SEGRO

I’m a HR Business Partner at SEGRO. My day to day role can vary significantly across the year but in the main I focus on:

• Employee engagement
• Performance and development
• Wellbeing support
• Recruitment
• Pay and reward
• Employee relations

I went to university, studying BSc Business Management at Cardiff University. It was an HR module as part of my degree that piqued my interest in the area. You can also access careers in HR through apprenticeships, and I hold a CIPD Level 7 Diploma in Human Resource Management. CIPD (Chartered Institute of Personnel & Development) is the professional body for HR and people development.

I was attracted to a career in HR because of the variety of work opportunities it would afford me – every sector and industry requires HR support and input. I enjoy working at SEGRO in particular because the business really prioritises the wellbeing and development of its people. There is a recognition that if we are to reach our goal of being ‘the best property company’, our people need to be happy and motivated. I love working with people and definitely feed off the energy of working in a team. It was clear to me from my school days and university studies that I excelled when working with others, so its important for me not to work in a sector where you’re often working alone.

The best thing about my role is seeing the positive impact that we can have on the people in our business. We try to really focus on the retention and development of our employees and it’s great to see people grow over time. In terms of my career highlights, two things stand out for me. The first would be getting my CIPD Level 7 diploma. Studying alongside working full time was difficult but rewarding in the end! The second would be becoming a HR Business Partner. As a HRBP, you get allocated particular teams to work with and support. Having specific teams allows you to build strong relationships and I think you can have a bigger impact on the business that way.

Faith is currently a Graduate Surveyor in the Thames Valley Asset Management Team, having previously been on rotation in the Greater London Development and Investment Team.

To become a Graduate Surveyor, Faith needed a 2:1 in any degree and found her current role through her university careers team. What drew her to SEGRO was the opportunity to work for a leading property company that is committed to investing, managing and developing best in class warehouses and her time at university helped Faith to get the job, not only because she had a degree, but because she had learnt skills such as time management, problem solving and teamwork.

Faith says the best thing about her role is the opportunities she’s offered. She has enjoyed assisting the team on the redevelopment of a SEGRO-owned industrial estate, gaining valuable experience on how to make a development viable and how to find solutions to configure the layout to the meet the needs of future occupiers.

Jim is the Managing Director of SEGRO’s Northern European business which is in Germany and the Netherlands. He is responsible for the Property operations teams which cover Investment, Development, Leasing and Asset Management of our 2.3m sq.m Logistics and Light Industrial portfolio.

He qualified as a Chartered Surveyor (MRICS) in the UK as part of the graduate programme at SEGRO. After 7 years in the UK business mainly in Asset Management and leasing roles, he got the opportunity to work in Continental Europe, initially on a 6-month secondment in Paris.

Jim was previously the JV director of SEGRO’S European Logistics Partnership (SELP) which was set up in 2013 and has assets in 7 CE countries. An opportunity came up within SEGRO to run the Northern European portfolio and fortunately given his knowledge of the logistics assets within SELP that were in Germany and the Netherlands he was considered the strongest candidate. The opportunity to develop his people management skills and run an operational business is what attracted Jim to the role.

Jim qualified as a chartered Surveyor in the UK Logistics and Industrial market and have broadened my experience to other Continental European countries ever since, but I he has always remained in the Logistics and Industrial sector.

The first highlight for Jim was being the property lead and JV director on the set up of SELP in 2013. This was a €1bn JV that we set up with PSP Investments and have grown to over €6.5bn in the last 10 years.  

The second was being given the honour to lead the Northern European team back in 2018 and working together with a team of 60 talented colleagues to create the high performing team we have today.