When Sarah Darwin’s boss, Tony O’Shea, put her forward as a candidate for The Times Crème Hays Secretarial PA of the Year, she had no idea that he had done it. And when she read his citation, she was embarrassed.

Despite her modesty, Sarah is an extraordinary PA and, as Tony says, it is not just what she does in the office that makes her stand out, but how she uses her spare time. She is a tireless worker for the company’s charity, and gives up evenings, weekends and even part of her holiday allowance to run an Army Cadet Force unit for boys and girls aged between 12 and 18. “One day I’ll probably run out of energy, but not for a long time, I hope,” she says.

Sarah, 26, went to work for Tony after relocating to Chester to be with her partner. “I saw the job advertised and thought it sounded interesting,” she says. She is based at the offices of Dwr Cymru Welsh Water in Ewloe, North Wales, where Tony leads a team of 130 engineers responsible for a £250 million contract looking after Welsh Water installations. Tony is a director of Imtech Process, a company he co-founded as Meica and which is now part of Imtech NV, a £2 billion business with 14,000 employees throughout Europe.

“Three years ago we took a strategic decision to be on site with Welsh Water, so that we could manage its assets as efficiently as possible,” says Tony. “As a boss, I am probably a nightmare to work for because I am not very structured and I have a finger in a lot of pies — I sit on three boards. In PA terms, Sarah was not the most experienced person who applied for the job, but her personality and people skills shone through.

“Our organisation has no barriers or bureaucracy. We treat people as intelligent, and there’s a no-blame culture. We believe in enjoying work and performing to our best ability. We cover the whole of Wales for Welsh Water, so there is plenty to do, and I also have a remit for the rest of the UK.”

As well as acting as his PA, Sarah supports other members of the management team, organises the corporate hospitality and works closely with HR on arranging training and staff appraisals. “Sarah has a great personality, which at times of stress manages to calm the team down and promotes a healthy and collaborative workplace,” says Tony. “She is good with our customers, is totally trustworthy and always has a smile, which brightens the office.”

Sarah enjoys her role: “I like making Tony’s week run smoothly. He’s a lively man, easy to get on with and passionate about what he does.” She works from 8am to 5pm; two evenings a week she follows that with her army cadets: “I am a detachment commander and staff sergeant instructor in Cheshire Army Cadet Force, which I have been a member of for 11 years. I teach cadets, ensuring that I stick to the syllabus, which is not just about the Army but about life skills. You learn leadership, independence and the importance of teamwork, and it gives you confidence. I went back-packing by myself round Australia, and I don’t think that I could have done that if I hadn’t been a cadet myself.

“It’s a demanding but rewarding hobby. I enjoy working with young people and seeing them pass their star levels and achieving Duke of Edinburgh awards.” Her commitment means that she must also give up at least four weekends a year, plus two weeks for the annual camp.

Sarah has also made herself responsible for her employer’s chosen charity, WaterAid, which supplies fresh water to the most desperate parts of the world. “In my spare time I trained as a WaterAid speaker and now go round addressing groups such as Rotary Clubs, telling them about it.

“I applied to go to India in February for two weeks to see first-hand how the money we raise is spent. It was a life-changing experience to see the poverty, and it is hard to understand that people don’t have water or toilets, basics that we take for granted. I came back with my passion increased to raise both awareness of WaterAid and more money.”

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