Meet our people: Nduka Amadi

Before joining Baillie Gifford, I was a Senior International Relations Manager at the University of Nottingham.

I was attracted to the Client Manager programme because it actively sought individuals from outside the investment industry. While this initially meant a knowledge gap, no one expected me to have investment expertise immediately.

Instead, there was a strong emphasis on leveraging my existing skills and encouraging everyone to bring their previous experience to the table. For example, I contributed to a discussion on why some companies are more successful in breaking into the higher education industry than others.

The first year of the job is largely spent developing your understanding of the firm, investment management and Baillie Gifford’s clients.

Transitioning from a role with significant responsibilities to a learning mindset was challenging, but the firm provides ample support from your line manager through to a dedicated mentor.

There are in-house courses for the formal exams that you sit over two years, and you also receive wide-ranging skills training, such as writing and presenting workshops. Day-to-day, you’ll start by shadowing client meetings, and gradually, this evolves into more responsibility.

Once you have completed the training programme, you will have many opportunities to explore your interests and develop your career, for example, by taking on more projects.

Before I relocated, I had only visited Edinburgh as a tourist. Luckily, Baillie Gifford works with an excellent relocation service, which made the move much smoother.

Edinburgh is a brilliantly compact city, and I was surprised by the year-round activities on offer. In addition, Baillie Gifford has an annual programme of social events for employees and their families, which is a great way to meet new people.