Shuchi Jain

Said the following about Jamie Howells - **HAS LEFT**:

“It would be an absolute pleasure to nominate Jamie Howells as Rail Manager of the year.

Jamie is the type of manager that, as people come and go under his tutelage in their careers, will find themselves constantly referring to the advice or example he has set in every workplace scenario. From the moment people join his team, through challenging workplace periods to moments of success, each colleague I’ve spoken to has held their experience with Jamie as a blueprint on how to rise to the occasion in the greatest manner possible.

During my time at Poise, I’ve witnessed Jamie create a culture of design delivery of the highest possible standard, with a focus on gaining a true understanding of the client’s requirements and delivering accordingly. This has been achieved by demonstrating to his team an extremely high-energy work ethic, a true pride in a job well done and a sincere honesty which becomes immediately apparent to those working with him. The example he sets becomes the target which his team can’t help but be inspired by. When the results are then obtained, people then really start to love where they work.

Amongst the many successful delivery of projects which Jamie has achieved during his time at Poise, an early example comes to mind when he delivered 70 detailed designs in 6 weeks for a Location Case Project for Network Rail’s signalling team. The appointment arose in a very short time and required an immediate turn around. Not one to shirk from a challenge, Jamie coordinated a team, liaised with all relevant stakeholders to gain an understanding on what the designs required and set to work. Due to the workload involved, many were sceptical about delivery times but once delivered, Poise Group became the “go-to” consultant for this client and remain so to this day.

The sterilisation design for Temple Station as part of the Garden Bridge Project was a standout success due to the nature of how the design was delivered. Again, tight deadlines were to be maintained and this being a high-profile project, required a perfectly accurate design to cater for each stakeholder needs. Each of the major stakeholders were identified early on and constantly engaged throughout the design project. This had the double benefit of ensuring that the client was receiving a design which they were sure was correct and clearly understood, and also contained innovative approaches from multiple sources. The project was delivered to time and budget and Poise Group were commended on their product.

The biggest success for our company to date has been the delivery of Wessex Circuit Main Shorting Devices for Network Rail. The project required a concept design for an innovate approach to rail isolation across 14 Network Rail sites. Due to the nature of the project, guidance was sought from the design team on how best to implement this new technology, and ensure all relevant teams in Network Rail agreed with the approach taken. To achieve this, Jamie created a resource loaded delivery plan with large periods for discussion of approach, both internally and with the client. This approach adopted by Jamie not only led the designs to be delivered as much as 6 weeks in advance of the contractual programme, but was also very well received by the NR electrification team (evidenced by us receiving the highest acceptance score). Due to the foresight and planning put in place by Jamie, the workplace remained a pleasure to be in throughout the project, which given the external pressures, speaks volumes of the culture Jamie created.

For all the reasons mentioned above and more, Jamie is an inspirational manager who not only motivates his team to achieve results that they initially thought beyond them, many of his ex-colleagues I’ve spoken to have been more than willing to share similar experiences. This is not surprising given his infectious energy, his empathetic approach to all team member’s situations and just general friendliness and positivity. No doubt he will continue to develop this ability and even more people will benefit in the years to come. For these reasons, Jamie Howells is the ideal candidate for Rail Manager of the Year.“