About The FaceWork Group

The Facework Group is a Social Enterprise that equips people to face the changing world of work through skills training and by developing affordable and supportive workspaces where communities can learn, share and work together.

We are committed to working with those who are furthest from the labour market and strive to co-design new programmes which enable people to navigate the ever-changing landscape of work with confidence and ingenuity.

Facework's vision

A world where everyone can find meaningful work that aligns with their skills, values, and potential.

By ‘work’, we mean any meaningful activity that provides an individual with an active purpose and that enables that individual to earn a living as a result. This may mean ‘employment’ in the traditional sense – being employed by someone else on a full-time basis; or it may mean self-employment; it may encompass a portfolio approach, where working/learning/volunteering/etc are blended; and it may mean work that is socially driven. Above all we want to help young people to find work and training opportunities which match their skills, their character, values and potential.

Facework's Values

1) Everyone is a learner

We want to treat members of our workspaces, or participants on our programmes not as consumers of training programmes, but content creators and agents of change. By training those with lived -experience to lead in the design and delivery of employability training and enterprise 'hubs,' we help them create authentic and impactful resources and support our participants to be advocates for their peers. We want at all times to value and prioritise reciprocal learning and sharing.

2) People-centered

In all we do we want to respect what individuals bring to the learning and seek to offer holistic support which is authentic. This includes ensuring that new programmes are relevant and truly local and not imposed from afar. If we have the opportunity of replicating our work or designing new programmes, we will ensure that the work is driven and led from those best placed to know what will work and what can have the greatest impact.

3) Authenticity and Honesty

We know that there are lots of employability programmes and schemes of work. We want to learn from these but equally believe that ‘one size does not fit all’ and therefore want to ensure that the resources we produce are built on authentic experiences and are shaped by the local need and experience.

4) Committed to quality

We believe ‘Excellence attracts attention’ and want to ensure that everything we produce or run is of the highest quality. As an organisation which is public facing (retail) as well as strategic (wholesale) we want to have the highest levels of customer care and working in close partnerships. To that end we will evaluate our impact and learn from our mistakes.

5) Innovation

We believe that careers guidance and programmes of employability training are not well funded or prioritised. We want to constantly ask, What radical interventions will make a difference? To that end we will work closely with those with lived experience as well as embrace new online learning and mobile resources to expand our capacity and influence and reach wider audiences.

Download an overview of our values, our approach to learning, and the way we run our projects.

Download

Meet the FaceWork Team

Directors, Staff and Volunteers

Facework is privileged to have wonderful team of staff and volunteers - including 4 non-executive Directors of the company who work as volunteers to support Stephen and the staff team as critical friends and guardians of our CIC status. They are committed to ensuring that Facework has excellent governance and 'best in class' services, as well as ensure that we are putting our values into action.

Non-Executive Director and Chair

Matthew Breakwell

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Matt is a non-executive Director and chairs the meetings which Directors have every 2 months. He has very many years of experience in business, both in the UK and Europe most recently in technology.

He brings a wealth of experience to Facework and currently devotes at least a day a week supporting the developments at Facework including heading up our RESET project.

matt (at) face.work

Non-Executive Director

Laura Agnew

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Laura worked with Stephen at Facework for over 4 years, originally joining the Community Workhub on a free membership.

Over the 4 years at Facework she made a remarkable contribution to the team and was appointed as a non-exec director of Facework when she moved to work with Peabody Housing Association in June of 2024.

laura (at) face.work

Non-Executive Director

Anil Iltas

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Anil has over 20 years experience working with vulnerable young people and elders. She is an experienced trainer and programmes manager and is also a photographer and artist.

We are so fortunate that Anil has joined as a Facework non-executive Director and we value her insights and strategic thinking and committment to social justice.

anil (at) face.work

Non-Executive Director

Isaac Ojo

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Isaac was a past participant in the Changemakers programme Facework runs. He says, "South London is where my London journey began. Being part of the fabric of the community and supporting Facework and the community is something I relish. I look forward to bringing a professional standard to my work and expertise in photography to showcase all the amazing people, groups, and changemakers that support this thriving region of London."

isaac (at) face.work

CEO and Company Director

Stephen Carrick-Davies

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Stephen founded Facework in 2016 when he worked with young people in alternative education settings. Having been born and brought up in India and Nepal, Stephen has a strong commitment to thinking globally whilst acting locally.

Stephen heads up Facework and believes an organisation is only as great as its people. As such his first and foremost responsibility is to empower team members to thrive, be happy in their work and grow in their confidence and ability to serve those we are fortunate enough to be able to help.

stephen(at) face.work

Facework Futures Programme Manager

Tariq Khan

Tariq leads the Facework Futures Programme, supporting sanctuary seekers in accessing employment and training opportunities. With over 30 years of international experience in business, leadership and production, Tariq brings strategic vision and a caring approach to his work. A dedicated volunteer with refugee organisations, he combines professional expertise with a passion for community empowerment. Tariq is fluent in English, Urdu, and Punjabi.

tariq (at) face.work

Facework Ukraine Programme Director

Halyna Skvortsova

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When war broke out in Ukraine in 2022, Halyna came to Lewisham in South London with her 2 children.

As part of its support for Ukrainian families, Lewisham Council approached Facework to offer a one-year internship. In response, Halyna and her colleague, Mariana, developed Facework Ukraine—an award-winning program that, over the past 24 months, has successfully helped 160 local Ukrainians find employment or pursue further training. Halyna has also created a comprehensive set of outstanding online resources to support Ukrainians in advancing their careers in the UK.

halyna (at) face.work

Spaces programme Manager

Edy Kenthill

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Edy started working at Facework as an intern volunteering for 3 months as she reviewed her options having graduated with a first class honors degree in Philosophy and Politics from Leeds University.

After her volunteer internship she was able to apply for the post of Facework Coworking Manager of our coworking offering first at Peckham levels and then back at Hatcham House where she also oversees the commercial bookings of the venue.

edy (at) face.work

Facework Intern

Najiba Rafiei

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Through the generous support of Lewisham Council Borough of Sanctuary programme we were able to appoint Najiba for an intensive 3 month paid internship where she is supporting the development of the Facework Futures and the RESET project. Having arrived from Afghanistan in 2022 she has first hand experience of trying to find work here in the UK.

We are honoured to have her help us shape our training for refugees programme and she is continuing her internship as she begins her Masters degree at UCL

Najiba (at) face.work

Facework Ukraine Programme Manager

Taina Zavora

Taina arrived in London from Ukraine at the start of the 2022 war with her daughter. As an experienced senior University lecturer back home she has so much experience in education and supporting learners. We are therefore thrilled she has been able to join Facework on a 3 month paid placement from Islington council.

During this time she is shadowing Halyna and supporting our Facework Ukraine programme with the aim that she can then replicate this project back in Islington.

Taina (at) face.work

Facework intern

Abbie Amey

Abbie is an experienced ESOL teacher who has worked with sanctuary seekers for many years both in the UK and Ireland where she worked with a number of local and national agencies to promote arts and educative events within the county (including running a teacher training programme). Latterly, Abbie worked at Adult learning Lewisham and would describe her practice as creative and holistic.

Abbie (at) face.work

Facework Social Media officer

Marina Prykhodko

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Marina was a participant in the Facework Ukraine programme for over 6 months before showing us her remarkable social media and content management skills. We therefore were delighted when she agreed to help us with Facework's Social media and marketing work on a part-time freelance basis to to grow our 'Hatch' workspace offering and promote Facework through our 5 different social media channels.

marina (at) face.work

Facework Changemaker co-ordinator

Rikefe Ohwosi

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Rikefe Ohwosi is a product designer with a unique background in professional sports. Hailing from Southeast London, his journey reflects a deep passion for creativity and entrepreneurship. With a First-Class Honours Bachelor's degree in Product Design, Rikefe is committed to giving back to his community by leveraging his diverse experiences to help others discover their potential and pursue their passions.

HR support

Sally Robertson

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Sally is a local HR consultant with over 20 years of experience working with small businesses, charities and CICs and works with us to support making Face.Work a great place to work. Away from running her business Minerva HR Consulting she can be probably be found at the theatre!

Contact sally(at) minervahrconsulting.co.uk

Finance manager

Olesia Kulyk

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Olesia is an experience accountant and worked as an auditor with a number of companies in Ukraine before she had to flea to the UK in 2023.

She works for Facework one day a week in overseeing our accounts, payroll and cashflow.

contact olesia(at)face.work

UK Advisory Board

Facework is grateful to the following members who volunteer as advisors in the UK

Liane Hambly

Careers & Education

James Kinnersly

Planning & Development

Greg Bargeton

LegalAffairs

Matt Overd

Youth & Humanitarian

Jim Playfoot

International Employability

Tim Mungeam

Non-profit &

Social Purpose

Claire Bailey

Commercial

Property

Scott Bailey

Property expert

Good Governance

Facework is registered with the CIC regulator and is listed on the UK Companies House

(number 15423259)

We take the matter of good governance, transparency and professionalism extremely seriously.

Our 5 Company Directors meet regularly and in addition we are grateful to a further 11 individuals who act as advisors on key areas of our work and development.

The group meet with staff on a quarterly basis and individuals work with Stephen on key issues linked to their expertise between meetings.

Please note - that during the period May 2020-December 2023 Facework was constituted as a CIC by Shares. It transferred to a CIC by guarantee in January 2024 as it was felt that the Guarantee status gave funders greater confidence in the asset lock and public interest. Accounts since 2022 can be found on Companies House company number 12598896

India Advisory Board

Facework is grateful to the following members who volunteer as advisors in India

Orlanda Ruthven

International Development

Moa Longkumer

Social Entrepreneur

Anupriya Khare

Training & Youth Development