It’s been a year since Ben Smith, our Regulatory Officer joined the Jenson R+ team and we thought it would be interesting to have a catch up with him and see how his work life has evolved over the last 12 months.
Could you describe your role?
Answering this question isn’t as straightforward as it seems due to the wide scope of the work we do here! The activities that I do can vary from a brief piece of strategic advice for a client all the way through to preparing large technical dossiers for an application.
What have you learnt since you started?
Clients like to present us with interesting and different challenges every day, so I am always learning something new. But something that was very novel to me when I first started was the regulatory landscape of food supplements and borderline products, since then I have worked on many different projects in this field.
I’ve really enjoyed following the implications of Brexit to the regulation of medicines in the UK and EU. Given this has been a continuously evolving chapter, clients have been looking to us to provide strategic advice. I recently prepared a document for one of our clients detailing what they needed to do to be ready for the end of the transition period and an outline of rough costs for the work needed. Seeing the real-world impact of the changing legislation was a fascinating process.
What has been your biggest challenge since joining?
Previously I have worked in larger teams, where work is planned in monthly schedules and deadlines are predefined. Initially I found it a challenge to adopt the more consultative way of working at Jenson R+ where I have much more self-ownership of projects and clients. But this different approach is much more rewarding as you see projects through from start to finish rather than being a small cog in a large wheel.
How did you find the adjustment to home working?
I was dreading the prospect when we first went into lockdown as I thought I would be easily distracted at home and not be able to settle into a routine. But after a couple of weeks, I adapted and have found that Microsoft Teams is a good platform to have those chats with the Jenson R+ team that you miss when you aren’t in the office. But I am looking forward to being able to eat at my dining room table again when this is all over!
What is has been your favourite aspect of working for JensonR+ so far? The network and the experience we have within the JensonR+ team is extensive so the attitude and approach to problem solving is a much more positive process than I have experienced previously. Everyone is eager to help where they can and the shared knowledge we have means that I never feel like I am out of options to explore when trying to deliver solutions for our clients.
Thanks for the feedback Ben – we hope you have another great year with JensonR+
This article was written by Medilink EM Patron, JensonR+.