Rachael Enevoldsen

Biometrics Manager – S-cubed Biometrics Ltd

Working at S-cubed

I have now worked at S-cubed for 3 ½ years. I’ve worked in a variety of clinical research environments and had not long started a new job with another CRO when Richard Spruyt called me and wondered if I wanted to work at S-cubed. I said no! I’d only been there a couple of months and thought it wouldn’t be a good idea to move on so quickly. However, after 9 months, I called Richard back and I am so glad I did. What I love about working at S-cubed is that we do everything properly. We never underbid to get a piece of work, it’s always based on the actual time it takes to do things. It gives me the chance to really do my job properly. Everything the team do is of such high quality, double checked and triple checked. I have confidence that we’re getting it right and so do our clients. Of course, S-cubed has the right approach to work-life balance too and with two young children, I like to know I am going home to be with them, not working all night.

One of the best things about my job is the variety of work I get to do. I have been in roles where I have been just programming or just doing data management but at S-cubed I get to do both. I do miss the opportunity to work on investigating newer technologies; it’s not always cost-effective in a small organisation. When I worked in pharma and at other larger CROs, I was often involved with assessing new technology solutions, including data visualisation tools. I’d really like to be able to do more of this, especially as the organisation grows.

Maths, Computing and University

I have always loved maths, but my first job had very little do with maths and more to do with convenience, as at 16 I worked a milk round. It was fantastic. I’d get up early on a Saturday do the milk round and I’d be finished by 10am. I collected my money on a Friday night and had the rest of the weekend to do what I wanted. However, maths is what drove me onto De Montfort University where I did a Combined Studies degree which consisted of computer science, maths, and accountancy. I thought accountancy was going to be the subject I would pursue. However, it was nowhere near as exciting as I’d expected, and I dropped it at the end of year and focused on maths and computing.

After uni, it took me a while to work out what I wanted to do. I did the usual sort of temporary jobs working in pubs and so on. Then I came across an advert for a post working for a pharma company doing SAS and Data Management and I thought it looked interesting. Unfortunately, I didn’t get the job at the time but 6 months later, I was called back and got the position and I have stayed in clinical research ever since.

Relaxing

I must admit that when it comes to relaxing, I spend most of my time with my children, who are 9 & 11. It’s great to get out and visit places with them. We’re also having quite a lot of work done on our house. I am hoping that once it’s done, I can get a treadmill, so I can start running again. I had a period of illness that really stopped me doing anything but before that I was running around and had reached 5K. I’m absolutely determined to get back to that and to get my parkrun barcode out of the car! I am also a voracious reader, as are my son and daughter. In fact, my daughter, who is only 9, is now reading Sherlock Holmes and the Hobbit so bedtime stories are fabulous. It’s hard for me to name a favourite author as I have read so many, but I really enjoy Michael Marshall Smith who writes in a range of genres, so thrillers, mysteries, and science fiction.

Lottery Winner?

If I ever won the lottery, I wouldn’t give up work, but I’d definitely want to do something working with animals. At home we have 3 cats, 2 gerbils and many fish; I’ve been told I am not allowed any more creatures. So, I would volunteer for a pet charity, where I’d be surrounded by animals all day and it wouldn’t matter how many there were!

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