International Women’s Day 2022

On the 8th of March, the world celebrated International Women's Day and this year's theme is based on the world delivering "Gender Equality Today for a Sustainable Tomorrow".

At JR&Co, we have a long-term commitment to equal opportunity in recruitment, training, promotion and remuneration. We fully support and endorse International Women's Day's motto to celebrate women's achievements, raise awareness against bias and take action for equality.

To mark this date, we have undertaken a range of interviews with women in our company from different backgrounds, job roles and service lengths.


Caroline Hutchins

Caroline Hutchins - JR&Co

Caroline Hutchins is the Operations Director at JR&Co and a key member of the company's operational board. Caroline joined us in 2014 as General Manager and in 2018 was promoted to her current role.

After transitioning from a career in food retail and before joining Julius Rutherfoord, Caroline worked for 16 years at various other cleaning companies, where she undertook a range of roles and developed her know-how about the cleaning industry.

Today, her job involves an array of different tasks with her main goals being to ensure that our clients are happy with the services we are providing; our Managers and Divisional Directors are working well and are proactive and innovative; and that our cleaners are looked after, trained and equipped with all the means necessary to perform their work.

When asked about what she enjoys more about her role, Caroline has no doubts about nominating the people she works with. She loves the contact with people from different cultures and backgrounds; from our clients to our cleaners, the human connection with so many different personalities is challenging but exciting.

Caroline chose JR&Co due to our values and how much we genuinely care about everyone that joins our company or becomes our client.

Outside work, Caroline enjoys spending time in her garden and she is growing her own vegs! She loves spending time with her family and her dogs in the countryside.

Caroline is a beloved and admired member of JR&Co and we are delighted to have benefitted from her approach and expertise over the last 7 and a half years. 



Jelena Smola

Jelena Smola - JR&CoJelena Smola joined JR&Co in November 2020 as Payroll Administrator after a long career in HR. Like many others, Jelena was made redundant during the pandemic and saw an opportunity to chase her desire to change careers.

Even though she had no previous experience in payroll, her transferrable skills were plentiful and she was given the opportunity and the appropriate training to succeed in her current position.

As a Payroll Administrator, Jelena’s primary role is to ensure that our people are paid correctly and on time. Besides processing wages, Jelena is responsible for creating payroll reports and providing ongoing payroll training to the managers.

She appreciates the development opportunities given and loves the contact with her team and the Operations Managers she works with. Our office location is also fantastic, with Jelena only having a 20-minute walk to the office!

Jelena came to the UK from Lithuania over 20 years ago and speaks 3 languages fluently including Russian, Lithuanian and English. She also has a basic understanding of Ukrainian and Polish.

In her free time, Jelena enjoys spending quality time with her family and her lovely cat, Businka.

 


Jheinyffer Pignolato

Jheinyffer PignolatoJheinyffer Pignolato is the Cleaning Supervisor at Queen's Gate Schools and has been working for JR&Co for almost four years.

Jheinyffer came to the UK 19 years ago from Brazil and initially worked in hospitality. When she decided to change careers, she became Cleaning Supervisor at Apple, where she worked for over 6 years, before accepting a position with JR&Co.

Her daily tasks involve managing and training a team of 12 people in two different schools (Junior and Senior). She is also in charge of ensuring the excellence of standards is met every day.

Jheinyffer loves the contact with people and appreciates the dedication and hard work of her team. She likes to work with JR&Co because she gets all the support she needs from her Manager Beatriz Santos and feels that the company really cares about their people and pays correctly and on time.

Jheinyffer is full of energy and loves a good challenge. She loves to read, go to the gym and spend quality time with her son. She is also improving her English skills to be able to enrol in university to study for a Business and Management degree.



Jacqueline Rodgers

Jacqueline Rodgers - JR&Co

Jacqueline Rodgers, better known as Jackie, joined the cleaning team at Muschamp Primary School four months ago.

Even though she has started recently, Jackie is already a loved member of the Julius Rutherfoord family. Her willingness to thrive and deliver outstanding results doesn’t go unnoticed and she quickly became a vital part of the team.

With a busy and successful career in cleaning, Jacqueline has privileged experience in offices, schools, and also in domestic cleaning.

She likes to work for JR&Co because she is treated fairly and has the support needed from her Manager Beatriz Santos.

In her spare time, Jackie enjoys spending time walking her dog and cooking.

 



Adriana Silva

Adriana Silva - JR&Co

Adriana Silva is one of our Payroll Administrators. She joined JR&Co 3 years ago as a cleaning operative and, due to her hard work and dedication, quickly progressed to supervisor. Not even a year into the company and Adriana took a position as a Payroll Administrator.

JR&Co was her first and only employer in the UK and she stayed with us due to the career opportunities and support we offer. Originally from Portugal, Adriana had previous experience in finance-related roles, which proved to be vital to her quick adaptation to our office.

Her primary responsibility is to ensure our people are paid correctly and on time and she also assists with reports and answers to queries from employees.

Adriana has an easy-going and fun personality and outside work she enjoys listening to music, dancing and spending time with friends.

 

 

Vanda Magalhaes

Vanda Magalhaes - JR&Co
Vanda Magalhaes joined the JR&Co family in 2014 and is now the supervisor at the Holy Trinity CE Primary School.

Vanda, originally from Angola, came to the UK in 1998 and undertook various jobs before starting her career in the cleaning industry.

As a cleaning supervisor, Vanda manages and supports a small team at the school and ensures the best cleaning standards are met every day to guarantee that pupils, teachers and school staff are in a healthy and safe environment.

Vanda takes immense pride in the work she does and appreciates all the support she receives from her Manager, Victor Duarte. She enjoys the flexible working hours and the stability this job gives her.

Outside of work, Vanda likes to spend time with her kids and support their development. She is also involved in many charity activities and supports the community.

 

Beatriz Santos

Beatriz Santos - JR&Co


Beatriz Santos is Senior Operations Manager at JR&Co. She directly manages 19 client sites and supports one Area Manager.

Beatriz came to the UK over 30 years ago and worked as a translator and interpreter. When she decided to change her career path, she moved into a site supervisor role with another cleaning company, where she remained for 20 years. In this company, Beatriz progressed to Commercial Contracts Manager.

She joined JR&Co in 2018 and her current role involves ensuring that the cleaning service in all her sites is covered, training and supporting her teams, and meeting with the clients to understand their ongoing needs and making sure the standards are met.

Her favourite part of the job is the people. The contact with so many different people and cultures is exciting and challenging and, for Beatriz, teamwork is essential. The flexibility this role involves is also a plus.

In her spare time, Beatriz likes to swim, read and spend time with friends and family.

 

 

Breheny Jenkins

Breheny Jenkins - JR&CoBreheny Jenkins MSc, better known as Bree, is JR&Co's Senior Business Development Manager. Bree joined the Julius Rutherfoord family in 2010 and her job is to develop new business, and assist with the growth of the company. Her job entails meeting potential clients, understanding their requirements and issues and developing the bespoke and innovative solutions that JR&Co are known for.

Bree has always worked in sales, working in recruitment advertising for the Associated Press, being part of the team at Juno Records before embarking on an entrepreneurial venture in the development of a specialised music shop, Dancetrax Ltd, in Spitalfields. She was then enthralled by the interior design sector working at English Home where she managed a select prestige client base from UK and European markets before finally ending up in the cleaning sector!

Her favourite aspects of the job are meeting new potential clients, developing rapport, understanding their business needs and culture, and putting forward tailored, innovative solutions that go above and beyond client expectations.

When asked why she has stayed with JR&Co for so long, Bree said that it is still genuinely refreshing to work for a company that delivers exactly what it says it will. Bree says it’s also so much easier to sell a service you believe in. JR&Co is excellent at supporting its staff, embracing new ideas and trialling new, innovation.

Bree is passionate about people and has a very easy-going personality. She loves to work for an organisation with such a great family feeling and to see how much the company has grown to become London's best cleaning company, really makes her proud.

In her spare time, Bree likes walking, running, archery, doing yoga, and cooking and eating good food while spending time with friends. As an animal lover, she also rescues cats, the ones with attitude!

 

 

Isabella Lopez

Isabella Lopez - JR&CoIsabella Lopez is the new Contract Manager at Latymer Upper School, managing 18 employees.

Isabella comes from a Travel and Tourism Management background. When the pandemic hit, she was managing a team in a tour company contact centre. The tourism sector was one of the most affected and, after a few months on furlough, she was made redundant.

JR&Co had a position available for Contract Manager in a prestigious law firm. Isabella's transferable skills and her willingness to learn did not go unnoticed, and she was hired and excelled in her role. She has recently undertaken the challenge of managing a team in a school.

Isabella's role involves organising and structuring the team to evenly distribute the workload, giving ongoing training to her team and ensuring that the high cleaning standards are met.

She likes the challenge of dealing with people from different backgrounds and cultures and is happy with demanding situations, a personality trait she has had since a young age. When she ended her studies, she flew to Columbia, where she stayed for 5 years teaching English as a Foreign Language.

Outside of work, Isabella likes to spend her time with family and friends and enjoys experiencing new foods and restaurants.

 

Elena Álvarez

Elena Alvarez - JR&Co
Elena Álvarez joined JR&Co 9 months ago and is one of our HR Officers. Elena is responsible for TUPE transfers and consultations, inducting new recruits and staff training and development.

She holds a master’s degree in HR and started her career with an internship in Spain. When she decided to come to the UK to develop her English skills, Elena worked as an au pair for a year and started volunteering with a recruitment agency for nannies in their HR department. She had a few more work experiences before joining JR&Co.

Elena likes to work with people on a daily basis. She is passionate about helping people and welcoming new employees to the company. For Elena, working at JR&Co feels like a big family – all departments work together to achieve our common goals and there’s a mix of cultures from different backgrounds that all pull together in the same direction.

Elena is now focused on deepening her knowledge in all other aspects of HR and is getting involved with the BICSc accredited training we provide to our exceptional teams.

Outside of work, Elena is a very sporty person. She likes to practice yoga, cycle and run. She is even organising a running team in JR&Co! Elena likes new adventures and, during her last holiday, she climbed Mount Kilimanjaro.

 

 

Sue Parker

Sue Parker - JR&Co


Sue Parker is a hands-on Senior Operations Manager that started her career in the industry as a cleaner, before rapidly progressing.

Sue commenced working with JR&Co in 2009, when we secured the Merton schools cleaning contract. Fast-forwarding to today, Sue is a highly qualified cleaning professional managing c.50 schools and 180 cleaners. She supports her team with continuous training and by ensuring they have all the tools needed to deliver high cleaning standards.

She is committed to being on the ground with her teams and in constant contact with her clients. Sue treats all her cleaners fairly and knows them all individually.

She finds her job very fulfilling and enjoyable and, outside of work, Sue loves spending time with her son.