ARE YOU A PORTICO PERSON?

Innovators, movers and shakers, memorable moment makers – we’re always looking for great people. If you love providing great service, have excellent communication skills and a desire to grow, you’re in the right place. We can offer you a passport to a fulfilling and highly rewarding career as well as some wonderful benefits and recognition programmes.

But what’s it really like to be a Portico Person? Meet some of our people…

Ambitious

Ewa Dabydoyal

Tell us about your journey:

I joined Portico in 2013 as Team Leader at PwC, overseeing the mobilisation of their newly refurbished Head Office. It was a fulfilling two years where I adapted my hospitality skills which I gained from working at London’s leading hotels. From day one, I recognised Portico as the ideal workplace due to its commitment to investing in people through learning and development, and genuine concern for everyone’s career aspirations. In 2015, our director approached me to assist in mobilising a brand-new law firm. This experience fuelled my interest in operations, leading to an opportunity to join our Support Team as an Operations Manager, overseeing a portfolio of our clients.

In 2019, during my appraisal, I expressed my eagerness to progress in my development, and I was able to pursue my dream Executive MBA, commencing my studies at Cranfield University in 2020 alongside my day-to-day role. The MBA provided me with a profound understanding of how businesses work. This set me up on a new path, and in 2022, I was promoted to the role of Projects and Mobilisations Manager, supporting our new clients, teams, and special events. It has been a fulfilling 10 years at Portico, and I still thoroughly enjoy contributing to our business and its teams.

Ambitious

Lauren Devins

Portico Manager 

Always be yourself in everything you do – it really shows in the service you provide.

Tell us about your journey:

I started my career with Portico in 2016, after six years of flying around the world as cabin crew with British Airways. It was my first ‘office job’. I was nervous to say the least. Appointed as the Team Leader for a team of five at Shearman and Sterling, this was a new role and I had the chance to make it my own. With a fantastic mentor as a manager, I soon completed a succession plan, this meant when the time came and my manager moved on, I was ready to step into her shoes.

A couple of years later, I continued my Portico journey as an Interim Manager for another law firm. In 2020, Portico won a new business at 22 Bishopsgate: a brand-new team in a brand-new building! This was the opportunity of a lifetime. We mobilised the contract and helped our clients every step of the way. I went on to have a baby and now, with the support of our great Operations Managers and Directors, I have returned to work and I couldn’t feel more at home!”

What advice would you give someone joining Portico?

“Welcome to the family! You are joining a high-profile business that celebrates the brilliance of every individual. Together we can achieve great things. If you want to advance, the sky’s the limit. Let’s do it!”

Ambition

Cosmin Tesu

Tell us about your journey:

I began working for Portico as a receptionist and welcome host at Santander in November 2021. I worked hard to integrate myself within the community of the building and to build relationships with the internal employees outside of my Portico colleagues. It wasn’t too long before I was on a first name basis with key individuals in the building. I wanted to shine; I wanted Portico to shine.

My determination to create excellent service moments for every single person I engaged with led to my promotion to Business Centre Manager less than a year later. The extra responsibilities I have been given in this role have not only been invaluable in my understanding of the building’s mechanics but has also expanded my core skill set in the guest services sector about which I am very passionate. Asking questions, going above and beyond and truly listening are three qualities which I believe have helped me get to my position in my 18 months at Portico. Both my colleagues and managers have been so supportive in helping me to grow and progress.

From my interview to now, my admiration of Portico has only grown, and I am extremely excited about the possibilities that await the rest of my journey.

Ambition

Levi Powers

Tell us about your journey:

I started with Portico in 2018 as a Team Leader at Deutsche Bank. It was my first managerial role with three direct reports. I found my feet very quickly and with the mentoring and support of my line manager and the opportunity to attend different trainings to focus on my development, six months later I progressed into a supervisor position with greater responsibilities looking after a larger team.

I remained in my position as supervisor for over three years and during this time I grew more than I ever thought I could, soaking up information like a sponge. I took on extra tasks, sometimes put myself out there and out of my comfort zone, visited and cross-trained at other Portico sites and really focused on the development of myself and my own team. Having great managers that really want to see you succeed is all you could ever ask for. This led me to where I am now as an Assistant Manager.

What advice would you give someone joining Portico?

Portico is a big family and there are so many opportunities out there: mentoring, cross-training at other sites and an amazing L&D team with different development pathways to suit different needs and ambitions. We love to see you succeed so use the resources you have around you, apply yourself and set yourself goals. You can be whatever you want to be at Portico.

Ambitious

Alex Avila

Tell us about your journey:

I started at Forsters seven years ago as a receptionist. Forsters is a boutique law firm in Mayfair and it was an amazing journey meeting the clients, partners and staff. After two years of learning about the company and its clients, my drive and passion took me to be promoted to Senior Receptionist. Here I continued to be a big part of the team, supporting both new joiners and management. After this, I decided I wanted to progress within the company and with my manager’s support I decided to apply for managerial positions.

After a couple of applications, finally I have landed my current role of Reception Manager, managing a team of three receptionists and two floor host team members at ISG since August last year. As I always say: the sky is the limit and if you have the drive and motivation, your manager will support your development within Portico.

Ambitious

Elif Allan

Tell us about your journey:

My Portico journey started in 2018 with Santander head office. I can still remember my first interview and the feelings of nervousness and excitement at the same time. Four years (and one baby) later I wanted to start developing my Portico career.

I loved my team at Santander. However, when I realised it was time for me to progress, I mentioned this to my Director. I couldn’t believe how supportive he was in giving me so much advice about my possible next steps. I interviewed for a management role at Freshfields and instantly I felt it was the right fit with a wonderful team around me and a fantastic client. Portico want to see every individual flourish. I love that!

What advice would you give someone joining Portico?

The advice I would offer any new Portico person is: ask yourself where you would like to be in the future and then take advantage of the huge number of learning and development courses available to help you get there. We love promoting from within! Set your career goals and go for it!

GOT A QUESTION ABOUT WORKING AT PORTICO?

Don’t worry, we’ve got the answers.

What are the opportunities for development and growth?

We love to develop our people. Your journey will begin with a bespoke onboarding journey to set you up for success. Once you are nicely settled in, we’ll design a development plan to meet your personal ambitions.

This takes full advantage of our exceptional development and leadership academies. We have everything covered for those who are fresh into our sector to those who have their sights set on senior leadership.

It’s the 21st century so our learning is blended with digital programmes and classroom-based courses. Everything is at your fingertips and accessible through our employee ‘Heartbeat’ app.  If you want a career, then we’re perfect for you as 90% of all new leadership positions are filled with internal candidates.

How do you reward and recognise your employees?

We love to celebrate and recognise our Portico people. Our everyday “thank you” cards are our impromptu way of showing our gratitude. Our Heart Awards happen twice a year and celebrate our everyday heroes who showcase our service habits.

Each winter we host our Portico People Awards which are amazing fun and definitely the highlight of our social calendar. And that’s not everything,  we also recognise loyalty, birthdays, babies, weddings and offer all our people great salaries and benefits.

What kind of people work in Portico?

All kinds. We hire personality first and foremost. When you interview for a role at Portico, we will learn about you: what makes you smile, what gets you out of bed in the morning and what are you excited by? No worries if you’re new to our sector – we’ll take care of teaching you the ropes so you can thrive with us.

Our Portico people come from so many backgrounds – the one thing they all have in common is a genuine smile and a willingness to look after their customers and colleagues.

What can I expect?

Support, development and enjoyment. These three words best capture what you can expect from Portico. We’ll support you on whichever journey you choose with us and will nurture you to develop your personal and professional skills.

We’re one big family at Portico. We love to have fun together, which you’ll soon experience at our many events and socials.

What’s the future for Portico and your sector?

Since we launched Portico in 2005, we haven’t looked back. Every year our business grows and we keep adapting to support future trends. The pace of change within our sector is hugely exciting and it’s offering us more opportunities to develop our skills and future proof our business.

If you join Portico you can be confident that there will always be potential.

Confidence

WE GIVE EVERYONE ROOM TO GROW

Our culture is built on support, encouragement and recognition of achievement. More than teaching our people how to deliver exceptional client service, we coach you into achieving your full potential and set you on a path to success.

Leadership, presentation, communication techniques, confidence and brand awareness are just some of the valuable strings we add to your bow. We also offer a training academy which provides a range of specially tailored courses, both internally and for non-Portico clients who want to invest in their team’s development.

OUR LEADERS ARE PROOF THAT WE INVEST IN OUR PEOPLE

Each of them has been part of our family for years, and has contributed to making Portico an amazing place to work for everyone.

Paul Jackson

Managing Director

I'm the head of our Portico family, leading our teams and driving our business successes. Never behind a desk, I'm out in our business every single day spending time with our teams, our Operational colleagues and our clients. Solution-focused, I'm tenacious in challenging the status quo of our operations, driven to inspire our people and build trusted partnerships with our clients.

Oliver Hiner

Director, Operations

I joined the Portico family in 2015 to lead a new group account and have since gone on to lead some of our largest client locations, having been promoted to Operations Director in 2019. I'm a huge advocate for championing culture change throughout our business with a focus on service development, innovation and challenging the status quo. Nurturing talent and inspiring others to excel is one of my strengths and I continue to drive our quality metrics for Portico.

Hanna Barrett

Director, Operations

A long-standing member of the Portico family, I began my Portico career in 2006 as a Receptionist. I was promoted to Operations Director in 2017 and work to support and develop our guest services alongside our expert Operations Managers. Armed with a natural curiosity, I champion positive change within my client locations through coaching and mentoring. I'm also responsible for our Learning & Development Academy, having launched this in 2011.

Richard O'Keefe

Director of Business Development

“Businesses are built on relationships – with employees, customers, partners and every other stakeholder up and down the organisation.” As soon as I started life at Portico, I knew I had landed in the right place. Every single colleague feels part of a wider family and has your best interests at heart – it truly is a unique culture and one which is helping to develop on a professional and personal level. As Director of Business Development, I have been given the opportunity to steer new and innovative ways to help Portico continue its growth journey and celebrate what I hope and believe will be many more successes. I feel empowered to bring ideas to the table and have my views heard. This is down to a culture of mutual respect and trust that enables people to exercise their talents.

Dana Singer

Head of People

“My ambition for Portico is to be recognised as the best place to work in the UK.” Having worked at Portico’s sister company BaxterStory for more than six years, I already felt part of the family when I moved across at the start of 2023. Portico has and always will be a business built around people, and my job is to make sure our employees benefit from and take part in the best practices, policies and procedures possible. I have also recently completed the Advanced Level 7 CIPD accreditation in Human Resource Management, the knowledge from which is being put to good use. My career has centred around getting the best out of colleagues – there is nothing more rewarding than seeing people thrive in a company with a cohesive, inclusive and rewarding culture.

AND THAT'S NOT ALL

We make sure that you’re always happy, healthy and enjoy your working day.

Wellness

Work is a major part of our lives. On average we spend 1795 hours a year in the workplace – that’s almost ⅓ of your life.

With this amount of time spent outside of personal and leisure time, it’s really important that our people feel happy, fulfilled and safe in their working environment. 

Equality and Inclusion

At Portico we’re committed to treating everyone equally to ensure we all have the same opportunities to grow, develop and progress our careers.

We treat each other with respect, speak to one another as we’d wish to be spoken to and take the time to listen and support.

Training

The Portico Training Academy is market-leading in its range of bespoke courses within the front of house services industry.

It offers a variety of tailored programmes designed to equip our people with the tools and resources they need to flourish in their career with us.

GIVING BACK

We see our commitment to giving back as a moral and social responsibility. We want to do our bit to help our community, so an important part of our business is finding ways to help charities and people.

Reasons to work at Portico

You’ve met the people. Now find out what it’s like to work at Portico.

We're a Living Wage Employer

The Living Wage is an hourly rate set independently and updated annually, based on the cost of living in the UK.