Kellie Williams

Kellie Williams is the Head of HR at Porchlight, a local charity supporting people facing the effects of homelessness. She began her career in the NHS, where she discovered her passion for human resources and the varied work it brings.

Tell us about your career path since graduation.

After leaving Kent, I worked for the local NHS trust in their resourcing team, starting as a resourcing assistant and progressing to a resourcing advisor and then resourcing team leader.

I then applied, and was successful, for a secondment as a People Officer which was my first HR generalist role. Here I found my passion as a HR generalist and at the end of my secondment, I secured a HR Advisor position at Porchlight.

After being here for 11 months, I was promoted to Head of HR.

What does a typical work day look like for you?

No day in HR is the same.

Some days are very quiet and I can focus on projects and longer-term, strategic work and others are much more reactive, dealing with any issues or concerns that arise or attending last-minute meetings.

Something I love about my role is the variety of work it brings. 

Can you share a professional highlight from your career so far?

In 2021, I started my advanced diploma in strategic people management (level 7 CIPD). Mid way through this, I had my first son and am very proud to have completed my course earlier this year having returned to work and raising my family at the same time. 

How did your time at Kent help you achieve your current career?

When I started at Kent I had no idea of a career path I wanted to follow but had loved studying Psychology at school so decided on that as the subject of my degree.

During the course, I completed modules on business psychology and psychology in the workplace which opened my eyes to HR as a career.

What I learnt during my degree has definitely been advantageous to my career. 

What advice would you give to our current/perspective students who are looking to get into the same line of work?

A CIPD qualification will definitely equip individuals with required knowledge and is a great starting point for those looking to work in HR, but securing employment in a role will provide hands on experience that a qualification can't give.

In-house recruitment is often a way into HR so can be a great place to start. There are also many free webinars and podcasts that can be accessed and the CIPD has a wealth of resources even for those who aren't members.

What are your future ambitions?

At the moment I am enjoying my current role and the constant learning and developing it brings, but do hope to progress into a senior leadership level role in the future.

I see myself staying in a generalist role rather than specialising as I like the variety of work it brings.