Polly Le Grand

Employer: HM Treasury
Qualifications: BA politics, philosophy and economics, University of Oxford; MSc economics, University of Southampton

9.30 am

When I get to my desk, I check the Treasury’s intranet for interesting news. I then check my inbox to see whether there’s anything urgent. I’m a member of the international poverty reduction team, so I walk through St James’s Park to the Department for International Development. We discuss the outcomes of a recent international donors’ meeting and plan our next steps.

11.15 am

I head back to the office to read the latest World Bank report on development financing. It’s 134 pages long so I just stick to the executive summary for today! I then finish writing a briefing for the chancellor on access to financial services in Africa, and send it round the team for comments.

12.30 pm

An economist from the Bank of England has come in to give a lunchtime talk on the prospects for inflation. Anyone who’s interested can go along. After lunch, I prepare for tomorrow’s meeting of the directorate diversity group. I’m secretary to the group so I make sure the agenda has been agreed and the necessary background information has been circulated. I call the Foreign & Commonwealth Office to set up a meeting with their business team.

3.15 pm

I have a coffee with a friend from my old team. I put the finishing touches to the briefing for the chancellor and e-mail it to his office so he can read it this evening.

5.00 pm

I start finishing things off for the day. I look at the Chatham House website to see if they’ve got any interesting events coming up, and get distracted by a report about the Kenyan general election. I then sign up for a communications course at the National School for Government. Finally, I write my ‘to do’ list for the next day, and then head to the pub for a quick drink with my team-mates before heading home.