What does your job involve?
My job is to lead programmes that unlock the full value of government property – social, economic and environmental. That includes modernising our estate; working towards our sustainability ambitions; improving asset performance; and integrating placemaking principles into our national property strategy. It’s about making the government estate work for the public, not just as physical infrastructure but as an enabler of better services and stronger communities.
To do your job well, you need...
An inspiring vision, curiosity and the patience to navigate complexity. There’s no single lever to pull. We work across multiple departments, local authorities, markets and regulations, so influencing, alignment and tenacity matter. But most important is remembering why we do it: creating a built environment that improves lives and leaves a lasting, sustainable impact.
First job in government?
I’ve worked across the public and private sectors, including large-scale regeneration and infrastructure development. My entry point was through programme leadership into the Infrastructure and Projects Authority (now NISTA), where I was the executive director leading the New Hospital Programme’s delivery of construction projects, orchestrating the development of the Hospital 2.0 system.
Proudest achievement to date?
There are too many to be partial to one. Being able to collect the voices from the ground up, solve issues and develop them to become government policy or spending review settlements has got to be the greatest privilege. Ultimately, it’s being able to inspire my teams to champion the transformation of our public services when I am not in the room.
The most bizarre thing that’s happened to you at work?
Almost being arrested for accidentally trying to take AirPods into a high-security prison.
If you weren’t a civil servant, you’d be…
I would likely be involved in an urban renewal project or working with a social enterprise.
What’s the best piece of professional advice you’ve ever been given?
To change something, you have to change it twice. Once in reality, and once in perception.
If you could wave a magic wand over the civil service, what would you change?
The complexity of challenges that the civil service solves deserves a magic factory. I’d celebrate the great work they do more publicly and more often.