an asset to any team. I had the great fortune to work with Jennifer for projects including the 2016 International Summer School in Forced Migration, the Annual Harrell Bond lecture and various small workshops. I was impressed by Jennifer's resourcefulness and her ability to anticipate and resolve problems. Jennifer was a key member of our team and had great written and verbal communication skills.

Susanna Power

Events Manager

St John's College, Oxford

I worked with Jen on a number of occasions and at all times she was very professional and efficient. The great thing about working with Jen was that if she said she would do something, it was always done.

Christopher Wood

College Accountant

St Edmund Hall, Oxford

Jennifer is a jewel in a project team with her ability to understand the big picture swiftly and create systems and solutions to enable the smooth running of complex projects with multiple layers of stakeholders. Not only does Jennifer have a wealth of IT skills but she also takes a proactive and solution-driven, flexible approach. Her calm, professional manner creates an outstanding level of support, enabling large-scale, strategic projects to move forward effectively. I have been particularly impressed by her collaborative and incisive approach to university-wide initiatives, bringing people on board and ensuring deadlines are met and suggesting excellent innovative solutions to thorny issues. Overall, I cannot recommend Jennifer highly enough as she will be an asset and integral member of any team.

Katy Mann Benn

Residential Life Co-ordinator

Northeastern University London

To have Jennifer in your team can only be a benefit to all involved. While always a pleasure to be in her company, Jennifer is a highly dependable, capable and a trusted colleague. Often the first person to go to for sage advice and help. Cannot recommend highly enough!

Paul Clark

Lead Account Manager - Enterprise Sales

Blacklane

I am so grateful to have met Jen. She is thoughtful, warm, and effective - an unrivalled combination. I can’t speak highly enough of how good it is to work with her; she does exactly what she says she is going to and is so clear in her communications. If I could give ten stars I would.

Alice Wilson

CEO & Founder

Uncommon

Jen is fab, a super talented and professional virtual assistant who is sure to get you organised! Would highly recommend her services!

Darren Baxter-Chow

Board Member

YorSpace

Working with Jen has been a delight: She's friendly, helpful, and always on top of things.

Dominik Karos

Economics Fellow

University of Oxford

Calm, super-helpful and wise, Jen is great to work with!

James Chantry

Associate Lecturer in English Language Teacher Training

University of York

Well organised, focused, efficient and highly skilled

Cecilia Lowe

Associate Director: Library, Learning, Archives and Wellbeing

University of York

Jen is an incredible asset to our team. I cannot recommend her highly enough. Her support keeps YorSpace running and the Board organised. She takes wonderful, clear and concise minutes of our monthly Board meetings and helps us in our thinking when she mentions we haven't made a clear decision on something. Without Jen, our meetings would not be as smooth and enjoyable as they are.

Sue Bird

Board Member

YorSpace

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