My career started as an apprentice mechanical fitter for the National Coal Board, the corporation created to run the nationalized coal mining industry in the United Kingdom. After completing my apprenticeship, I joined the British Army and served for 12 years.
Like many people leaving the Army, I felt a bit lost when I first left; I had a few different jobs but struggled to settle.
Then I joined a large international construction company, which turned out to be my first taste of management. I was a quality assessor, travelling around the world, checking construction components for large building projects.
In 2000, I took the opportunity to move into the maintenance and operations division. Initially, I was focused on maintenance and then, over time, my role evolved to include the early days of facilities management.
Growing and developing as a manager and a person
I joined Sodexo in 2008 as part of the technical services team in the UK & Ireland. I was responsible for looking after a large range of sites all over the country, together with a very good team of engineers. In 2012 I became a national technical support manager, again with responsibility for multiple locations nationally.
I then worked on the mobilization of a large university contract in Newcastle, UK. I enjoyed my time with the team so much that I decided to stay.
I am currently a technical operations manager at the university. I work with a fantastic team of experienced and knowledgeable colleagues who lead by example and enable me to grow and develop as a manager and a person each day. My colleagues and my line manager are my role models. If I’m ever faced with a problem, I think about how one of my colleagues would handle the situation and I’ll find the answer.
My role can be challenging, but I love how varied it is; no two days are the same. Find out more about my role and how we keep colleagues and students safe each day in this video:
Getting everyone home safely
It’s really important that everyone at the university is focused on health and safety, from the most junior to the most senior team member. Health and safety must be at the forefront of everyone’s mind and each of us must fully understand the responsibility we each have in keeping ourselves and our colleagues safe.
The safety culture and behaviors here are outstanding. Everyone is focused on positive safety conversations and near-miss reporting. We have been lost time injury (LTI) free for the last 39 months and I am incredibly proud of this fact.
I was once told that I am responsible for bringing people to work AND for getting them home safely. That fact has really stuck with me over the years and it’s a responsibility I am proud to uphold each day.