Callum Bates

Callum joined Softwire as a Senior User Researcher in 2020.

After completing degrees in business management and then service design innovation, Callum briefly worked in marketing, before deciding to follow his passion for understanding human behaviour and helping people solve problems. “I enjoy making sense of people and how they operate. Best of all, I love finding out something about someone that goes against my initial assumptions,” he says.

Commercial and public sector experience

After a spell at Ocado, Callum joined Public Health England as a user researcher, where he worked on a variety of GDS-aligned services. Having experienced an in-house role, he made the switch to agency-side with Softwire.

“I was attracted by working with Softwire’s clearly very-capable digital delivery experts, who shared my passion for making services better and more inclusive across the UK public sector, such that they’re usable by as many people as possible,” he continues.

Sense of community

“Beyond the professional fulfilment I get from working here, I love the sense of community and can-do spirit that exists within Softwire,” Callum adds.

“Everyone is genuinely geared to helping each other, and I’m convinced that’s why we’re able to do great things together. My proudest moment to date is how our team guided a complex critical national infrastructure project through its GDS assessment, passing first time, and getting feedback from the customer saying how high we’d set the bar.”