Departing for Stanley

So I have not blogged for many months, but if you follow me on twitter you are probably aware by now that things have been pretty crazy since last November when I accepted an offer of a two year Senior HR role in the Falkland Islands Government.

After months of preparations, medical assessments, dental treatment, work permit applications, house sale stress, work handovers, packing and long goodbyes, we are finally at the airport in Brize Norton waiting to take off for Mount Pleasant to start a new life in the most southern capital city in the world.

I am excited about the prospect of working in a tiny Civil Service and the challenges of working in HR on a small island where everyone knows everyone. I am sure it is going to be very different to life in the UK Civil Service where there is a huge HR machine with hundreds of people, specialist teams and shared service support. As it is only for two years, I should be returning to the UK Civil Service in 2020, so hope to learn a lot and see what I can take back from these small specks of land in the South Atlantic.

My husband has already written a couple of blog posts over at https://notjustpenguins.wordpress.com if you would like to learn more about our adventures and hopefully see some photos from our experience.

I may also try and write here occasionally, but as I am likely to have less time on my hands, now have to abide by two management codes (I’m still a UK Civil Servant on career break, as well as becoming a Falkland Islands one) and will be rationing the internet due to high costs, twitter may be the best place for short updates from me.

Fingers crossed for an uneventful 18+hrs flight and I will try and update again when I can!