MEET LAND & WATER'S ESTIMATING COORDINATOR KERRY WARD THIS INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY

Today is International Women’s Day and we wanted to take this opportunity to shine a spotlight on the work life and career journey of Kerry Ward, our fantastic Estimating Coordinator here at Land & Water who has been with us since 2010.

We spoke to Kerry to find out more about her responsibilities and what she loves about the role.

Kerry tells us she has always been interested by the intricacies of the engineering industry. She says, “My first role in the sector was based out on site working at a local water treatment facility as project support to the civils operations team. Fast forward 22 years, and with experience working with Tier 1 contractors on rail and utility frameworks under my belt, I truly feel at home with Land & Water. Within the past 12 years, I have grown so much, and have undertaken a range of qualifications including gaining a certificate with Coventry University in Procurement Strategies and Tendering.”

Progression and harnessing the skills of our team is incredibly important to us at Land & Water. From apprentices up to management, we pride ourselves on providing the opportunities for each and every member of the business to excel.

Kerry is a busy lady with lots of plates spinning but her highly organised nature means she always gets the job done. As for many of us at Land & Water, no day is ever the same and, as part of her role, Kerry is responsible for a variety of different tasks including arranging pre-qualifications (PQQ) for new clients, subcontract questionnaires for live sites, coordinating the estimators’ programs, preparing quality submissions, and dealing with new tender enquiries for Land & Water Services.

Kerry also manages the daily monitoring of all online tender portals including the Environment Agency and Local Authorities. This involves making sure that all Land & Water information and procedures are up to date with industry standards in terms of HSQE and PAS91. These systems are vital to the business as they allow us to be recognised as an approved and compliant contractor in the civil engineering industry.

When we asked Kerry her advice for people who are looking to get into the industry she told us “there are many routes you can take, from administrative roles right through to management positions. There are positions to suit people from all different educational and career backgrounds, as well as roles more suited to those with no prior experience. Pick a sector that appeals to you the most, where you can utilise your strengths and skills most effectively and you will succeed.”

Kerry tells us that her favourite thing about working at Land & Water is the people and our company values. She says “I feel very proud to work for a company that’s passionate about the environment, we as a Group have a great focus on our planet, and we’re working very hard to reduce our carbon footprint. The environmental initiatives that we have in place are making way for change that will enable Land & Water to achieve our net zero target.

It is safe to say that Kerry is a celebrated woman within our business as well as in other aspects of her life. When she is not at work she enjoys soaking up as much culture and food as possible and has recently returned from a five-month sabbatical to Europe where she experienced lots of different cuisine and history. We are incredibly proud that we are able to provide our staff with the opportunities to undertake life-changing experiences whilst working with us.

If you are interested in a role with Land & Water then click here: https://www.land-water.co.uk/careers/