Meet Jan, Associate Director at POD Management

In this blog post, we had the privilege of interviewing one of our team members to get an insider's perspective on the property management industry. Jan provides a unique insight into her role and shares her thoughts on the challenges and rewards of working in this field. Keep reading to discover her valuable insights and experiences.

Tell us a little about yourself and your role?

I’m Jan, one of the Associate Directors at POD Management. I have been with POD since March 2021 and working within the residential property management sector for over 20 years – starting my career in PRS (Private Rented Sector) portfolio management until moving over to block and estate management in 2004. I am IRPM and AssocRICS qualified and am currently preparing for my MRICS accreditation to become a chartered surveyor!

In my role as Associate Director, I lead one of our teams of Client Relationship Managers and site based Estate Directors and Development Managers. I oversee the operational activities within my team, working with the CRMs, Dev Managers and Estate Directors on strategic planning, making sure the team are all aware of operational best practices and implementation of the same. As part of my duties, I manage and review the service charge budgets, year end accounts and client reporting, work with operations team on management and staffing strategies, work with other heads of departments to ensure the high standards at POD are met, design new processed to improve quality or increase productivity.

One of my favorite parts of my role is meeting clients and our customers alike in order to develop positive and collaborative working relationships – I also really enjoy being able assist the SLT in new business tenders and presentations.

Outside of work, I’m a mum and love the outdoors – I got into gardening during lockdown in 2021 so spend a lot of my time during weekends pottering around the garden or at the local garden centre. I love going for walks and hikes with my partner. I am also a bit of a bookworm and get through 1 to 2 e-books audible books a week. Those who know me at POD also know I love my gadgets and tech – one of my core memories is watching a TV program about the scouts “always being prepared” and the cartoon from the 80s “Inspector Gadget” and that has stuck with me all my life, so I tend to carry a plethora of random gadget bits wherever I go!

Why do you enjoy working for POD?

The culture we have is nothing like I have experienced before at POD. The values of being dedicated, smart, meticulous and supportive are in the core of what we do and why we do it. We have super high standards here - the pace that we adapt and learn from situations and how this disseminates throughout our business to we continuously improve and evolve is really unique.

I am a massive advocate that our site-based colleagues have the same experience as our colleagues at head office and there is a real feeling of being supported no matter where you are based or what you do. It’s inclusive and engaging.

The tech here is also one of the things that attracted me – it makes a huge difference to our way of working in terms of what we deliver and report to clients on.

Which sites do you look after?

My team are responsible for the day-to-day management of 30 developments in London and the surrounding areas including:

• King’s Road Park, London -a phased development which will comprise of over 1,800 leasehold homes and commercial units managed on behalf of the Berkeley Group. Private residents' facilities include a games room, private dining room, screening rooms, meeting rooms, lounge with bar, staffed gym and studios, and wet facilities with a 25m pool, spa, steam room, sauna, and experience shower.

• Huntley Wharf, Reading - a phased development which will comprise over 565 residential homes which are a mixture of private, social housing and commercial units managed on behalf of the Berkeley Group. The on-site team provide parcel and keyholding services and look after a residents’ co-working space, beautiful podium gardens and private parking.

• Queen Mary’s Gate, Woodford - a development of 14 private blocks comprising of 372 units managed on behalf of a resident management company. The estate and apartments have a full on-site team for cleaning and maintenance, with a concierge hub for key and parcel holding services. There are landscaped gardens, water features, and underground car parks.

• Fisherton Street, London- a development comprising of 157 apartments and 12 freeholder homes managed on behalf of freeholder as part of joint venture. The on-site team includes a Development Manager and Duty Manager available seven days a week. Residents have access to a private lounge, library, and meeting room, as well as central podium courtyard gardens and external landscaped and play areas.

• Clarendon, London - a phased development which will be over 1,700 homes once completed. Mixture of private, affordable, shared ownership and commercial units managed on behalf of the Berkeley Group. Residents have access to a gym, children’s play park, private podium gardens, parking, a 24/7 security and concierge team for parcel and keyholding management, and a bespoke residents' app.

My team and I are also involved in the mobilisation of 3 further developments we are due to start managing in Q3 2023.