Meet the Service Leads

Earlier this year UCD launched its Programme for Operations and Services Transformation. Four new roles of “Service Lead” have been created to ensure that the people-focus is the driving force of the Programme. In this article, we asked our new Service Leads to talk about what led them to apply for the roles and what they hope to achieve. 

The POST programme will drive change and transformation for our community by aiming to prioritise those initiatives that improve the experience of all our users across the university in a planned and cohesive way by creating a seamless service experience for students and staff by identifying and tackling pain points in the current processes and systems we use across the University

Why we applied for the roles of Service Leads:

Suzanne

As a member of the UCD community, I had heard about the POST programme, as it’s now known, over the last year or so. The ad for the Service Lead role really drew me in, and sparked something inside me.  I had been working as the School Director in Nursing, Midwifery and Health Systems for more than 8 years and over that time had developed my skill set and I knew the time was coming to be ready for a personal change.  The role of Service Lead, gives me the opportunity to build on my skills and experience from previous roles in Belfield and Blackrock, to grow and develop. I love working with people and I’m energised by this key element of the POST programme. I also hope that I can add value to the overall programme and within this to the University Living segment – which is the services that support how we work, study and live in the University. I see it as an exciting opportunity to be involved in the transformation programme in UCD.

Andrea

As part of the original Enabler 4 project I was involved in the work that looked at some of the challenges experienced by our community and how a change programme might address them. I was really impressed with the difference in approach to this piece of work which made sure to consult with the community when trying to understand the working environment. Working in UCD Research for the past 6 years I know how dedicated our academics, technical and professional staff are across the university and the amazing research that is done in challenging circumstances, I also know it’s not always easy to provide the support that we’d like to. This programme will aim to join up our services for the benefit of the user. The service lead role will be key in bringing all voices together to ensure that the whole university continues to work together to bring about positive change and ultimately make UCD an even better place to do research. This ultimate goal is what excites me about the role of service lead and motivated me to apply. While it won’t be easy or quick it will be my priority to achieve those objectives over the coming years.

Jeremy

I had been aware of POST for some time and was eager to get involved. The role of Service Lead was particularly attractive to me as it gave me the opportunity to be at the heart of the change and help shape the University’s future. I saw the role as a chance to lead the service design process from inception to completion, working with stakeholders across the University to ensure the people focus. I was also especially drawn to the fact that the role would allow me to develop my skills in areas such as problem solving, communication and leadership.

I am excited at the prospect of being part of a team that will help make a real difference to the University. For me, the role is a chance to use skills and knowledge from previous roles like the Unified Support Model or working in Administrative Services, Registry, to help shape the University’s future. I want to help identify areas for improvement and implement changes that will strengthen UCD. I know that the University is full of people who understand both the challenges and the opportunities that face us and are also eager and hungry to be part of this change. I’m really looking forward to working with them to deliver this ambitious Programme. 

Aoife

I have been involved in many cross functional improvement projects over the years, the last one being the Proof of Concept for Service Now platform.  This was fascinating and demonstrated the power of a platform.  Also, in my previous role in HR I was always looking for continuous improvement, opportunities and initiatives. I became involved in POST during the summer and was successful in the Service Lead role.

I am honored to be part of this transformation project and team.  It allows me to get involved in change at an organisational level.  What excites me about this role is that we will put the customer voice in the center of all change through various different interventions.  There will be many challenges with this role and with these challenges opportunities will be presented to me, the programme and the University.  

As Service Leads we put ourselves at the heart ❤️of people-centered change that will make UCD a better UCD