News & Events
Davina Lavin becomes Provincial’s first Director of Specialised Programme Development
Like all great ideas, Davina Lavin’s new role at Provincial was born of a combination of need, innovation, courage and trust. The recently appointed, and first, Specialised Programme Director joined Provincial in 2016 and has since been integral to the company’s transformation and modernisation.
“The clients we work with are very innovative,” says Davina. “So we are working towards being part of their growth and creating products for them that make us unique in our industry.”
“It’s good for Provincial. It’s good for our clients. But, most importantly, it’s great for the people who step up and have the courage to go forward in their career.”
“Management at Provincial always encourage people to bring ideas and getting that kind of support from them is great. You can go to them with an idea and they trust you to develop it. So far, we have had excellent results from the projects we’ve worked on for clients. Many of them are that little bit different from what most security firms offer and it’s really rewarding to see them through from start to finish. Many of the measures then get taken on by our teams in other countries and that’s really rewarding.”
New role developed organically
Davina’s new role at Provincial developed organically. Each client has a unique set of requirements and through collaboration, Davina has been proactive in tailoring a bespoke response, supporting the service provision and partnership between the client and Provincial.
Whether that is creating and developing programmes and building teams to offer enhanced security capabilities, such as executive protection, behavioural detection and aircraft operations training or developing technical skills that support the clients security operation centres, such as technical support, fusion analysts or badging specialists, Davina and her team are there from the very start right through to implementation.
As well as sourcing talent within Provincial, Davina has collaborated with external agencies to support diverse groups and create programmes to bring people on board who might otherwise struggle to find meaningful employment in multinational corporations.
Award-winning programmes
These new programmes are getting noticed with several being put forward for awards and special recognition. Since 2018, Davina has worked with the Blue Diamond Drama Academy to give people with intellectual disabilities the chance to work with their teams. In 2023, Provincial’s work with the programme was recognised with a nomination in the Outstanding Diversity Initiative Award from the Irish Centre for Diversity.
“...it’s really rewarding to see them through from start to finish.”
Clients are also responding and Davina has seen a notable increase in the number of requests for specialists and specialised roles outside of Provincial’s normal offerings.
“We are building a development framework to reach back into the grassroots of Provincial, to look at every person in our teams and find the people who have the skills to become one of these specialists that our clients are looking for. I think the fact that clients are looking to us to fill roles that might not traditionally be in our sphere speaks volumes to how well we have executed these new offerings.”
Developing people
Before Provincial, Davina served in the Irish Defence Forces for over 20 years, and worked on overseas missions with NATO and the UN. Throughout her time, she completed numerous development courses and was involved in the training and development of others from design through to delivery and assessment. With almost thirty years of experience in Human Resources with a special emphasis on the development of people, it’s little wonder that Davina approaches her remit with such passion and purpose. She is driven by seeing people grow and becoming the best they can be. This includes herself. In 2022, she completed a MSc in Talent, Leadership and HR Strategy with Dublin City University before moving on to study a Professional Academy Diploma in Diversity, Equity, Belonging and Inclusion at University College Dublin which she completed in 2024.
“It’s always been about developing people and getting the best out of them,” she says. “What I have enjoyed doing, and it’s something that I’ll have more opportunity to do now in this new role, is finding the talent within Provincial, finding those people that will thrive in different environments and creating pathways for them to do that. It’s good for Provincial. It’s good for our clients. But, most importantly, it’s great for the people who step up and have the courage to go forward in their career.”