1-2-1 Career coaching sessions

The Unscripted TV Skills Fund is delighted to be offering an expanded number of one-to-one coaching for professionals working at all levels in unscripted TV with another round of standalone 1-2-1 sessions set to take place in March 2025.

One-off coaching sessions are intended to provide individuals with a safe, independent and completely confidential environment where they can refresh perspectives on both their professional aspirations and the demands of their career.

A 60-minute coaching conversation with one of our coaches will give people the tools to adapt to change, problem solve, manage difficult situations or people and progress their career. It can also help to support health and well-being during times of stress and tight deadlines.

If your application is accepted, you will be introduced to a coach from our roster and encouraged to set a time for your session at some time in March. 

Who it's for

Applications are welcome from anyone working in unscripted TV, but priority will be given to freelancers impacted by the recent slowdown in the sector.

All our coaches have both considerable coaching experience and knowledge of the TV industry but should you have a specific preference there will be opportunity in the application form to state this; please note, however, that this is not a guarantee that you will be paired with your preferred coach if successful. 

Our coaching roster:

Wendy Wilson: Wendy is an executive coach and professional development specialist working across the creative sector, including TV and film production.

Lara Akeju: Lara is the founder of Rising Coaching and a former Commissioning Editor and documentary filmmaker. She has over 25 years’ experience in television, including senior roles at ITV, Channel 5 and Channel 4.  

John Letham: John is founder of Considered Thinking, and uniquely combines comprehensive direct experience in the film and television industry, together with being a qualified executive coach.

Ariane Grizzelle: Ariane has over 30 years' experience in the TV production, training and talent development and is an accredited transformative coach.

Remy Blumenfeld: Remy is a highly successful producer/writer of reality tv shows who now supports and guides other in the creative industry. He is a qualified co-active coach.

Mairéad Regan: Mairéad has more than 25 years' experience in human resources at a senior level, with 19 of in the broadcasting industry and more than 6 years’ experience of executive and life coaching.

Tasneem Siddiqi: Tasneem is a highly experienced trainer, coach and broadcaster – having presented for ITV, BBC and ITV. Tasneem now spends her time helping people navigate their careers.

Sally Angel: Sally is managing director and creative director of Angelica Films. She is an Emmy, Peabody, Bafta, RTS, Focal, Sky Arts award winner. She is an International Coaching Federation Member Coach, specialising in creative intelligence. 

The majority of the USF online short course offering is for those at early career stage and above. As a result, we generally require applicants to have at least 3 credits (unless working in a traditionally uncredited role). If you strongly feel you would still benefit from the training, please email USF@screenskills.com so we can assess if an exception should be made.

We are committed to ensuring all our courses are accessible to everyone. This course is designed to be as interactive as possible. Please email the above address if you have any access requirements and we will be delighted to help, be that clarifying the form such interaction is likely to take or discussing reasonable adjustments. 

How to apply

This session will take place online. Click ‘apply now' at the top of the page and follow the instructions to apply for your place: you must login or register before you are able to complete your application.

If you need additional support to complete your application or require the application form in an alternative format, please contact USF@screenskills.com 

Places are limited and applications are often highly competitive. To stand the best chance of securing a place, please be sure to consider the following: 

• When asked to list your three most recent credits, please include the programme title and your job role.
• When asked what you hope to gain from the coaching session, please be concise but ensure you cover the specific elements of the topic you would like to gain knowledge of and what gaps in your skillset you believe the sesssion may address. A rewording of the session title or a general comment on career progression does not tell us much about how this opportunity would benefit you.

This session is funded by the ScreenSkills Unscripted TV Skills Fund which invests in training for the unscripted workforce thanks to contributions from broadcasters, SVoDs and production companies. 

Thanks to this support, we are able to offer it to you for free. If you fail to attend, we reserve the right to request reimbursement of costs, unless your place can be taken by someone else. 

Judging information

Key Dates:

• Application Deadline – 17th February
• We aim to inform you of the outcome of your application during the w/c 17th February

If you are successful in applying we will introduce you via email to one of the coaches on our roster. The coach will then liaise with you to set a time and date for your standalone 60-minute session. They will also share with you a link for the meeting on their preferred platform (e.g. Zoom, Teams, Google Meets, etc).

If you do not wish to accept your place before a time and date have been set, we ask that you contact USF@screenskills.com so that we can offer your place to someone on the reserved list.

If you should not be available for your session once you have set a time and date with your coach, we ask that you let them know directly with at least 24 hours' notice. It will be down to the coach’s discretion regarding rebooking cancelled sessions outside of that window.