The Magic of Beginnings: Dirk Ueckert
News from 10/14/2020
Dirk Ueckert, who holds a degree in economics, has headed the Department of Organization, Budget and Financial Services in the SPK's Central Administration since July. He previously worked at the Hamburg Senate in the field of property management for a few years before moving in 2004 to Berlin, where he worked at the Federal Ministry of the Interior and at the Federal Agency for Public Safety Digital Radio (BDBOS). A great fan of living in Kreuzberg, he talked to us about his first few months at the SPK and the wide range of tasks that awaited him here.
“I manage the largest department of the Central Administration, numbering around ninety employees, and as the budget officer, I am responsible for the foundation's finances. The tasks of the units in my department are widely diverse and so I get plenty of variety in my daily work. They range from specific budgetary questions to the planning of the budget as a whole, as well as organizational and IT issues. Then there are matters to do with internal services, and with health and safety, as well as the coordination of construction projects for the entire foundation. Also among my responsibilities are the acquisition and management of third-party funds, sponsorship, services for the Foundation Board and, last but not least, the award of contracts through Central Procurement Services (ZVS) for the entire foundation.
In the future, I would especially like to continue increasing the digitization of processes. Here I am relying on the e-files project, which I believe needs to be accelerated. The use of our ERP software also needs modernization. I have a lot of previous experience in this area and a clear understanding of what needs to be done. I also have a crucial role to play in drafting the SPK's new rules of procedure. We urgently need clear regulations defining who has what powers and who must be involved in which processes.
Something that made me very happy early on was the openness of the people working here. I was welcomed in a very friendly manner by everybody and felt very well supported from day one. Right at the start, I made introductory visits to all five institutions; I am really impressed by the diversity of the SPK cosmos. I haven't finished doing the rounds yet, either: in November I'll go to the offices located in Dahlem and I also have an appointment with the bpk-Bildagentur (bpk picture agency). That will be followed by the Gipsformerei (Replica Workshop) and the Rathgen-Forschungslabor (Rathgen Research Laboratory), as well as the museums, as soon as my time allows. I have already paid a visit privately: just last Sunday I spent four hours in the Bode Museum and I was deeply impressed.”