Meet our Head of Operations & Project Delivery - Dana
Full name and job title
Dana Foster – Head of Operations and Project Delivery
How long have you worked at Environment Bank
Since March 2020 (yes I started the day of lockdown 😊). I started working from home with 4 employees and fast forward 18 months, we have opened a new head office and expanded to 21 employees!
What do you enjoy most about your job?
I love the variety in my role. I am involved in all aspects of the business to ensure everyone has everything they need to make their role and time here at EB as great as possible. I love people and my role allows me to support everyone in all aspects of their working life, I am the Mum of the company!
What attracted you to work at the Environment Bank
It was a role advertised as a 20 hour week, Business Manager role and fitted in well with my family. But when I did some googling into the company and biodiversity net gain I quickly realised it was an exciting opportunity to work for a company to really make a difference. Now I work full time and my role still fits well with my family, I am an advocate for flexible working and this now forms a major part of our company ethos.
How is your work – and the work of Environment Bank – making a difference?
We are such a fantastic, innovative company working right at the heart of ecology and BNG. I like to think we are making a difference not only for the environment but also in the working lives of our team.
The Environment Bank’s purpose is to secure the long term future of the planet. How are you supporting that aim through your job?
My role in a nutshell is to ensure the smooth running of the company, within this we are hiring the best possible team and supporting them to safeguard our new plan for the planet. Alongside Operations I also lead Project Delivery and I have helped design the company infrastructure to aid creating a network of nationwide habitat banks, offering a secure income for landowners and supporting the wider aim of restoring biodiversity net gain.
Who or what inspires you?
This is a really difficult one – I look at lots of people in my life, working and personal, and think wow you are amazing! If I had to say someone that I admire then I would say the Queen. One of her best quotes that I really relate to is “I know of no singular formula for success. But over the years I have observed that some attributes of leadership are universal and are often about finding ways of encouraging people to combine their efforts, their talents, their insights, their enthusiasm and their inspiration to work together”.