Having studied Law at university, I spent 4.5 years in legal publishing at a small Oxford firm before moving to London to take on a PA/editorial role at Westminster Abbey.
I moved up to Scotland and found a role as an executive assistant at a private school; unfortunately, some restructuring and reduced hours meant that role was no longer tenable and I was lucky to find a role as a programme office coordinator with Mott MacDonald. I have been with Mott MacDonald ever since: I went from the programme office of a £1.6B defence infrastructure programme to working on one of its projects. A few months in, I was promoted to Assistant Project Manager, looking after multiple workstreams and coordinating on-site working, which had to move from 9/5 to 24/7 to keep workers safe during the Covid pandemic. A mentoring opportunity led to the offer of a commercial management role, which I thought I’d be terrible at but in fact really suited me. I have since progressed to offering our project teams management and support on contracts, governance, dispute resolution, finances and audit, as well as taking on a compliance manager role on a confidential project. As a mum of three children who works full time and whose partner works away from home in the Forces, I am passionate about promoting and realising the employment potential in the military community. I am the Families Lead on Mott MacDonald’s Armed Forces Steering Group, representing military family employees’ views to senior management.