Role: Associate Director (Consultancy)

Career Area: Transport Strategy & Planning

Location: London

My role at SYSTRA

I sit across the rail, bus and bid teams in our consultancy division.

I lead SYSTRA’s bus concessionary fare work, and am a Framework Manager, although I spend a lot of time managing and developing proposals too.

I also oversee two staff development programmes, providing a variety of training opportunities for SYSTRA’s consultancy division. 

My career journey

I joined SYSTRA as a graduate and have worked on a wide variety of projects ever since, including strategic modelling, pedestrian modelling, research with rail passengers, transport planning and bus concessionary fare administration, providing technical input and project management. For over ten years I led SYSTRA’s Graduate Development Programme and have recently developed two new programmes for more senior staff. In 2023 I was very proud to receive the Outstanding Contribution Award at SYSTRA’s Excellence Awards for bid excellence and supporting early careers.

My flexible working experience
What is your flexible working arrangement?

I have worked flexibly for 12 years, mostly working for 3 days a week, but have worked 2 days and 3.5 days for periods of time as my non-working requirements have changed. I am currently working 5 days a week, but I work reduced hours on Mondays and Wednesdays.

Why did you request your arrangement, and what are the benefits for you?

I have worked flexibly since becoming a parent and balancing a career with childcare responsibilities.  As well as working reduced hours, I have benefitted from early/ late starting and finishing times, juggling school/ nursery drop-offs and pick-ups with the working day. 

The option to work from home has also been incredibly beneficial for childcare. In particular, it has given me peace of mind as my children are now older and walking home from school, but I’m not quite ready to leave them at home on their own for long periods of time.

How has SYSTRA supported you in adopting your flexible working pattern?

My line managers have always been very supportive of any requests I have made for flexible working, as have colleagues I have worked with, who have been happy to rearrange meetings to fit in with my working hours.

Have you been able to effectively manage your arrangement alongside the demands of your role?

Although finding opportunities for progression whilst working flexibly can be more challenging, my career has continued to develop. Whilst managing intense projects, I’ve required more support from Project Directors to oversee projects on days that I’m not working, but for the rest of my work, including proposal management, project direction and staff development, I’ve been able to fit the work within my working hours by planning ahead. Occasionally I’ve worked on ‘non-working’ days, for example, for training that can’t be rescheduled, and I’ve been able to move my working week around on those days, relying on family support to cover childcare.

What advice would you give to someone who’s considering submitting a flexible working request?

It is very easy to get sucked into working on your days off, so be very strict about not checking emails and Teams when you are working – five minutes can quickly turn into an hour!

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