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Current role at UCL: Assistant Director, Portfolio Management Office (PMO), Estates Development
I have been with UCL for almost 12 weeks now (since Feb 2025). My primary role, as with my team’, is to support and enable the successful delivery of all Estates’ programmes and projects. Another key responsibility is to provide portfolio management and strategic oversight support to Estates’ SLT, ADs, HoDs etc. to assure programme delivery through review, challenge and support.
Please could you describe your career journey
My work experiences have been interesting, challenging and varied, with a diverse and rewarding public and private sector (and higher education) career spanning more than two decades. My experience has largely been in the end-to-end management of programmes and projects. However, in the last 10-15 years, my expertise has been focused on establishing and managing programme management offices which can best be described as the ‘engine room’ for programmes and projects.
My first real job was as a graduate management trainee with a commercial bank - I thought that I was destined to be a banker. I had no knowledge of programme management until I saw an advert for an Assistant Programme Officer role with the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office – FCDO (previously the Department for International Development – DFID). Six months later, before the end of my probation, I was promoted to a Programme Officer – I guess I was designed for it!
This was my first foray into programmes and projects, and I haven’t looked back since. Subsequently, I have worked with the Qualifications and Curriculum Development Agency, Nuffield Health, Hitachi Rail Europe, Houses of Parliament (Commons) and the University of Oxford.
During Covid-19, I had a brief stint with the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) liaising with employers to create jobs for 16-24 year olds on universal credit.
As you moved through your career journey, please describe your experience(s) in how you progressed to your current role?
I’m a Christian and there’s a bible verse that says, “the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, nor bread to the wise, nor riches to men of understanding, nor favour to men of skill; But time and chance happen to them all.” This is my story! Throughout my career, I have been blessed in getting the right jobs at the right time with the best fit for me.
I always want to be the ‘competent go-to person’ in any role, so I grab every opportunity to develop and build my skills and knowledge, acquiring learning in both informal and formal settings. A simple informal way of learning for me is identifying and observing work colleagues that I respect – this could be anything from their work ethics to their kind-heartedness - they act as ‘unappointed’ role models unwittingly helping me to learn the behaviours and qualities that I want to improve.
When you come to the realisation and knowledge that you are good at your job and that you can demonstrate proficiency, it gives you a certain level of confidence that overcomes fear or limitation. I have been able to recognise when it is time to move on to the next phase of my journey – with excitement and anticipation, rather than with fear of the unknown - which is what usually cripples or stops some people from progressing their career.
What lessons have you learnt on your career journey?
As I have progressed through my career journey, I have ensured that I learned lessons from each role to be better at the next one. A key success for growth and maturity in any role is having a good line manager and/or mentor(s) and I have worked with some really good people. This has helped me to recognise what good line management looks like and how I should treat and manage others.
No job is perfect - there are periods of frustration in every role. Luckily, I have a strong personality and a tough skin. No one is going to encourage and push you more than YOU, so you can choose to either stay overwhelmed or push through difficult periods. The latter is what I’ve had to do when faced with obstacles.
What working achievement or initiative are you most proud of?
The PMO work is usually a thankless job. Some people don’t see the PMO’s benefit and believe that it is unnecessary - until something goes wrong on the programme/project. So, it is always rewarding whenever our work is acknowledged for improving project delivery and restoring stakeholders’ confidence.
In all honesty, I am most proud when I leave or move away from a role and my contributions have meant that the team/project/department is in a much better state than I met it.
What advice would you offer to others?
When I was a postgraduate student in Swansea, Wales some twenty years ago, fellow students had said that the retail stores in town wouldn’t employ black people. But I didn’t want to work in care homes like others were doing, so I applied to the biggest retail store, Debenhams, for a part time job. Guess what, I got it. I was the only black sales adviser then, not because they didn’t accept black people but because those people didn’t apply.
Moral of the story? Everyone’s experience is different. Don’t base your judgement on other people. Whoever you are, especially if you are from a black or ethnic minority background, refuse to believe the lie that you cannot progress or move ahead career-wise - keep going, don’t stop!
Be the best at whatever you do and have an excellent attitude to match!
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