{"id":33190,"date":"2025-03-19T10:55:39","date_gmt":"2025-03-19T10:55:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.systra.com\/uk\/?page_id=33190"},"modified":"2025-03-19T10:55:40","modified_gmt":"2025-03-19T10:55:40","slug":"sally-mcnamara","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.systra.com\/uk\/careers\/our-colleagues\/sally-mcnamara\/","title":{"rendered":"Sally McNamara"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Role<\/strong>: Social and Market Research Director<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Career Area<\/strong>: Research, Modelling and Analysis\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Location<\/strong>: Woking<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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My role at SYSTRA<\/h6>\n\n\n\n
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As a Director in the social and market research team, my typical week involves leading a few different projects, using a range of qualitative and quantitative research methodologies, to answer clients\u2019 research questions. I also write proposals to help us win more work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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I also write proposals to help us win more work.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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My career journey<\/h6>\n\n\n\n
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Following on from a geography degree, I started as a graduate trainee at a global research agency 24 years ago, and aside from a brief stint on the client-side at UNICEF, I\u2019ve worked in research consultancy ever since. I\u2019m a Certified MRS member and a member of the UK Evaluation Society. I was also a Senior Manager at TRL (Transport Research Laboratory) for a few years, leading a large team of researchers and consultants, where I completed a management diploma and became a Lean Green Belt practitioner in process improvement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Joining SYSTRA in January 2024 marked my return to hands on research.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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We asked Sally…<\/h6>\n\n\n\n
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When did you realise this was the career path for you?<\/h6>\n\n\n\n
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Very soon into my graduate training programme. At that point I didn\u2019t have a clear vision of my future and how I would develop as a researcher, but I realised pretty quickly this was a profession that suited my skills and capabilities, where I got to do a range of different activities, and it was something I loved doing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Have you got any words of wisdom for someone starting out in a similar role?<\/h6>\n\n\n\n
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Like most professions, when you first start out it\u2019s worth being willing to work on anything and do whatever tasks are needed, to gain the experience and work out what kind of researcher you\u2019d like to be. Beyond that, research is a profession that welcomes all sorts of different traits and skills, and you can develop in very different ways – from deep expertise in particular methodologies or subject areas; or like me, being a bit of an all-rounder without claiming to be expert in any one thing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Different organisations have different cultures, and will be doing different types of research, so the opportunities will vary depending on where you\u2019re working. I feel the best researchers love what they do (and accept the occasional more challenging projects!), so if you\u2019re not feeling that way, it could be you\u2019re not in the right place for you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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How does SYSTRA stand out from the rest as a great place to work?<\/h6>\n\n\n\n
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I feel lucky to have joined such a lovely team and to have such a great line manager. I felt welcomed and valued from the moment I joined, and feel very comfortable being able to work in the way that suits me, making my own contribution as part of a supportive team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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With such power in diversity, what unique perspective do you bring to the table?<\/h6>\n\n\n\n
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I have an unusually diverse research skill set, having worked in market and social research, and used such a broad range of qualitative and quantitative methodologies. However, as for everyone everywhere, the unique perspective I bring is that I am the only me. Everything I say and do is as a result of everything I am and have experienced, and for good or bad, there is literally no one else in the world who matches that. One thing I love about SYSTRA is we don\u2019t homogenise people into defined groups – we have a broad understanding of diversity being about everyone<\/strong> being able to be who they are.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Where is the place that has inspired you the most?<\/h6>\n\n\n\n
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I\u2019d probably say Enfield, as the place where I grew up and spent my formative years. To repeat the for good and bad, acknowledgement, it\u2019s growing up in Enfield that has made me who I am today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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What does true sustainability really mean to you?<\/h6>\n\n\n\n
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If this question was just asking what sustainability was, I\u2019d say it was changing the way we use resources in a way that doesn\u2019t cause harm and will rebalance or renew.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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But considering what true<\/em> sustainability really<\/em> means to me, gives me the opportunity to be more creative and imagine an unachievable utopia where humans\u2019 population growth and technological developments evolve in a way that is in perfect balance with nature, rather than creating all this damage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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What would a green future<\/em> look like?<\/h6>\n\n\n\n
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We can and should be changing our behaviour to make all those small (and big) changes wherever possible. But, given where the world is, I think a green future needs technological breakthroughs to find new ways of countering the damage we\u2019re doing, and have done, to our environment to achieve balance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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How do you look after your wellbeing outside of work?<\/h6>\n\n\n\n
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Being physically active, having fun with my daughters, laughing at my husband, my husband laughing at me, reading, playing piano (with exceptional mediocrity), singing in a choir (with exceptional mediocrity), eating healthily and accepting that I am who I am.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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If you could spend your lunchbreak with someone you really admire, who would you choose?<\/h6>\n\n\n\n
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Greg Jenner. He\u2019s an endearing and engaging historian, who was a consultant for the Horrible Histories TV series, and hosts a podcast I love called You\u2019re Dead to Me. Greg makes history fun and accessible, and manages to convey the excitement I feel when reading a book about the Wars of the Roses, much better than I ever could (why do<\/em> people call me boring?!). We\u2019d have great fun discussing British regicides during a lovely walk in the park.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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If you had to pick, which mode of transport would you use for the rest of your life?<\/h6>\n\n\n\n
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My own two feet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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> View all<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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learn more about life at systra<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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I also write proposals […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":76,"featured_media":6302,"parent":5796,"menu_order":35,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"857,1","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-33190","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nSally McNamara - Our Colleagues - SYSTRA UK<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"As a Director in the social and market research team, my typical week involves leading a few different projects, using a range of qualitative and quantitative research methodologies, to answer clients\u2019 research questions. 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