Our people

We strongly believe that our people are at the heart of everything we do. We employ over 250 employees across the department with hundreds of extra casual staff across the year adding value to the services we provide.

ACS and Residence Life Staff at intro weekend 2019
Off

We embed our strong values and beliefs into our colleagues from the beginning of their journey with us and throughout their entire career. With a customer-centric attitude, we provide an outstanding service every time - exceeding expectations for both students and visitors.

Following a £160 million investment, achieved in collaboration with a partner organisation, our student residences at Endcliffe and Ranmoor are among the best in the country, providing modern accommodation and social facilities for students as well as state-of-the-art conference and event spaces.


The Directorate

Caryn Masters - Director of ACS and UNICUS

Caryn joined the University in 2011 bringing with her 20 years experience gained in both the private and public sector in the UK and South Africa.

As Director of Accommodation and Commercial Services, Caryn is responsible for the teams who provide a range of services and facilities to staff, students and visitors across the University, including student accommodation, catering and delivered hospitality, conferences and event management. In addition, Caryn is a Director of UNICUS, a wholly owned subsidiary company of the University. UNICUS was set up in 2012 to develop a commercial proposition to enhance the offer to the University. UNICUS operates a two hotels, a village store for the community, a high end restaurant and a number of retail outlets.

Tel: +44 114 222 8905 Email: c.masters@sheffield.ac.uk

Ian Jones - Deputy Director of ACS and UNICUS

Ian joined the University in 2007 and before that worked at Royal Holloway, University of London, Sodexho and London School of Economics.

Tel: +44 114 222 8924 Email: i.r.jones@sheffield.ac.uk

David McKown - Head of Training and Quality

David McKown is a Fellow of the Institute of Hospitality and joined the University of Sheffield in 1992. David is a qualified trainer and Further Education Teacher.

Achievements in his career to date include the Cost Sector Catering Award for the University/College Sector and the TUCO Award for Outstanding Contribution to the Sector. In 1998, he created the internationally renowned Skills for Chefs Conference which takes place each year during the summer.

David was awarded Honorary Membership of the Master Chefs of Great Britain (MCGB) in 2012 having developed and supported the organisation since 1996 when he invited the MCGB to present a dinner at the University of Sheffield. This dinner is now an annual event at the University.

In 2011, David became a Director of University Hospitality Seminars Ltd., a company that designs, organises and delivers training for staff working in higher education institutions across the UK. David has lectured at a wide range of higher education institutions in England, Scotland & Wales.

Tel: +44 114 222 8907 Email: d.mckown@sheffield.ac.uk

Hayley Breckney - Head of Finance

Tel: +44 114 222 1548 Email: h.breckney@sheffield.ac.uk

Recognising our people's achievements

We recognise the importance of our employees and we have several initiatives in place to develop and reward them.

Our department has consistently been awarded the Investors in People standard, a national quality framework, which helps us to improve performance and realise our objectives through effective management and development of employees.

Training and quality are at the heart of the ethos of the department, for which we employ a dedicated Head of Training and Quality.

Staff Awards

We hold an annual Staff Awards Evening where we recognise colleagues who have worked at the University for a number of years, those with exemplary attendance and those who have achieved nationally recognised training awards.

It also gives us the opportunity to announce the winners of the People’s Awards, in which a shortlist of candidates is nominated by their colleagues within the department. The People’s Award winners are then decided by a judging panel, recognising the exceptional contributions that our colleagues have made during the course of the year.

Inspiring leadership

We aim to provide a motivational and inspiring work environment for employees, leading by example with initiatives such as “Back to the Floor”, where individuals in senior management roles spend a day carrying out a completely different job role such as housekeeping or portering.

Our ACS conferences engage employees from all teams in discussion and activities, which enable them to meet people in different teams and to provide feedback or add their ideas to projects that are happening in ACS.

As well as events, we also have several written communications. Our quarterly ACS newsletters are an informal way for employees to share news with their colleagues across the department, whether they have become a parent, are looking forward to retirement after a long service or have participated in a charity fundraising event. Our quarterly ACS briefings provide employees with important business updates in a bite-size format that is easy to comprehend.

A global reputation

Sheffield is a research university with a global reputation for excellence. We're a member of the Russell Group: one of the 24 leading UK universities for research and teaching.