This month we ask Mike Mulligan, from property developer Kebbell, to tell us a little more about a day in the life of a Regional Construction Director.
What does your job entail?
I am the Northern Regional Development Director for Kebbell, based in North Yorkshire, which means I look after the region’s construction and commercial elements, from land buying to budgeting to health and safety. I suppose I am the glue between what happens on site and the marketing and sales team. I was lucky to be made a construction director quite quickly and have worked at Kebbell for 25 years.
What made you want to become a Construction Director?
I am now 60 and have only ever had two jobs throughout my life. My previous company was a major housebuilder, but they were taken over by another business. I was presented with an opportunity to join Kebbell which ticked all my boxes from quality of the build to the family element of the business. I love to meet different people all the time and the variety of the work. I also love to see from start to finish the build of a high-specification home and how rewarding it is when you hand over the keys to someone’s dream home.
What skills do you need to be a Construction Director?
I think it helps to be personable. You need lots of contacts and to be able to maintain your network with a good reputation. I don’t fall out with people, but I think I am respected by everyone I deal with including when we partner with other companies. I get involved with so many different things and no two days are the same, so you have to wear lots of different hats for the various disciplines.
I know that family values in business are very important to you. Why is that?
Family values are everything to me and that is what attracted me to join Kebbell all those years ago. Having a family ethos at work means to me, looking after your sub-contractors, consultants, and colleagues, being valued and listened to, and feeling part of something. The turnover of staff is frightening at other housebuilders, but apart from when people retire, more or less every colleague chooses to stay at Kebbell.
I heard your two sons are also working at Kebbell – what are their roles and what is it like to be working with your family?
Nathan is a Northern Site Manager currently based at Cornelian Fields in Scarborough. He came through the technical side of the business, but ended up working in on-site management and has been employed directly by Kebbell for eight years now. He must love it because he drives three hours everyday to get here and back! There is lots of work on his doorstep near his home, but he chooses to work for us.
Dale is a sub-contractor carpenter on the site and did his apprenticeship with Kebbell. He is an unbelievably brilliant craftsman. He and his work partner employ another three other carpenters and manage their business themselves but see Cornelian Fields as their main job and where they love to be. They like the way the site is organised and are well looked after, such as being paid fortnightly as opposed to every 90 days which regularly happens at other housebuilders.
What are you working on at the moment?
I work mostly on Cornelian Fields in Scarborough because it is such a big project. We are just starting the fifth phase and have millions of pounds of infrastructure going in at the moment with a potential of 10 phases in total. Phase five has slightly bigger and more detached houses than the previous phases. I am also involved in other potential developments going through planning, especially around Harrogate.
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Editor, Showhome Magazine
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