“I am a disruptor and get bored quickly” Jens Gemmel, Systems Thinking Practitioner and Interim Chief Operating Officer, Plymouth City Council

My values have been influenced by my parents who were refugees from Germany. The idea that people get left behind and need support is something that has shaped me. My parents experienced homelessness, and I am aware of how easy it is for anyone to slip into crisis. I grew up surrounded by the ethos that you should give back to society.

I grew up in Germany but ran away to study economics and sociology at university in Canada. After a short-lived dream to become a Middle East Peace Envoy in Lebanon I moved to Oslo to research applied concepts of manufacturing consent with a focus on Palestine and its region. I re-located to London 26 years ago.

I embraced the dot-com technological revolution which was happening at the time and developed my own e-learning platform. I sold this and moved into consultancy.  Tony Blair was Prime Minister with an agenda of digital transformation, and I became an e-government advisor to the Prime Minister’s Breakfast Club. We were exploring and developing digital solutions which could streamline efficiency and improve services in many areas, including local government.

This led me into a career of strategic government transformation and interim director roles which suit my skill set and personality. I am a problem solver, not a bridge builder. I am a disruptor and I tend to get bored quickly. The kind of roles I take on require resilience and focus and as an Interim you are always a bit of an outsider. I already feel this way in the UK to some extent as a foreigner; I didn’t go to the schools or universities that are common to many people who make up the ‘establishment’. My assignments tend to be 12-24 months, so I need to be ready, gear up and deliver quickly.  I have worked with local authorities all over the UK including London and Birmingham and I am currently Interim Chief Operating Officer of Plymouth City Council.

Since the UK moved into what I call ‘perm-austerity’, the challenges for local authorities have escalated. Instead of trying to drive more efficiency from budgets, councils are now aiming to maintain standards with less money. Alongside increasing demands in areas like Children Services, SEND, Adult Social Care and homelessness, it’s no wonder some local authorities are facing bankruptcy.

Machine learning and data insights present a huge opportunity for government, helping organisations manage demand through early help & support and intervention. AI enables us to understand and forecast future trends which in turn can free up resources and enable good decisions about allocating them in the right places. The current government is embracing this AI and Data driven prevention-first approach and developing a blueprint which can be rolled out to cities and communities across the country.

Being an Interim can be lonely. I don’t have a big consultancy team behind me, so IoD membership provides a valuable network of support. The IoD has helped me broaden my connections outside the public sector and since being twice Highly Commended for the IoD National Director of the Year, lots of people have reached out. IoD membership has opened my career horizons and I am conscious that the people I am meeting via my membership could take my career in a new and exciting direction. Who knows what’s coming but the next adventure may just be around the corner.