Women Returners Programme

At Starling, we’re proud to look after and grow a diverse and inclusive team - it’s what makes our bank strong, innovative and able to help customers from all walks of life.

As part of this, we’ve partnered with Women Returners, an organisation that helps people return to the workplace. They support women and men in finding placements, following a significant period out of the workplace, usually due to caring responsibilities or family commitments. These placements often become permanent jobs.

Nicky Murphy (pictured above right) and Martina Hennings (above left), both based in London, began their six-month placement with Starling in January 2022. Here, they tell us about their experience so far.

Nicky Murphy

As a Credit Portfolio Manager, Nicky Murphy helps Starling acquire and manage its asset portfolios. She has 16 years experience in fixed income, structured credit and portfolio management. Nicky joined Starling following a period of time away from the market to focus on her family.

Her interest in Starling began when she did a 10-week FinTech programme, run by Saïd Business School (Oxford University). “I really enjoyed updating my knowledge,” she says.

“When I saw the Returner programme at Starling, I thought it would be a great fit given my interest in FinTech and also as an advocate of Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG), which seems to be part of the Starling DNA.” For example, Starling does not send out paper statements and provides debit cards made from recycled plastic.

“I had a view of Starling being really agile and that’s certainly been borne out in the recruitment process, and in the weeks since I’ve joined. I’m especially enjoying how quickly things move. Everyone has been tremendously welcoming and I’ve been very impressed by the technology, which enables us to work more collaboratively.”

Nicky has both a mentor and a buddy to provide ongoing support. “Starling also organises a number of coaching sessions with Women Returners, which are particularly helpful when transitioning back to a full-time role.” She greatly appreciates the peer support from others in the programme.

Martina Hennings

As a Customer Journey Lead, Martina Hennings helps create, develop and define new and existing processes for customers. One of her focuses will be the specialist support offered to customers with mental or physical health conditions, or customers that have experienced a sudden change, such as redundancy.

“I always aim to give the best service and with my energy and experience in financial services, I thought I could add value and positively help Starling in its journey to making banking better for everyone,” she says.

Martina came across our partnership with Women Returners just one day before the application deadline. “Research shows that women can be reluctant to apply for a role if they don’t meet all the criteria and I definitely fit into that category. The Starling programme appealed because it acknowledged this and encouraged people excited by the opportunity to get in touch,” she says.

She submitted her application in time and was offered a placement within our Operations team. She has joined Starling after taking a career break for family care.

“People across the company have made time to welcome me and introduce me to what the bank is doing and what the priorities are. I’ve been asking lots of questions and the encouragement I’ve received has been amazing.”