Ellen Wichert has traversed roles, seas and cities since joining Portakabin in 2021. We caught up with her to hear more about her career journey and her hopes for the future.
“I first joined Portakabin as Marketing Manager for the Netherlands in June 2020. Since then I’ve moved to the UK and worked my way up to Marketing Manager for England & Wales, and now Marketing Manager for UK & Ireland.”
“I always had a vision that one day I would live and work abroad. My dad travelled a lot for work and I studied International Communications, and International Business at University, although I had always envisioned moving to a warmer country!’
“So most of all I’m proud to say that I actually did it! I had the courage to make that leap.
“Portakabin supported my relocation to the UK and the Marketing team have been fantastic in helping me feel right at home here. York is a fairly small city compared to Rotterdam which made it easy to find my feet quickly and meet new people. I made it a mission to find the best local coffee shop straight away; Spring Espresso is my favourite. Here in the UK they do proper coffee, although I did have to buy a Nespresso machine for the office as soon as I arrived! However I’ve yet to find a Wine & Cheese bar that beats Verward in Rotterdam.
“Since taking on the role of Marketing Manager for UK & Ireland, I’m now managing a team of 4 which has been a new but rewarding challenge.
“At university I studied modules in HR, Corporate Finance and Business Management which has really helped me understand a business’ structure and people management.
“This year I am travelling a lot to meet the commercial team at our regional hire centres. Everything we do in Marketing is to support the objectives of the business units, so I’m looking forward to building relationships with my colleagues here this year.
“Switching from the Netherlands Business to the UK was a shift. Portakabin in the Netherlands is like its own smaller company where as in the UK, each BU is so expansive they are like their own smaller companies in their own right.
“Seeing this scale has made me even more proud of the work I do and the company I work for.”
At Portakabin, we recognise that the talent of our people is the foundation of our success. That’s why we are dedicated to developing your skills throughout your career by providing high-quality learning and development opportunities. Interested in a career with Portakabin? Take a look at our current vacancies.