A day in the life of an Area Streetscene Manager

Andrew

My name is Andrew. My role is Area Manager within the Streetscene department. I have worked for the Council in this role for 7 months.

I am responsible for the operational management of a team of 50 grounds and cleansing staff and five office based staff. Between us we undertake all the grounds maintenance and street cleansing around the district. My staff and I directly affect the quality of the environment that you live in, keeping all public outdoor spaces clean, safe and green.

A typical day involves an early start – 07:30 in the summer. My first task of the day is to check in with various staff around the district, checking the quality of their work and making sure they have no problems personally or with their equipment. When I make it into the office around 08:30 I check through my emails, which usually consist of requests for service from members of the public and Councillors and service issues from other managers. I then spend the rest of the morning in team meetings updating others on Streetscene issues, catching up with staff or undertaking project work on policies or new initiatives such as the REACT team.

Dealing with people takes up the bulk of my time, be it staff or customers. This is the most and least enjoyable aspect of my job. When you can motivate and lead staff to achieve their best it is extremely satisfying. On the flip side, when you have to performance manage or discipline staff, it can be quite demanding and in some cases upsetting.

I am contracted to work 37 hours per week, an average of 7.24hrs a day. However I often work more than this, as the job requires a degree of dedication, getting things done regardless of the time it takes. If there is an equipment failure or staff problem it has to be remedied!

My career in Local Government has developed over the years, despite originally wanting to work in science. I studied Marine Biology at university, after which I got a job with my local Council in their neighbourhood/environment department. I found that working in Local Government gave me an opportunity to do something that had a tangible positive impact on the lives of local people.

I have now worked within local government for the last 4 years. All the time I have proactively sought out extra responsibility and experience relating to management. I believe my degree has helped me advance more quickly than I may have done without it, but it is certainly not a pre-requisite for this kind of position. A good general level of education is a benefit, but the key to getting into management is experience with people.

To further enhance my management experience and skills, I am currently undertaking an NVQ level 4 in Management as well as attending an in-house management development programme. Both of these I feel will enhance my skills as a manager and give me viable qualifications with which I can prove my ability.

With these qualifications and the experience I am gaining all the time, my hope is that I will be able to further develop my career into a more senior management position or even a Head of Service role.

Good Luck in your chosen career!!

Page last updated on 7 November 2008