Eve Dustin
Transformation Programme Lead
I’ve been at Johnnie Johnson Housing for two years and time really has flown! Prior to that I had never worked in the housing sector, but I love it and am learning all the time.
My career
My career started after university, where I gained a degree qualification in Psychology and Sociology.
My first role at ExxonMobil (better known as Esso in the UK) involved answering phones in the call centre, dealing with concerned customers whose delivery of heating oil had not arrived. Some of the calls I had were challenging and it was here that I built some skills around customer service, relationship building and problem solving which I have taken me with me to every role since then!
I was lucky enough to work for ExxonMobil for 23 years and successfully climbed the ladder with a new opportunity presented to me, every couple of years.
I moved from Surrey to Manchester to support the set-up of a centralised European customer service centre. Here I worked in various roles here for five further years until it was decided that we would close the Manchester office and I would lead the transfer of work to new offices in Budapest and Prague to support the European business.
Travelling around the world
Following that, I then decided that it was time to take a career break (before I got too old!) and I backpacked around the world by myself for a year. That was the most amazing experience and one of the best adventures of my life. After that, I was lucky enough to get ExxonMobil to agree to me moving and working in New Zealand for a couple of years and I supported the transfer of work from New Zealand to Bangkok, Thailand. I became a Global Knowledge Management advisor, learning how to effectively design and implement learning/training programmes and this role and other roles like European project manager supporting the set-up of an office in Bangalore, India and moving work there from Budapest and Prague were really great experiences. I felt lucky to have the opportunity to travel to amazing locations and learn from incredible people of all different backgrounds and cultures as part of my job.
Being a working mum
When my two children came along it was tougher working in a very male dominated corporate environment as a Mum and I went back to work part time after having Tom, my second, which was not a common thing back then. I have huge appreciation for working mums, and the challenges that part time work can bring.
Over the years I have found that the people who get the most done are those working under tight personal deadlines and still wanting to prove they can be successful in the job. It was then that I decided European roles were slightly easier to manage than global ones. The excitement of visiting long haul locations and taking a weekend before or after to look around was replaced by leaving your kids as late as possible to get to a meeting and getting the first flight home afterwards. Essentially, I spent a lot of time at airports and hotels/offices and not much else – it’s honestly not as glamourous as it might sound.
Although not forgetting, I still had some great roles including overseeing changes to our business model across Europe and the sale of Esso Ireland, as well as setting up and managing a Project Management Office for Europe, Africa, Middle East.
It was after a couple of years in this last role that the opportunity came up for me to take redundancy. I had gone through a particularly difficult divorce and was now a single Mum with two children who needed me around which made travel even less appealing and almost impossible. I was overseeing the redundancy process for my team at the time and committed to see that through but then I asked to be included as well.
Working around amazing people
Then along came a role at Johnnie Johnson Housing, with an office 15 minutes from where I live, where I can jump in the car and see people in real life instead of having to get on a plane. It still makes me happy every time I come into our main office at Eden Point in Cheadle. As always, it is the people who make it a great place to be. I love working for an organisation where so many people with different skillsets have a common theme of being passionate about what they do and are united in the mission to make a difference. It’s really inspiring. We have so many talented people here, I feel like I am learning all the time.
Throughout my career I have always been interested in and curious about people and what motivates them. My real passion is people development, supporting others to achieve their own version of success and realise their potential (that they might not even see themselves). This is still what drives me on today. I never believed I would have the chance to experience all the roles I have been lucky enough to have over the years and I have only achieved what I have because I had people along the way who stuck their neck out for me and put me forward. People who encouraged me and challenged me, even when I wasn’t sure I could do things myself. I really believe as we all progress we should look around us and see who we can also support along the way.
You can find me on LinkedIn if you would like to connect.