Emma McMurdock, Area Delivery Manager in the East, talks us through her experiences of managing a team of 83 people, collaboration with DIO and shared successes.
“I was originally employed in October 2017 as Area Delivery Manager in East for the southern part of the region covering Stanford Training Area (STANTA), Sculthorpe, Colchester, Barton Road and Yardley Chase with another Area Delivery Manager employed in the north covering East Midlands Training Area and the two Air Weapons Ranges (Donna Nook and Holbeach).
“With the departure of my colleague in the North in February 2018, I took on the management of the entire region bringing a new dynamic to my role in the form of Air Weapons Ranges which operate very differently to land ranges.
A career in Facilities Management
“I started my career in Facilities Management (FM) back in 2005 as a temporary helpdesk administrator and over the course of 12 years, I worked my way through the management chain to become a Contracts Manager for a £6m Total FM national portfolio looking after both public and private sector customers. At the beginning of my career, as a naive 19 year old, I was unsure what I wanted to progress to, I certainly had no idea that I would one day be working on the defence training estate – I’m not sure I even knew such a thing existed! Now I manage a team of 83 people across seven sites and am responsible for total contract delivery in the East whether it be the built estate, ranges or the rural estate.
No time to be complacent
“I really enjoy the variety of my role, not just because of the multiple disciplines involved in the service solutions we provide but also the types of training areas within our responsibility such as camps, land ranges, dry training areas and air weapons ranges. No two sites are the same, no two teams are the same and therefore no two days are the same. There is definitely no time to get bored or complacent.
“Every day is a learning day. Although I brought knowledge and experience with me from working within the FM Industry, I do not profess to know everything and certainly knew very little about military operations when I joined Landmarc. I have learnt so much in the last year, I learn from my colleagues every single day, not just ‘subject matter experts’ but our entire team at all levels.
Collaboration and shared successes
“The Area Delivery Manager’s role has been described as the centre of gravity for everything that happens in the area but it’s not about me, it is about the team – having the right people, with the right skills in the right place at the right time.
“It’s great to work as part of a close knit team who really care and take pride in the roles we do. We always aim to have a ‘can do’ attitude, freely sharing knowledge and supporting each other. We take the achievements of the team, whether this be the personal achievement of an individual, compliments from service users or the client on a job well done, or simply positive inspection / audit results, as an achievement for us all – shared successes.
“Landmarc, as holders of ISO 44001 are big on collaboration and this is demonstrated no better than in the East where we take a partnership approach with our Defence Infrastructure Organisation (DIO) colleagues.
Work life balance
“I am so grateful that there is no expectation to work evenings and weekends in my role. FM is rarely a 9 to 5 role, however it is exceptional that I am called out of hours. Even after a year, this is still novel to me and I fully appreciate how lucky I am. Work life balance should never be taken for granted. I also feel privileged to be working in some of the most beautiful parts of the country that often the general public don’t have access to.
In safe hands
“Landmarc is a great company to work for. As a company with a reasonably small workforce, it really cares about its employees. The opportunities available are endless and I feel that I can contribute to our Armed Forces by providing an efficient and effective service so that they can concentrate on their core defence duties, secure in the knowledge that the training infrastructure is in safe hands with Landmarc.