“The excitement comes with this new direction recently taken”. Jerome talks about his new approach to working with contractors.

What are you doing for TfL?

“Okay, so I am running a project as the Senior Project Manager for TfL, providing support to deliver CCTV. So that's closed circuit television with fibre connections at 15 of their stations. I basically support the CCTV connectivity going live with several stations to provide their control centre and the police in order to see live images. This helps them respond to emergencies, if somebody is committing a crime, or if a person's health and safety is at risk. 

What inspired you to start your own project management business?

“So I started about 20 years ago. I used to work for Haringey Council, and one day, somebody who worked for KPMG consultancy said to me, “oh, what are you doing here, you should be

working as your own contractor in your own right, because you have a lot of capability”. His name was Dominic. He actually helped me write my CV so that I could then send it to agencies and basically ask them to see if they could find work for me in the contracting world. My first contract was with the Health Protection Agency, and basically that was to support them with procurement work, which is all about purchasing products for laboratories to use. Since 2005, I've been doing this kind of work and projects or programme management with a number of different local authorities and also with central government organisations.

How do you ensure that your projects / programmes consistently meet client expectations?

“That's a brilliant question. Well, the main thing with that is you have to really understand your client. So it means developing a close relationship and understanding what their expectations are, and then documenting that and then playing it back to them, so that they understand what you're going to deliver, whether what you deliver matches up with what they are expecting. In some cases, their aspirations have been bigger than what actually was really possible, but generally speaking I try to keep the client happy and engaged. “

What key qualities do you look for in your project / programme management team?

“So if I'm working with other people, typically, it's about communicating with each other as much as possible, staying open and transparent, making sure that when we work together, that we have a plan that's joined up and that we understand each other's ways of working, that we actually try to be fair in the way that we work together, so that there's no one person dominating how some things are done. And then I guess it's about having fun as well. So it's not always about being serious about what's being delivered, but actually enjoying what you're doing as well.”

Where do you see your business heading in the next five years?

“Well, I've just taken on a new member of staff, Rhiannon, is a Business Support Manager for the company, and she's already helped me a lot by developing my website, producing information about contracts that are available out there that potentially could lead to other work. And I've been exploring some of those opportunities already, to help expand the company portfolio of work. Hopefully, I will be able to successfully build a sustainable set of contracts for new business that helps the company grow.”

What has been the most rewarding part of running your business?

“I'd say the most rewarding part is focusing on future opportunities to grow the business.”

How do you stay motivated and inspired in your work?

“That's a really tricky question. I'd say, the excitement comes with this new direction recently taken. Previously, I was acting in a more passive way, waiting for people to come to me and ask me to do contract work with them. But now, now that I've got my new business support manager, I'm more proactively looking at the potential of opportunities that are out there for the business.”