Get to Know: Our Head of Campus
You may have seen the recent news about the appointment of our new Head of Campus, Victoria de Kock. Victoria has joined YBC to strengthen our campus management team and support us as we prepare to introduce a new sustainability strategy. We caught up with our new Head of Campus to learn a bit more about her and this new role…
Welcome to YBC! Can you tell us a bit about your career before you joined YBC?
“I joined YBC from Close Brothers Group, where I was Head of its Motor Finance division, but I started my career with Hiscox Insurance, managing its UK property portfolio. I have in total 19 years of industry experience in strategy development, operational management, compliance, risk management, change management, business improvement, and property and estate management.”
Can you tell us a bit about yourself outside of your career?
“I was born in Zimbabwe and moved to Malawi when I was two. I then spent all of my childhood in Mozambique and eventually moved to high school in South Africa. I moved to the UK when I was 17 after my A levels and have been here ever since! I live just outside of York with my three daughters, dog and cat.
“In my spare time I love gardening, cooking for my family and friends and going walking in the beautiful Yorkshire countryside.”
Tell us a bit about your role as Head of Campus.
“My main responsibility on site is stakeholder management, particularly looking after our occupier relationships. While I’m not directly responsible for leasing and tenancy management, I support the development and execution of the property strategy and estate events.
“I’m also responsible for site operations which includes third-party contract management and service delivery – that’s all of our soft and hard service providers like 14forty and Arcus FM. This also includes landlord compliance and risk management for the site – basically making sure all of the correct procedures are in place and adhered to.
“The sustainability of the site also falls under my remit, specifically looking at energy management and enhancing the site’s overall environmental performance. I’ll be exploring innovative solutions and best practices to make sure that we remain at the forefront of sustainable property management and are making positive contributions towards our environmental goals.”
What do you enjoy most about your job?
“It has to be the team; I really value their expertise, and everyone is such a pleasure to work alongside. I have great relationships with our soft and hard services managers, and I’ve been working very closely with them to define our strategies and tweak service delivery. Working with a team I respect, that understands the greater long-term benefits of change, makes my role that much more enjoyable. I feel like we’re going from strength to strength, and I wouldn’t want to be on this journey without each and every one of them.
“I’m also proud to be helping support the important work of our occupiers. It feels like we’re facilitating their success by ensuring their services are robust and reliable. It’s a real pleasure to play a part in this.”
What do you find most challenging?
“The size of the site! It’s a little bit challenging as it’s such a large and complex site with varying needs, but it’s fantastic having so much to learn and it certainly never gets dull!
Which occupiers work do you find particularly interesting?
“For me, it has to be Microsaic and the work they do around water purity monitoring, working with water authorities across the globe to ensure water safety and quality. My interest in Microsaic stems from growing up in Africa, where drinking water means the difference between life and death, so any innovation in this area means a lot to me.”
Read more about Victoria’s appointment here.