COMS move into new premises & expand the team
Cumbria O&M Services have enjoyed significant growth over the past few years and we have recently expanded into larger offices in Derwentwater Pavilion on the Westlakes Science Park in Whitehaven. As a result of new contracts and projects, we have also taken on a new Business Development Coordinator to meet the demands of our growing organisation.
Amy Sutherland joined us in April 2022. With an expanding workforce and the additional workload this brings to business functions, we were looking for someone who could work closely with the Directors, hit the ground running and free up our management time to focus on other areas of the business.
Having set up and managed two separate businesses in the private care sector, Amy’s skill set brings a fresh perspective to many of the COMS business functions.
Amy, who is originally from Kilmarnock, started working in the private care sector aged 17, and in 2012 founded and developed the organisation Living for Life Cumbria Ltd. The organisation provides a range of services in Supported Living, Residential, Crisis support, Employment and Education in purpose-built properties in Cumbria to individuals with learning disabilities, Autism and Mental Health disorders.
In her new role as Business Development Coordinator, Amy will work closely with the Directors at COMS to deliver a range of management, business support and administration activities. This includes delivering the COMS corporate strategy, HR policies, quality management and contract management processes.
Amy commented,
“I really enjoy the relaxed and friendly atmosphere at COMS, and everyone has been really welcoming. I am embracing the challenge of the new role, which has enabled me to apply my transferable skills and put them to use in an entirely new sector. The team have also been really accommodating with my childcare needs as a single Mum and that kind of flexibility and support within a company is greatly appreciated.”
With new contracts, projects and expansion come more employees and as the team expands in the future, the directors of COMS made the decision to move to bigger office space within the West Lakes Science Park.
Cliff Woodman, Business Director at COMS comments,
“Our offices were starting to get a bit cramped, and we realised if we were to grow the business, our office space needed to grow too. During the pandemic, we all worked from home, but now as we are gradually all start working in the office again we needed more space.
We work with a team of over fifty, including external consultants, but as we start employing more people, taking on graduates and developing our apprenticeship scheme the old office was no longer viable. It’s been great that we could move to a bigger space at Westlakes as this provides a great base for us and aids further expansion into the future.”
Moving forward, we are looking to create an opportunity for a school leaver to start a career in Business Administration through an appropriate apprenticeship scheme. We’re also looking to develop our HR processes, career progression and development to attract new talent to Cumbria and the Nuclear industry.