January 31st, 2018

Three months in the life of Marie Cawkwell -
​Junior Market Access Consultant at Fingerpost Consulting
​

Hello! I have been working as a Junior Market Access Consultant at Fingerpost Consulting for three months. We are a team of seven (including two canine residents – Kipling and Larkin); four of which are responsible for the core project deliverables. I join the team with over three years’ experience having worked in a large healthcare consultancy with background knowledge and expertise in real-world evidence generation and core Market Access deliverables. The transition from a large consultancy to a small start-up freelance company is an exciting new chapter in my career. Specifically, partnering with consultancies that require additional support instead of working directly with pharma is a novel challenge. For this blog instalment, I wanted to share with you my experiences from my first few months at Fingerpost.

When I first met Catherine and Louise, I was looking to work for a smaller, more flexible organisation where I felt I would be able to add value. I was also wanting to stay in the North West, as my friends live close by in Manchester. When we discussed the role and the company ethos, I knew then that Fingerpost would allow me the room to develop as well as provide me the opportunity to influence the growth of the company without the need to relocate.  Having worked at Fingerpost Consulting for a little over 3 months I have found there are some considerable differences to my previous employment! Working in a smaller, more qualified team of consultants within a wider freelance network brings the flexibility of working like a freelancer with the safety of a permanent contract. The variety of projects that comes with working as part of a freelance team and the fact that we all have an individual responsibility for driving the company forward greatly motivates me – two things that I know I would struggle to get if I had continued working in a large consultancy.

​So far, my days have been quite a mixture with working and liaising with a small to medium sized Market Access consultancy to support them on the development of a NICE HTA submission. When I started at Fingerpost, I was asked to choose a research topic that personally interested me, and to put together a presentation to deliver to the team as a lunch and learn. I chose to look into the potential impact of BREXIT on the UK pharma industry. The summary of my findings was presented to the team at the beginning of January and was a great way to broaden mine and the team’s knowledge. My next challenge is to turn this into a poster submission for ISPOR 2018 in Barcelona! Alongside these activities, we have been working on our 2018 business development strategy and I am excited about meeting lots of our new and existing clients in Manchester and London over the next few weeks.

​Overall, I think the biggest and most rewarding aspect for me is the quality of life that working at Fingerpost has given me so far!  I have a great work-life balance – a thing, I believe, is so important for everyone!  So, if you are thinking about freelance opportunities or are looking for Market Access project support please get in touch!
​Marie Cawkwell Junior Consultant
mcawkwell@fingerpostconsulting.com

---