BHM – Ola

Throughout Black History Month, we’ll be celebrating our amazing black colleagues by bringing you stories from across the business.

All the colleague profiles we publish on myroyalmail.com will also appear on our dedicated Black History Month homepage. If you know someone who has inspired you as a great role model for others, someone who you think deserves recognition, please send your nomination to communications@royalmail.com with the heading ‘Black History Month’ in the subject line.

Today, we hear from Ola Rokosu-Euzebio, senior programme and project officer.

‘I was born and raised in Lagos, Nigeria,’ said Ola. ‘I obtained my first degree in sociology in 2002 and worked in Lagos until 2004, when I came to the UK to settle with my family. In 2011, I joined Royal Mail Group as a member of the internal post-room staff as part of the Romec contract. The role was part-time and fitted in well with my responsibilities as a parent at the time. I became a receptionist a few months into my first role.

‘As a receptionist, you learn to multi-task. You need to have good people skills, be organised, and be able to work calmly under pressure. These skills very much set my aspirations towards doing more, and so my career ambitions to be involved in the project management office were born!

‘With the support of my family, I embarked on a part-time self-study course over a six-month period in 2013 for the Prince2 Foundation. The studying was intense, and it was very challenging to fit my work, home, and parenting lives together, but it finally paid off when I qualified.

‘In 2014, I was successful in securing a place on the Institute of Leadership Management Level 2 course funded by Romec. My relentless career search continued until 2015, when I secured a role as a reporting officer in the Ops Programmes team working directly for Royal Mail. I have since obtained my APM-IC (Foundation) and APM-PQ (Professional) qualifications.

‘I am currently supporting the Midlands Hub project as a governance & assurance officer.

‘Last year, I had the opportunity to be part of the sixth cohort cross-organisation mentoring programme sponsored by Royal Mail working with Business in the Community (BITC). The workshop gave me the opportunity to address gaps in my knowledge and experience and really helped to boost my confidence.

‘There were challenges in trying to maintain the momentum of what was required of me, but I tend to view and take obstacles as stepping stones. I have worked with Springboard coordinators sharing my journey with frontline colleagues who want to step up. In the spirit of doing more, I have recently joined the BAME mentoring programme. My advice to anyone who, like myself, had a late start in their career, is that it’s never too late to make a difference – you’re the only one who can stop you!’

Supporting our BAME colleagues

Making our business a place where black, Asian and minority ethnic colleagues can achieve their potential remains a priority.

Career progression is a key focus as we work towards improving the representation of colleagues from BAME backgrounds across all levels of the business. We need to build greater awareness that the network exists and is there to support our people and shine a light on all the positive things we are doing across the business. 

If you are thinking about holding a BAME cultural event in your unit, and need some help, please reach out to the BAME steering group, or volunteer to help out with their activities. You can contact the group by emailing bame@royalmail.com.