Our Commercial Director Jim Sherhod discusses the most rewarding and challenging aspects of his role at makepositive
Describe your role at makepositive
I’m the Commercial Director at makepositive. My primary responsibility is managing the delivery budget and forecasting revenue, and I work closely with the sales and delivery teams in making commercial decisions. I look after Risk for the business, meaning I review proposals to make sure we’re assessing every project for risks and ensuring we are communicating the scope clearly for our clients. I am also accountable for IT and security, and work closely with our IT team to ensure we are operating effectively.
What does a typical work day look like for you?
I usually start the day by running updated forecasts and contacting members of the sales team for updates. My days are frequently quite meeting heavy and I’m a frequent attendee on sales calls, resourcing calls, proposal review boards, and governance and operational meetings. I will run reports on all of the key business metrics to ensure we are on track, taking any necessary action if not – I get great value from my Tableau licence!! I have a very broad role so my days are diverse and challenging, with lots of fast paced decision making, which I enjoy.
What is the most challenging part of your role?
The most challenging part is having that crystal ball to work out what’s going to happen next! I use a lot of data analysis to look at trends and any sort of projections that can give us insight. There’s a lot of plates spinning at once, and it’s a case of making good, informed decisions and keeping everything moving forward.
What is the most rewarding part of your role?
Working with the team at makepositive is by far the most rewarding part of my role. I genuinely love the culture and atmosphere. The people make such a difference to my enjoyment of the role, I genuinely have fun at work!
What skills are the most important to perform well in this job?
Multi-tasking is massively important and understanding holistically what the different departments in the business need to succeed is vital. Being able to balance all of those often competing requirements and make solid judgement calls is paramount.
What advice would you give someone looking to apply for a similar role?
Keep an open mind, listen well and ensure you see the world from other people’s perspectives. You need to be able to see the bigger picture and don’t be afraid to stand firm with what you think is right, because everyone has a different priority, and if you can be objective and make the right judgement call for the business then you’re doing well.
What’s your favourite thing about working at makepositive?
The culture, the people – the business still has a personality and everyone works together to succeed. There’s a completely flat structure, everyone’s here for the right reasons and I love it!
