Maddy Findlay shares what it is like to work as a Senior Delivery Manager at Westminster City Council.

1. What is your role, and in one sentence, what’s the single biggest project you’ve worked on for Londoners? 

My role is Senior Delivery Manager, within the Digital & innovation Team at Westminster City Council.  The single biggest project I have led, given the complexity, number and diversity of stakeholders and critical nature of the service was my last project, the Contact Centre Transformation.  

This involved the seamless replacement of the old contact centre platform with the new Microsoft Dynamics 365 platform. We updated Interactive Voice Responses (IVRs) across Housing, Housing Needs, and the Corporate contact centres, and introduced automation and AI, including real-time transcription, using Copilot to support efficient call summarisation and case note creation, surfacing of knowledge articles in real time, and live sentiment analysis. All of this was aimed at improving both the customer and agent experience. 

2.   Describe a moment this year when you truly felt the impact of your work on the community. 

Working with the Contact Centre has been an incredible 12-month journey and privilege. I’ve loved taking a step closer to the front line where I could see how we can really make a difference for our residents and customers. Our goal on the project was to simplify contact and resolution where possible through increased self-serve and automation, whilst protecting human contact for the most complex interactions and for our most vulnerable customers. I believe this transformation project has made the step on this journey and laid the foundations for the next phase of broadening chatbot availability, introducing language translation and video where use cases exist. 

3.   What is the most complex or ambitious technical problem you are currently trying to solve for your borough? 

Good quality data is essential, my team’s current challenge and ambition is to ensure our customer records are accurate, maintained to a high standard and retained in accordance with General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) legislation. To ensure we are making data led decisions and can target our Council resources as efficiently and effectively as possible. 

4.   Describe your average day. What time are you up, what time do you finish and what does your day look like? What kind of meetings are you in, and what is the biggest deliverable you’re currently focused on? 

I adopt a flexible approach to my working hours, driven by my childcare responsibilities and 9-day fortnight. I’m generally up by 0630, and either heading to the office, or getting my two children up and ready for school.  

My days are often meeting heavy. A mix of recurring Delivery Team and Enabling Governance meetings and project ceremonies, in addition to ad hoc project meetings with suppliers, IT or contact centre SMEs.

The biggest deliverable at present is defining, testing and deploying video and translation within the new contact centre platform, whilst defining in full phase 2 of the transformation programme. 

5.   What’s the soundtrack to your commute, or your go-to podcast for the journey? 

My music taste is very eclectic. What I listen to on any given day is determined by the mood I am in, or the mood I want to get to. Sometimes, I prefer to jump off the bus early and walk across Westminster Bridge and into the City of Westminster, a joy and a privilege, even in the rain, and just listen to the sounds of the City waking up and starting the day. 

6.   Which non-technical teams do you work most closely with (e.g., social workers, housing officers), and what is the most surprising thing you’ve learned from them? 

Currently the Contact Centre team, including Housing, Housing Needs and Corporate, in addition to the Out of Hours team. The breadth of their knowledge and commitment to getting the job done has impressed me hugely. My key learning from the team, in a world where hybrid / remote is often the norm, is the importance of spending regular time as a team, in the same location and interacting face-to-face.  

7.   Where do you usually grab lunch in the borough? 

There are plenty of great places in Victoria; Tatchbrook Street and Strutton Ground markets and the Market Halls are favourites for team lunches and the Onion cafe (a true gem) is great for team coffees and chats. St James’s Park is on our doorstep and a great option for a quick circuit at lunch and catching up with colleagues. 

8. Aside from the pension and flexible hours, what’s the most unexpected or best perk of working in local government? 

Our office views are spectacular, with the building located halfway along Victoria Street, we can see for miles across London, including Westminster Cathedral, Big Ben, Buckingham Palace and various parks. The canteen is located on the 19th floor, making it the prime location for viewing London whilst recharging and working.  

9. How does the council support your continued professional development in tech and data? 

Westminster Council is supportive of staff taking time away from the office for events and external training opportunities and we are encouraged in the Digital & Innovation team to share our insights and learning with all staff after any events we attend. We are working to develop a calendar of future events and opportunities so that we take an inclusive approach to engaging in learning opportunities. 

10. Do you mentor or coach junior staff? What is the one piece of advice you always give to someone starting out in local gov? 

Yes, it’s one of my favourite things to do. I successfully completed a Level 5 professional coaching apprenticeship in 2022 and have been developing my coaching style ever since.  

I have coached a wide variety of people from across Westminster and Kensington over the past 3 years, many of whom return to me after an extended break with new goals and / or challenges they’d like to work through. I also have a team within Delivery with whom I adopt a coaching and mentoring style, which we work on together to tailor to their needs and the needs of the project and team. 

My advice is to be curious, ask questions and get involved in opportunities, including secondments. It’s an excellent way to broaden your experience and find your interests, build skills and networks. 

11. How do you switch off after a busy day? What is your favourite thing to do in London after 6 PM? 

I’m more of a morning person and organise my activities before work to kick my day off well. I love to run (when not injured) and swim in Tooting lido (yes, all year round!); this helps me create a positive mindset for the day ahead. After 6pm, I’m in mum mode, making dinner, eating as a family, completing homework and bedtime routines. There’s not much time afterwards for relaxing, but I always find time for a book. 

12. If a highly skilled professional from a major tech company asked you why they should leave the private sector to join local government tech, what would you tell them? 

We all need and deserve high quality public services throughout our lifetime and that of our family and friends.  

Please consider what skills and experience you have to offer which could help transform public services. The variety of services and under-lying technology solutions, skills required, diversity of experience, challenges and complexities of delivering statutory and non-statutory services are vast, especially when budget and scrutiny considerations are built into decision making.  Are you up for the challenge? 

13. Complete the sentence: “My job is challenging, but every day I am reminded that I am…” 

….having a positive impact on the lives and wellbeing of my colleagues, residents and those who engage with the City of Westminster.