Featuring Jennie Dicker, Regional Administration Manager
When Jennie Dicker joined Salus ten years ago, it was meant to be a simple career shift. Her daughter had just started secondary school, and she was looking for a role that fitted a new routine.
“I came in as a part-timer in the afternoons, just doing general admin,” she recalls. “I’d always done bits of admin work, but I’d been at Next for nearly ten years in their back office, looking after audits for the store. I just wanted a change.”
A decade later, Jennie is Regional Administration Manager, leading a team of administrators across the South of England. Her story is one of steady growth, transferable skills, and stepping up to leadership at a time no one could have predicted.
Finding the Right Fit
Coming from retail into building control might sound like a leap, but Jennie found more crossover than she expected.
“In retail I was doing a lot of auditing, reporting, and making sure everything was recorded properly. That carried straight over. Now, my team and I run reports, track targets, make sure we’re recording things correctly for audits—it’s just in a different setting.”
The real learning curve was the language. “The technical vocabulary was all new. I was constantly putting my hand up going, ‘What are you talking about?’ But bit by bit you pick it up. You learn as you go.”
Stepping Into Leadership—Right at Lockdown
Jennie’s move into management came at a pivotal moment—not just for her, but for the whole company.
“I started the Regional Admin Manager role the same week we went into lockdown,” she says. “It was a bit hair-raising. I’d been at Salus about five years, gone from part-time to full-time, and they asked me to manage the teams. And then suddenly, the world changed.”
Her team of nine or ten administrators were scattered—some remote, some hybrid, some office-based. “It was all brand new. But we made it work. We found ways to stay connected, to support each other, and to keep the work on track.”
The Hidden Engine Room of Building Control
Ask Jennie what her role is really about, and she’s quick to put the spotlight on her team.
“They’re the ones making sure the right information is in the right place at the right time. Without that, the surveyors can’t do their job properly. It’s a lot of detail, a lot of process—but it’s what keeps everything moving.”
It’s a reminder that administration isn’t a background function. It’s the structure that supports every inspection, every client project, every compliance report.
Growing with Salus
Jennie is clear that her career growth has been supported every step of the way.
“I’ve had training, I’ve done courses, and I’ve been promoted into new roles as I’ve grown. I never came in with a plan to be a manager, but Salus gave me the opportunities and the confidence to do it.”
It’s a message that speaks directly to anyone wondering if they need a technical background to join the industry. “I didn’t,” she says. “But you bring your skills with you, and you learn the rest here.”
Looking Ahead
Ten years in, Jennie says she’s proud of what she and her team have achieved. “It’s been a nice journey, really. I’ve been able to take the skills I already had, build new ones, and move into people management. That’s been the biggest change—supporting a team, not just doing the work myself,” it’s clear she’s proud to represent the admin function at Salus.
Because in building control, as in any technical business, the visible work rests on an invisible foundation. And for Jennie, building and leading that foundation has become her career.