Role: Assistant Project Manager

Career Area: Project and Commercial Management

Location: York

My role at SYSTRA

As an Assistant Project Manager, I work alongside Project Managers to maintain the quality, budget and scope of a project. This involves monitoring day-to-day activities and liaising with the project team, while also creating weekly reporting cycles and monthly project reviews.

Additionally, I was selected as a member of the NGLT (Next Generation Leadership Team) and undertake a variety of tasks related to this – we are currently working towards several projects that aim to improve the quality of SYSTRA as a business.

My career journey

I’m not sure how I ended up in my role to be honest! I studied Criminology and Political Theory at university, so nothing at all to do with engineering! After university I did some hospitality work and then eventually found myself supervising in logistics. Through this role I found that I had a few skills that blended with project management, and I decided to apply for an entry level role at SYSTRA. A new industry can be tough to get into, but SYSTRA have provided me with fantastic support through their Learning and Development team. I’ve already undertaken the APM Project Fundamentals Qualification, which is the first step towards my chartership!

We asked Sam…
When did you realise this was the career path for you?

While I was working in logistics, I enjoyed managing teams and finding solutions to problems. Project management is the management of people working to achieve change – you do this by understanding the solution and having a great relationship with the team, so I guess that played a part. I decided to try and build a career in civil engineering because I want to contribute to providing sustainable alternatives to current infrastructure. It’s worth mentioning that you’ll always have doubts about what you’re doing, the good thing about SYSTRA is that they allow cross-discipline training and development – so while I’m happy at the moment, who knows what the future holds!

Have you got any words of wisdom for someone starting out in a similar role?

Project management is people management so lead by example!

How does SYSTRA stand out from the rest as a great place to work?

I joined SYSTRA in April 2023 and found moving into the job both exciting and overwhelming. I think SYSTRA did a great job of integrating me, not just into the project management discipline, but into the wider business. SYSTRA seems to have a very healthy environment to challenge and push for improvement within senior leadership, which I think is shown by the creation of the NGLT – this is something that I think makes SYSTRA stand out from the rest. It’s a unique initiative that has shown SYSTRA cares about adapting for future generations.

With such power in diversity, what unique perspective do you bring to the table?

Probably that I studied a social science course and not STEM at university – I think that gives me a unique perspective within SYSTRA because I can provide an alternative point of view within our day-to-day work. While SYSTRA is dominated by STEM for obvious reasons, I work in project management, and that inherently requires different skills than that of an engineer for example.

Where is the place that has inspired you the most?

Probably York because I’ve lived here since I was 3! I do enjoy travelling and I think you get inspired by each place you visit, whether it’s the culture or cuisine you’ll bring something back!

What does true sustainability really mean to you?

This is a tricky question because we may never see true sustainability, so it can be hard to imagine a world in which we achieve it. Ultimately, it’s a give and take between protecting the environment and the wellbeing of the global population. I think the best way I can answer this question is with the following quote – “From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs”.

What would a green future look like?

For me it’s one in which we hold businesses and people with power and wealth to account. I struggle to find blame on an individual level for the current environmental crisis given how we currently allow things like private planes to be treated like taxis! People can only do so much throughout their day-to-day. Don’t get me wrong, I do think we should absolutely collectivise and work together on an individual level, because we can only achieve a green future through a common goal – that’s the moral thing to do, but that won’t solve the problem alone.

How do you look after your wellbeing outside of work?

I’m a Manchester United fan so I’m not looking after it very well at the moment! Football aside, the best thing for me to do is really try and switch off from work. I think we’re going through a generational shift with how we view a work life balance, and our generation understands that to perform at a high level within work we need to be physically and mentally refreshed – we can only achieve that by having a healthy amount of time away from work.

If you could spend your lunchbreak with someone you really admire, who would you choose?

I always struggle with these questions, but I’d probably say Shane MacGowan – a beautiful poet and a strong political figure.

If you had to pick, which mode of transport would you use for the rest of your life?

I would have to say trains. It’s not only sustainable travel, but it can come with fantastic landscapes that you wouldn’t come across by driving or flying. I do love to walk as well, but I’m not sure how sustainable that is for me as my only transport option! I recently travelled down the coast of Dublin on the DART (Dublin Area Rapid Transit), getting off at various points and walking along the coast. To me that’s a perfect combination!

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