I will start sharing a bit about myself to situate my reflections. Having been born in Mexico to Swiss parents has set the stage for my interest in international settings and different cultures. I knew early on that I wanted to dedicate my professional career to people that are more disadvantaged than I am, in particular refugees and children. With this North star in mind, I went on a journey testing out what works for me. That's how I ended up studying three Masters (Social Anthropology/Arabic Literature/Political Sciences, International Development, EMBA); I've lived and worked in over 6 countries (Mexico, Uganda, Syria, Switzerland, US/NYC, Greece); and I've gained professional work experience for over 15y. I've held junior to leadership positions in NGOs, and bilateral & multilateral as well as philanthropic institutions at the intersection of migration, refugees, education and EdTech, incorporating where possible an evidence and systems focus.
Two years ago, we decided as a family to move to Kefalonia island in Greece, where my husband is from. I am now fully working independently as a remote strategic advisor, in a very specific set-up. Some call it a fractional work portfolio, as I recently learned (see Forbes article):
- I co-manage a small family hotel and welcome guests in summer season (rodistudios.com)
- I work part-time as a Senior Advisor at Catalytica Consulting and as a Partnerships/Social Impact Advisor at International Center for EdTech Impact (WiKIT)
- I advise several clients on social impact strategy and partnerships (e.g. Educate Ventures Research, Cat'n Clever, GIZ)
- I regularly review funding proposals for the city of Zürich and Innosuisse
Why do I share all this with you? Well, it's definitely not to brag about me. Rather, I wanted to share how such a fractional work portfolio set-up is working well for me in my current life phase. I have financial stability thanks to my hotel and part-time work. At the same time, I am able to choose which topics and with which clients to work on, and also at what time. As a result, I have finally more quality time for myself and my family. This led to interesting and new stuff like me starting a handstand challenge, practicing now every morning my handstand skills; I've started setting up and caring for a small little garden that now survives instead of dying within a few days; I spend my afternoons with my children after school; I have time to cook real meals instead of serving fast pasta solutions after my long office job day; I joined the local traditional Greek dance association, and I have time for curating job lists and creating a newsletter like the one you are reading right now. All these are small things, but things that wouldn't have been possible in my previous office set-up with small children at home.
Fractional work has its downsides as well: I have to manage different clients at the same time. This is technically (managing several email inboxes) but also content-wise (working simultaneously on different topics and networks) not always a simple task and needs good planning and transparent communication with clients. There is also the financial risk of not having a predictable monthly salary and the constant need for networking to find new clients.
While I know this is not for everybody, and I don't want to portray it as THE solution to everybody who wants to transition into a new job setting, I wanted to inspire you with my concrete example.