Other Women's Jobs // A Day In The Life & Career Of Anastasiya Golovatenko

NAME: Anastasiya Golovatenko

INSTAGRAM HANDLE: @stassiworld

JOB TITLE: Director at Sherpa Communications, B2B-focused business consultancy and PR firm

MOVED TO THE UAE IN: 2012

Anastasiya is an accomplished business consultant and PR advisor who leads a Dubai-based B2B-focused communications consultancy Sherpa Communications. With more than 18 years of expertise developing and executing all aspects of public relations and marketing campaigns, she provides senior counsel to brands of any size and structure helping them achieve business objectives and meaningful results through the strategic use of communication.

Today Anastasiya shares with us a day in her life and career:

7.30am School drop off and inbox triage

I do the tactical ballet known as two kids, two shoes, one coffee. Leo (who is 5) and Eva (who is 1.5yo) get buckled in; I practice my negotiation skills over breakfast crumbs. After drop-off, I triage email and 100 plus unread WhatsApp messages in the car (parked, promise!), replying to as many emails possible and tagging anything urgent for the team so the day starts with clarity, not chaos. You’ll find me in the office by 8.00-8.30am too (as quiet breakfast and early kick off is a winning formula to rock the day).

10am Strategic catch-up with the Sherpa crew

This is our brain-on-fire time: priorities, KPIs, risks, and fast decisions. We align message houses, campaign calendars, and who owns what. If something’s fuzzy, I de-fuzz it. I have a ‘fixer of everything’ name tag on my desk, so I try to rock it in style. Bring any crisis to me and I’ll lead, clarify, coordinate, decide fast and help fix it (Yes, I’m that friendly workaholic who loves to hustle).

12pm Client meeting / working lunch

Never eat alone, they say. Over salads or shawarma (balance!), I meet with clients, walk through strategy, positioning, and upcoming milestones. I translate business goals into comms plans: what to say, where to say it, and how we’ll measure it. Bonus points if I can sneak in an earned-first angle and save the budget some stress.

2pm One email every 30 seconds sprint

I fire off rapid emails to catch up on everything happening across the organisation, the UAE, and the world - micro-briefs, on the spot decision, and quick approvals. Strategy at speed: if it can be solved in three lines, it is; if it needs context, you’ll need to nudge me again to get your best strategy and roadmap. (Powered by caffeine and fruit boost)

4pm International client block

UK/US are online, so it’s client calls, campaign planning, approvals, bylines, and release sequencing. We go the extra mile, surprise (as always) with tier 1 media publicity and win our clients’ hearts over and over again!

And if you have an event in a week or needed something yesterday no problem. You’ll never hear a no from us. We flip to SuperSherpa Mode, save the day like Superman, and come back with a coverage report so good it could make leadership tear up (the happy kind).

Did we mention we love the most complex B2B campaigns? Weird, we know but this is where we thrive. Challenge us (positively) with an unusual brief, a multi-layered campaign, sprinkle in a few extra challenges, and watch how everything falls into place nicely with us (fingers crossed).

6pm Give back hour (actually 2)

Every week, I dedicate time to pro-bono PR advisory for startups and community-focused organisations. We discuss business concepts, review decks, fix narratives, and plan media outreach where it makes sense. The goal: empower as many people and businesses as possible

8pm Gym power boost time

Headphones on, world off. I lift, run, or do whatever burns the day’s pixels out of my eyes. Strong body, sharp brain, also good for carrying sleepy toddlers from car seats to beds like a boss. And so I don’t run away from the plan, I’ve got a trainer who keeps me focused and gives me a solid hour of laughs and good company.

I’m also considering adding running sessions with potential customers or whoever accepts the challenge - relationship-building on the move or I wont be able to clear those 100 unread WhatsApp messages in weeks.

10pm Deep focus: proposals & copy

When the house is quiet, the strategy muse appears. I map proposals, refine positioning, or work on texts. This is my zone. tea on the desk, phone on silent, ideas flowing. Friendly workaholic? Guilty. Passionate about helping people and businesses win? Absolutely.

Midnight

Do you think I sleep, nah-ah, this is my time. Movie, snacks and kids’ snoring ‘music’. Have a good comedy or detective story? This is the best to get me interested.

6.30am alarm time

I’m happy again, the day has started (of course with ‘Cocomelon’ as my son is as big fan of early morning as I am (promise). Quick family huddle, tapping through Talabat for groceries, ordering diapers and milk, and lining up the day’s essentials (I still hope someone will invent a way it all can be automated). Dear mums, you are true superstars! as I know I’m not alone in this journey at all xxx