Stacey Kelly
Stacey Kelly is a respected name in Ireland’s facilities management (FM) sector, with an 11-and-a-half-year career at Apleona that has taken her from the service desk to her current role as Director of Facilities.
Early in her professional journey, she studied facilities management at Portobello Institute, now home to the Centre for Sustainable Facilities Management, connecting the practical side of FM with the theory behind it.
Finding FM and Learning the Industry from the Ground Up
Stacey joined Apleona, a leading facilities management and real estate provider, in a service desk role. This, she recognises, gave her an early view of the breadth of the industry and how different parts of FM connect.
“The service desk is the heartbeat of all our clients,” she says. “You see the clients ringing in, you get to speak to all the engineers on the road, and you really get to know the business from that space.”
Within just a few months, Stacey knew she wanted to deepen that understanding. She was gaining practical experience every day but saw the value in developing the theory to underpin the work she was already doing.
Stacey explains: “I really enjoyed it. I thought, I’m doing the practical. I also want the theory piece.
“I looked it up and, at the time, Portobello Institute was the only institute I could find that was in the FM space and had a dedicated course for facilities management.
“The company already knew Portobello, so when I suggested studying there, they were happy to go for it. It was a natural fit really.”
In 2016, Stacey enrolled on the BIFM Level 3 in Workplace and Facilities Management, a programme Portobello offered when the Institute of Workplace and Facilities Management (IWFM) operated as the British Institute of Facilities Management (BIFM).
Today, Portobello offers a clear FM progression pathway, from the IWFM Level 4 Certificate in Facilities Management and IWFM Level 5 Diploma through to an undergraduate honours degree, and postgraduate study up to master’s level with the MSc Strategic Facilities Leadership.
Putting Theory to Work
Balancing a full-time role with a year of study gave Stacey the opportunity to learn in context, using her workplace experience to bring the theory to life and apply it directly to her role.
“The lecturer I had, Gerry Kelly, was brilliant and really engaging,” says Stacey. “He gave us theories, practical examples, and his own experience in the industry, which really helped me.”
Because Stacey was already working in FM, many of the topics covered in lectures and discussions had immediate relevance. The programme explored areas such as health and safety, compliance, and PPM (planned preventative maintenance), which connected directly with her day-to-day work.
“When something came up in a Saturday lecture, it would resonate with me on a Monday and I’d think, ‘Oh, we covered that on Saturday,’ and I was able to put that theory into practice,” she explains.
“I enjoyed coming in on a Saturday. We’d go for lunch. It was very engaging so it didn’t feel like you were wasting your weekend.”
Making Time for Professional Development
Stacey knows that returning to education while working full-time can feel like a big commitment, but she found the programme structure manageable alongside her role.
“One of the questions I’m always asked is, ‘I’m already working in such a busy industry – how do I get time to do the course?’” she shares.
“The great thing about Portobello is that it’s very structured. Your lectures are feeding you in the direction of what you need to do for your assignments.”
She adds: “A lot of my assignments were practical experiences as well. It’s not too onerous on time and it’s going to benefit you in the long run to take that extra time.”
Connections That Continued Beyond Portobello
Alongside the qualification itself, Stacey found something that would stay with her long after the programme ended: a professional community. Studying with people from across the FM sector gave her a network of peers whose careers would continue to intersect with her own.
“I benefitted from a lot of face-to-face contact with others working in the industry,” she says. “We would share stories of where we were working and what problems we had.
“On my programme, we had people in security, people in real estate, electricians, plumbers. It was so diverse. Each discipline brought great skills that we could learn from each other.”
Stacey continues: “We really were like a little community. Some of the students I met then, I’m still in touch with these days.
“Across the industry, I see a lot of people I studied with, and I’ll receive CVs and recognise that someone went to Portobello around the same time as me.”
Building Confidence and Earning Progression
Completing the qualification marked an important point in Stacey’s career. She had invested a year in studying alongside her full-time role, and that commitment soon translated into a new opportunity within Apleona.
“I think Portobello definitely gave me the confidence,” she says. “It was a great achievement to finish the course and get the qualification.”
Shortly afterwards, Stacey moved from the service desk into a Facilities Manager role on a large multi-site retail contract.
“On the basis of doing the Portobello Institute course, I got a promotion pretty quickly after I qualified,” she reflects. “I was able to turn that theory into practical experience.”
Putting in her own time to study, upskill, and develop alongside full-time work was a real achievement and, with the support of her employer, helped lay the foundations for the progression that followed.
Stacey notes: “The defining moment for me was engaging in upskilling in my education. My employer recognised that and I think that led to my promotion.”
More Than a Decade at Apleona
That first promotion was only the beginning. Over the years that followed, Stacey continued to progress within Apleona, moving from Facilities Manager to Contracts Manager, Associate Director, and in 2026, Director of Facilities.
“I’ve been through lots of different stages in the company,” she says. “It really is starting from the ground up – from the service desk, the entry-level position, and then working all the way up to top level.”
Her career development has taken place alongside significant growth within Apleona itself. The company now employs more than 3,000 people, and Stacey has seen opportunities emerge as new contracts, teams, and responsibilities have expanded.
“We’re all about internal progression,” she explains. “We look at talent on the inside before we look at the outside.”
Today, as Director of Facilities, Stacey has direct responsibility for a €35 million portfolio encompassing some of Apleona’s key clients. Her role also extends into strategy, innovation, and wider initiatives across the business, including work with Apleona in Northern Europe around systems and greater standardisation.
She notes: “It’s quite a varied role, but a lot of my time is focused on strategy and governance.”
Becoming a More Strategic Leader
For Stacey, moving into senior leadership meant adapting how she worked.
“When you work at operations level, you’re pretty hands-on,” she observes. “That was a hard part for me – not being as hands-on anymore.”
As her responsibilities grew, Stacey recognised that continuing to involve herself in every operational detail would ultimately hold both her and her team back.
“I had to become more strategic,” she says. “At this level, being too hands-on would create a bottleneck.
“I needed to develop a team, empower them, and trust that they could do the work on the ground so I could focus at a more strategic level.
“If I’m always stepping in, then they’re not going to learn either. You have to take that step back. It’s all about trust.”
Developing People from Within
Having seen what internal progression made possible in her own career, Stacey is now focused on opening similar opportunities for others.
She puts it simply: “A good FM leader manages people. A great FM leader develops people.”
Stacey has witnessed colleagues move from administrative and service desk positions into account management, contract management, and account director roles. She believes clear goals, education, and the right support can make all the difference.
“We promote from within if we can. Internal progression is huge at Apleona – right across the business.
“I can have a vision for my team members, but I also ask: what’s your vision? Where do you want to be in the company? Where do you want to go?”
Professional development remains central to those conversations. Apleona supports employees through educational assistance, mentoring, and initiatives such as the Apleona Academy.
Stacey also considers the right level of study for each person, based on their experience and where they are in their career.
She adds: “If I know they have the time to do a course like Portobello’s and I know we’re going to fund it, I definitely recommend it.”
Still Learning at Director Level
Continued professional development has been a constant throughout Stacey’s career, and senior leadership has only strengthened her commitment to keep learning.
“I haven’t stopped educating myself,” she says. “Portobello was my first course, and I’ve done ten since.”
She is currently enrolled on an occupational health and safety course, and postgraduate study is part of her longer-term plans.
“Once I finish this next year, I might be looking to go back to Portobello again,” reveals Stacey. “My next step is the master’s.”
More than a decade into her FM career, Stacey is still choosing growth, and she leaves others with one final piece of encouragement.
“It’s about taking the chance and believing in yourself,” she concludes. “Take the risk and go for the opportunities.”
Take Your FM Career Further
Stacey’s progression from the service desk to Director of Facilities shows just how far a career in FM can take you.
The Portobello Centre for Sustainable Facilities Management offers qualifications designed to help you apply new knowledge straight away, increase your impact at work, and develop the capability to take on greater responsibility and leadership.
