Aberdeen City Council’s Building Services division undertakes £50million worth of work each year and is responsible for the maintenance of almost 24,000 council houses and renovation of many other public buildings.
So it would make sense that the local authority’s new operations manager, responsible for a staff of about 500 in this section of the organisation, should come from a construction background, right?
Well, no. Instead, Aberdeen City Council has appointed Kiemon Stewart – a Royal Air Force pilot and member of Mensa – to the post. Having been based at RAF Kinloss for the majority of his career, 39-year-old Kiemon flew the Nimrod MR2 spy plane.
He has spent the past 16 years flying combat operations including clandestine missions over Iraq and Afghanistan, where he was awarded the Operation Services Medal with Clasp, which suggests he was doing something above and beyond the call of duty. He has also been a base commander in Afghanistan in charge of a facility delivering airborne operations, but due to the classified nature of the work that is all we get to know. It seems Kiemon has had a very secretive but challenging career.
So how does his background make him the preferred choice for Aberdeen City Council operations manager?
Kiemon explained: “Regardless of speciality, every Royal Air Force officer is the result of an arduous selection and training process. During your training, you learn unrivalled leadership and management skills at RAF College Cranwell where the emphasis is on working together to achieve targets, on time and in demanding conditions. This develops an individual’s natural confidence and hones their innate leadership ability.
“I plan to bring the skills I honed in the Royal Air Force to Aberdeen City Council and critically examine the way my section of the organisation operates. I want to challenge the notion that things in the council never change and I am delighted to note my Aberdeen City Council colleagues have the same can-do attitude I am used to in the RAF.”
A first step in the process will see Kiemon undertaking the transformational work required to gain ISO 9,000 accreditation, a standard which recognises organisations which meet the needs of customers and stakeholders.
Kiemon added: “Key to taking the Building Services division forward is harnessing the incredible work ethic inherent in council staff and developing all the latent good ideas that have yet to be tapped into.
“Ultimately I want to ensure Building Services operates to maximum efficiency and work closely with a team that has the courage to make difficult decisions, challenge the status quo and, most importantly, deliver an outstanding and cost-effective service to the residents of Aberdeen.”