Job spotlight: construction management consultant, Cube

What attracted you to a career in the built environment?

My skill set throughout school always related to problem-solving and logic, so I saw construction as a good fit.

The construction industry offered many diverse roles, most of which included the management of people and teams, planning ahead and reacting to challenges. I’ve not been disappointed.

Being mentored and supported by colleagues every step of my career has allowed me to develop and now be able to give back through mentoring and guiding the next generation of young talent.

Tell us about your current role and day-to-day responsibilities.

With a career in construction management spanning 30 years, I’ve progressed from site engineer into operations management and onto independent consultancy, providing valuable strategic support for nationwide projects.

My construction DNA is on the operation and delivery side, driving projects to successful completion.

As co-founder and director of Cube Construction Consultants, my focus is on the implementation of best practice – how does this impact operational process? How are projects actually performing?

We work with a variety of different construction businesses nationwide, from national tier 1 contractors to smaller regional building firms and housing associations, supporting them to build best practice into every element of construction.

This can be through independent project reviews and process improvement planning and, more recently, construction management training.

Building on our operational expertise, Cube has developed online and in-person training solutions for individuals and teams wanting to understand their obligations under the Building Safety Act and how process can be developed to demonstrate competence and compliance.

What do you enjoy most about your role? And what is the biggest challenge?

[I enjoy] the variety. Nothing ever stands still. Our industry is evolving at pace, with a real need to demonstrate we are competent as individuals and capable as organisations.

It is a personal and professional challenge to embrace this change, consider our behaviours and influence professional standards and, ultimately, ensure the creation of safe buildings.

The implementation of change is always the greatest challenge. Ideas are great [but] implementation needs to be real, understood and managed.

How do you keep your skills and knowledge up to date?

Implementing change through best practice requires a commitment to updating our own skills, knowledge, experience and behaviours. At Cube we are constantly learning from the businesses we work with every day.

Through project reviews, site visits and the training we deliver, we hear about challenges, success stories and the problems people are looking to solve in all areas of the built environment.

We also represent the industry in working groups and are active members of the CIOB Nottingham Hub.

My recent fellowship award is the latest step in maintaining my commitment to continued professional development, to be in a position to guide others wanting to develop.

You recently became a chartered fellow of the Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB). What does this achievement mean to you?

It’s been a longstanding personal and professional ambition to achieve a chartered fellowship at the CIOB.

At Cube, we help construction businesses to build best practice and to implement processes that demonstrate competence, compliance and a detailed understanding of the Building Safety Act’s requirements.

What better way to demonstrate a high level of assessed competence than the CIOB fellowship programme?

For our clients, this is a real validation and assurance of our industry expertise – both as a chartered construction management consultancy and me as a fellow. 

CIOB fellows are expected to adhere to high ethical standards, including honesty, fairness and respect for the public interest, plus acting with dignity and accountability.

These are aligned with my personal values and the values we have always upheld at Cube.

Are you looking for top construction talent? Want to get ahead of the competition? Contact Sophie Holland at CIOB Jobs.