Meet Orla Bourke, Head of People and Culture at Fenero, and a driving force fostering a workplace culture built on strong values.

With over 20 years of experience in the field of HR, Orla passionately ensures that the well-being and growth of Fenero’s people remain at the heart of all business decisions.

As a strategic leader, she is dedicated to building Fenero as an employer of choice in the tax and financial industry, and empowering the team to reach their full potential.

Tell us a little bit about yourself, your role and what you do at Fenero

My name is Orla Bourke. I’m from Mayo, currently living in Donegal, and I’ve been an HR professional for over 20 years. I started working with Fenero in May 2023 as Head of People and Culture.

My role is focused on ensuring that our people and culture remain central to our key business decisions, and helping to build the Fenero brand as an employer of choice. I’m loving the opportunity to make a difference to our employees’ wellbeing, benefits and experience, and I have lots of big plans for our future.

Career-wise, what’s the journey been like?

After school, I studied Communications at DCU. My first role was working in a company called Conduit; through this role, I got into the basics of HR and enjoyed it. After several years, I moved to Galway to work as an HR Officer with the Brothers of Charity Services and completed a diploma in Personnel Management at ATU Galway. Following that, I worked for nine years with a U.S. multinational called Medtronic and, during this time, completed a Masters in HR and Business Strategy in DCU. I spent my last four years with TCS in Donegal before moving to Fenero. 

“Progress, even if it’s small steps, is better than waiting to get everything perfect.”

My career has been much about developing and growing, whether within HR, various industries, or third-level education. I’m a huge advocate for lifelong learning, and I’ve been lucky to work for organisations that value their employees and who have taken a direct interest in my career development. My goal is to pay that forward wherever possible.

Tell us about what makes Fenero and its culture unique?

What attracted me to Fenero in the first place is what a values-led culture we have, and the real sense of care for employees and customers; people are really at the heart of everything we do.

While it may be pressurised on occasion, and we still have improvements to make, we’re all in it together. Since I started working here, I’ve seen a lot of pride from the employees in what they’ve achieved together in Fenero, and rightly so.

If you were to describe the working life at Fenero in one word, what would it be and why?

Progressive.

As a relatively small company with big ambitions, there are lots of opportunities to add value, work outside traditional job roles and make a difference in the growth of the company.

If you could give any piece of advice to someone considering a job at Fenero, what would it be?

If you’re interested in working here, my advice is to reach out and make contact with me or one of the team, we love hearing from potential candidates.

We’re a remote-first company, and have employees from all around the country working for us, so you need to be comfortable in that environment. We look for people with great communication skills, who will deliver for our customers, and who have the drive and ambition to continuously develop themselves and the company.

And we like to have fun! There’s no occasion that isn’t improved by a cupcake and we try to celebrate all small and big achievements throughout the year. So, if that sounds like a culture you’d like to work in, I’d be very happy to hear from you.

Finally, what is your motto in life?

My motto over the last few years is progress, not perfection.

I have been known to put a lot of pressure on myself in the past, so this is the mantra I repeat to myself if I feel I’m not achieving enough. I’m a big believer in putting the right building blocks in place and continuously trying to improve. Progress, even if it’s small steps, is better than waiting to get everything perfect.