SPOR TING VENUES


Emma Kernan-Staines P R OFI LE PA TO SIR TREVOR BROOKING CBE, DIRECTOR OF FOOTBALL DEVELOPMENT AT THE FOOTBALL ASSOCIATION


MMA KERNAN-STAINES, FAPA DipPA, has the kind of job football fans


would die for: not only does she work at the iconic Wembley Stadium, she also has the ear of one of English soccer’s most venerable practitioners: FA Director of Football Development, Sir Trevor Brooking. Not that the role was initially a natural fit


for Emma, as this dynamo of a PA wasn’t sure if she was quite ready for the “blazer culture”. In fact, she was a little worried that the environment wouldn’t be buzzy enough for her, or that she might be frustrated by the nature of the work of a governing body where regulatory processes take time. It was actually the original location of The


Football Association’s offices in London’s lively Soho Square that first attracted her to the position – “that sold it to me more than the FA connection,” she says candidly. Despite Sir Trevor’s legendary status in


British football, Emma admits that she didn’t appreciate fully who he was before she came to work with him. “I didn’t grow up around a football family, so I wasn’t really familiar with him, but that was better in a way as I wasn’t nervous and just got on with it.” She was asked in her initial interview if


she liked football, but was honest enough to admit that it wasn’t really her thing. Her feeling is very much that Sir Trevor is already surrounded by a coterie of brilliant football specialists, so she doesn’t need to be one, pointing out that he already has “a fantastic business support team.” While football might not


hold that great an appeal for Emma, what she does like about her job is “the variety of the work I’m responsible for each day, and the opportunity to provide input into so many different aspects of the business. I really appreciate the way Sir Trevor asks for my opinion and I consider it an honour to be able to participate so actively in the decision-


Career highlights January 2004 – present:


PA to Sir Trevor Brooking CBE, Director of Football Development, The Football Association


September 2002 – December 2003: PA to Director of The National Game, The Football Association


January 2001 – September 2002:


Office Manager & PA to Managing Director, McCann-Erickson Business Communications


October 1999 – December 2000: PRAccount Executive, Anderson & Lembke Ltd


1998 – 1999:Retail Management Trainee, Arcadia Group Plc


1994 – 1996: Back Office Coordinator & Customer Services, Lloyds Bank Plc


patronisingly, I must add – ‘Gordon is the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Emma’.” Apart from having to get used to upping her game in order to work at that level, she has generally been allowed to mould the role and “run with it”. One of the challenges she faces is Sir Trevor’s aversion to modern technology – he doesn’t use a computer or Blackberry, meaning that Emma has to handle all his emails herself – a daunting task by anyone’s reckoning, as he can receive up to as many as 100 messages each day. “His inbox is like one big Tetra puzzle,” she


making process at such a high level.” Although it took her a while to get used to


I’M PROUD OF MY JOB, BUT I’D LIKE TO SEE MORE RECOGNITION OF THE


PLAY IN THE WORKPLACE


ROLEPAS


working at Wembley after the atmospheric surroundings of Soho –“the circumference of the stadium is one kilometre, so you have to be prepared to walk quite a way to get to the HR department,” she laughs – she has genuinely grown to love the place. “It really does have such a fantastic, electric vibe, especially on event days, like for the NFL games, big pop concerts, FA Cup matches or the Olympic events last summer.” Once she started working


for Sir Trevor, Emma soon found herself “propelled into a different stratosphere” when he asked her to set up a meeting with a certain


Mr Gordon Brown. “I checked the staff list several times, but I couldn’t see his name anywhere,” she recalls. “When I mentioned this to Sir Trevor he just said – not at all


says with a knowing nod of the head. “It can be completely overwhelming with all the red follow-up flags and messages marked urgent.” Luckily, Emma prides herself on being a good communicator and is happy to take on the responsibility of responding on Sir Trevor’s behalf. Her enthusiasm for the job is obvious, and has led to her spearheading a campaign to elevate the status of the PA role across the entire Football Association. It’s widely acknowledged that she was instrumental in introducing the FAPAPathway in conjunction with industry body, the Association of Personal Assistants, of which she is a non-executive director. Her resolution to gain more recognition for herself and her fellow PAs grew out of dismay that they had been categorised as being on the lowest rung of the corporate ladder. “I was infuriated, to be honest,” she says


fervently. “It made me more determined to show our real value to the business.” She helped incentivise her colleagues to undertake courses that would result in an accredited qualification, the Diploma in Personal Assistance. “It’s all about proving the business case,”


explains Emma. “The most important thing is to demonstrate to the HR and finance departments what they will get out of it. The benefits of having properly qualified staff cannot be underestimated,” she asserts. “I’m so proud of my job, but what I’d really like to see is more validation and recognition from employers of the important role PAs play in organisations.” She may not be that passionate about


football, but when it comes to being a PA, Emma is certainly a major league player. ●


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