Meet operations director Graeme Jones, another of our team who is sharing his career journey with Churchill. He began working for us in July 2020 as regional director.
‘My facilities management journey started in 2002 when I worked as a cleaning and grounds maintenance operative for a small local business in South London,’ he said.
‘This gave me first-hand experience of how challenging a manual task such as cleaning can be and gave me a good platform to step into my next role.
‘I didn’t realise it at the time, but I learnt a great deal from the owner of the business, he was a stickler for process and detail, which gave me a good foundation for my career in management.
‘I got my first opportunity in a management role as a quality manager at University College London. After that I became cleaning manager and then account manager for sites in Vauxhall belonging to MI6 – the UK’s Secret Intelligence Service.
‘My career progressed from there and I looked after many large and prestigious sites and contracts, including the Barbican, which is Europe’s largest events venue; the London Business School; Kings College London and the Imperial War Museum.
‘I was also responsible for the City of London Corporation, which included sites such as Epping Forest, Tower Bridge and Mansion House – the official residence of the Lord Mayor of London.
‘After years of hard work, I found myself managing a £20m portfolio in London. It was made up of 48 contracts, seven of which contributed to £15m of that value.
‘I then joined Churchill as a regional director working across Hertfordshire and East Anglia and, after 18 months, an opportunity arose to join the transport division to drive forward the mobilisation of the South Eastern Trains’ contract.
‘I was excited to get involved in this project – and I haven’t been disappointed, as I have since been promoted to operations director for the division. I am still heavily involved with the SET contract but now I am focusing more on the division’s wider picture.
‘Having previously worked for two of Churchill’s very large competitors I have seen how slowly facilities management projects can move within big businesses.
‘In contrast, in Churchill we are very good at doing what we say we are going to do: Large projects come to fruition in months, rather than years.
‘The business has also managed to retain its entrepreneurial spirit, something that can easily be lost as a business grows,
‘I feel that this provides a perfect platform for the empowerment of people and the formation of ideas and I thrive in this type of environment.
‘I have been very lucky to have some exceptional mentors to learn from throughout my career and it has been this support, plus hard work, which has got me to where I am today. It is one of the reasons why I am so keen to work with others to see them achieve and I take much joy in helping this happen.
If you enjoyed this post, you can also meet: