Get to Know: Our Facilities Manager
At York Biotech Campus (YBC), we’re home to lots of leading science organisations and our busy Lakeside Conference Centre. This means, we have a diverse mix of guests and employees arriving daily. It’s therefore incredibly important we keep the campus looking clean, tidy, welcoming, and running as smoothly as possible.
In our last ‘Get to Know’ we introduced Dan Sykes, our YBC Facilities Manager who oversees the contract for soft and hard services taking place onsite. This time we caught up with Rob Read, our Facilities Manager delivering the soft services which help to keep our campus in top shape.
Rob works for 14forty, our integrated facilities management services provider which is part of Compass Group. 14forty supports YBC by providing a variety of soft services which includes front of house and reception, event support, security, porterage, mailroom services, waste management, grounds maintenance and pest control.
Learn more about Rob and his role on campus…
What attracted you to this role?
“I’ve been based at YBC since February 2024. When I saw the opportunity to work here, I jumped at the chance. It’s great to work at such a fantastic facility, for a globally renowned and professional organisation like 14forty and I love supporting such an exceptional and diverse team.
“YBC is actually 14forty’s flagship site and centre of excellence, which means all other sites the company looks after are measured against YBC. It’s an interesting site with a unique set of challenges, which has really allowed me to develop professionally.”
What does a typical day look like for you?
“There’s such a thing as a typical day? My day usually starts onsite between 7:30am and 8am. I can be doing anything, from liaising with tenants and YBC’s operational team about new work requests, to ensuring we have the correct quantity of waste receptacles in the right locations.
“I’m responsible for managing all the soft services teams, such as the cleaners and the landscapers, and I work very closely with YBC’s facilities team including Dan Sykes, to assist with any joint projects being delivered across the site. Every day looks different, but each day has the exact same aim, and that’s to make the campus an environment that cultivates innovation, inspires, and energises the community, whilst reassuring them that their safety, security and comfort is of paramount importance.”
What do you enjoy the most about your job?
“The variety and diversity of tasks I can be dealing with keeps things interesting however this can also be the most challenging aspect of my job, with so many differing requirements for each tenant and stakeholder. That being said, there are very few roles that offer the opportunity to meet and get to know such a diverse mix of people, which is something I really enjoy.
“The thing that I love the most is being able to go home, with the satisfaction that me and my team have made someone else’s day a little bit better or easier, whether that’s taking away the stress of unpleasant jobs like waste removal, or sparking a little bit of joy with the upkeep of our luscious greenery onsite.”
Tell us a little bit about yourself?
“I’m a former Army brat, which meant we moved around a lot when I was a child. It wasn’t all bad though, as I’ve lived in so many places including Cyprus, Germany, Hampshire, Tyne & Wear, Cleveland and Essex. So, if you ever end up speaking to me, you’ll struggle to pinpoint my accent as it’s all over the place!
“I eventually settled in Scarborough and have lived there for the last thirty years. I was lucky enough to become a husband to a very loving, understanding, and supportive wife, and a father to two wonderful children. I’m now also a father-in-law, and a grandfather to two beautiful grandchildren – I may be a little biased though!”
What do you like to do outside of work?
“My son, daughter and daughter-in-law are avid rugby players (both league and union), so during the season my weekends are dominated with supporting them and being a professional spectator. I’m also a keen mountain biker and I enjoy throwing myself down silly, challenging inclines whilst trying to hold onto my bike. Not so much a fan of climbing back up the hills though!
“I also love walking and hiking, either locally or around our favourite place in the Lake District – Ambleside. Closer to home, I like tackling DIY projects from designing and building a playhouse for my littlest girls, cutting holes in the roof and fitting Velux windows as part of an ongoing loft conversion, to completely ripping out and refitting a new bathroom suite. One of these days, I’ll learn to just sit and chill in the garden!”
If you’d like to learn more about our campus, find out more here.