Nicola Ainslie

Accomplished Director within the property sector with an established track record of working directly with CEOs, investors, and business owners from across the world to unlock UK investment opportunities. Experienced in recruiting, training & managing high performance teams to achieve sales targets & growth. Skilled operator with the ability to improve performance through analysis and improvement of systems, processes and culture. Passionate about delivering client requirements and establishing a reputation for going above-and-beyond. Energised about new opportunities and seeks a senior management role with a focus on achieving business growth and profitability.

Sales Business Director

Sandstone Investment 

Edinburgh

January 2018 - August 2023

This board level position focused on streamlining and improving business operations to drive growth. A wide ranging and diverse senior management post with four core functions, each designed to improved business efficacy and foster a culture of excellence.

Managing Third Party Suppliers: It was my responsibility to contract with and actively oversee third party suppliers who were key to our property investment and development model. This required me to foster strong relationships and utilise excellent interpersonal skills with a view to reducing cost, maximising operational efficiency and promoting growth. The key third party functions I oversaw in this fashion were surveying and legal services and each of these crucial contracts tied directly to business performance. Strong advocacy skills were required when engaging with surveyors to ensure our client's properties could return maximum end value while my focus when overseeing legals and conveyancing was to ensure the acquisition team could settle promptly and efficiently.

Business Analysis and Review: I was responsible for analysing core business functions and carrying out an outcome focused review process designed to improve performance. The scale and scope of these varied however notable successes are detailed below. My review of cash flow management within the development process identified improvements that could be made to improve our cash flow model and allow for quicker completion and sale. I also worked closely with our Financial Director annually to review and update the cost modelling tool utilised across the business to ensure that our proposed residential property developments were profitable and returned maximum margin. Finally, the analysis and review of labour costs across the business was essential and informed much of my subsequent work regarding recruitment, training and retention.

Operational Procedures: As well as analysing business performance I also managed the ongoing development and creation of our operating procedures across the business. These procedures were then utilised and trained by department heads to ensure consistency and compliance with company values. Specific examples of procedures that required focus include property management and repairs where newly introduced operating mechanisms allowed us to complete repairs more promptly and at a reduced cost. Our procedures for project managing property developments were a core focus as the introduction of a "landing slot" system allowed the business to better spread costs while preventing operational log jams.

Recruitment, Training and Culture: It was my responsibility to oversee the successful recruitment, training and retention of our teams across investment, property acquisition and operations. In a challenging recruitment market I oversaw the introduction of a Trimetrix based assessment that improved team capability to world-class levels. I also ensured that as a business we were coaching and training team members to develop their skills and knowledge while supporting my colleagues on the Senior Leadership Team by fostering a culture of excellence.

• Studing towards full DISC TTI Accreditation

• NFoPP Technical Award in Residential Letting & Property Management ARLA // 2012