Ella Umansky

Ella is currently an On Purpose London October 2020 Associate.

Can you tell me about your background and your career prior to On Purpose?

• I studied history, a very essay and detail-focused degree, so I have always been comfortable working independently and writing to a tight brief.
• I have worked in the commercial side of television, combining elements of creativity and business/sales. I have mostly worked on international formats, helping different producers and channels around the globe make their own, local-language version of big ITV shows like Love Island, The Chase and Come Dine With Me.
• My roles have always been very eclectic and although I've worked for big organisations (ITV/NBC Universal), it's been in small teams where I've had to be flexible and willing to do a bit of everything.
• For the last few years, I ran a small team who managed the roll-out and oversaw production of all of ITV's international formats. This is a balance between  large-scale international project management (overseeing around 70-100 shows in production across a year, managing approvals on graphics, design etc.), marketing (creating and delivering the marketing materials for new launches), events (an annual show-case event for around 300 clients to demonstrate the latest shows) and sales (I would normally lead pitches for formats with key clients).

What are your greatest strengths?

• Creative/Design: I was responsible for promos, flyers, webpages etc. for all new shows being launched to market. In the past, I've built these myself by teaching myself basic design software, but in my later role I oversaw the creative briefs.
• Organisation and project management: I worked across up to 100 shows a year, tracking their production details, consultancy, performance etc. I also wrote and built the 'bibles' for all new shows, working with UK production teams to understand how the shows can be recreated internationally.
• People skills / difficult conversations: I worked with clients and producers around the world. I was responsible for making sure that our product (our show) is produced according to our requirements and standards. This can often involve challenging conversations, as I often had to tell our clients 'no'. It also requires a degree of sensitivity, as in some cases, the teams on the ground have a better understanding of what will work for their audience, so I had to balance cultural sensitivity with needing to create consistency internationally.

Can you tell me more about your first placement?

• Working with the World Obesity Foundation (WOF) team and an external design agency to develop a creative campaign that will raise awareness of the realities of obesity amongst the public, but also push forward the policy changes that need to happen globally.
• It involves project management, to ensure the deliverables and assets are created on time and to budget
• It involves a lot of persuasion and people skills. WOF is a member organization made up of 70+ obesity/health organizations, each with a slightly different agenda or focus. To find a campaign that fits WOF's global priorities but also fits the requirements of local members is challenging. However, working with different teams to adapt the campaign and bring people 'on the journey' to a unified event is very satisfying.
• There is a creative element, in that you are trying to bring a challenging issue 'to life' for the public. It involves trying to translate complex scientific/academic concepts into easily understandable terms. It helps if you have some creative/design skills, as you may want to develop some assets and ideas yourself, but for me, this was just being able to use keynote/powerpoint well and being willing to try! There is an agency there for the actual campaign design, so it is more about having 'an eye' for what might work for your different audiences, rather than having to develop the creative direction.
• There is a lot of scope to try and reach out to engage stakeholders about the campaign - celebrities, experts, potential funders. You are encouraged to try things out and see if they work!

How did you find making the move to join on purpose?

• In terms of the placements, it was less of a jump than I'd thought, as it involved many of the same skills. There is a lot to learn, particularly about the pace of work in NGOs and the 'politics' of the health space, but working at WOF was a good stepping stone, as it had a balance of creative and organizational.
• There are, of course, challenges, which is the point of the programme! The shift from a large organization moving at pace, with a lot of budget, to a small, lean team where everyone does a bit of everything is a jump, but very stimulating. The pace of work is very different - there is pressure to deliver and scope to try things out for yourself, but the sensitivity of the topic means there is a lot of consulting and persuading going on at all levels, which can mean you can't always move forward quickly.
• But overall, the elements of OP/WOF that I find similar to my previous career are the elements that I had enjoyed at ITV. There is enough to allow me to feel like I have the skills and experience to do what's needed, but in a brand new space with a lot to learn.