As part of Green Careers week, IES Member, Gilly, Associate Director (Energy and Climate Change) at Wardell Armstrong, talks to the IES about her career journey and what a typical day in the life looks like.
Career path overview
I studied Town Planning at Newcastle University and was always drawn towards the environmental impacts of planning, particularly how planning can shape things such as bathing water quality and where our electricity comes from.
When I finished my undergraduate degree, I moved back home to Cornwall and enrolled at Newcastle University to complete my Diploma in Town Planning after a year in industry, which I chose to do with Surfers Against Sewage (SAS). During my time with SAS, I realised I wanted to develop my understanding of environmental sciences rather than complete my Diploma, so I applied to do an MSc in Sustainable Development with Climate Change and Environment at the Cornwall Campus of Exeter University. I was very grateful to be awarded a scholarship for this but continued working full time throughout my postgraduate degree. It was a tough year and wasn't made any easier when I fractured a vertebrae surfing, a week into my new job and two months before my dissertation was due! I was fortunate to have been taken on by such an understanding employer and as my back healed, I really grew to love my new job as a Renewable Energy Consultant at Wardell Armstrong LLP. In my three years there I was involved in growing the Climate Change team as well as preparing applications for renewable energy projects.
As much as I loved my job, the Government effectively ended the onshore wind industry in England overnight. Although I was lucky to keep my job, I knew I needed to diversify as the renewables industry was sadly shrinking, and I felt the best approach was to utilise my planning degree. I joined a great team at a local planning consultancy as an Associate Planner, where I spent almost three years working across a huge variety of projects, from solar farms to holiday lets, which gave me a great understanding of the wider planning system. During this time, I became a full member of the IES and gained my Chartered Environmentalist status through the 'CEnv in a Day' workshop. I felt it was time for a change in early 2019, and the opportunity of becoming Planning Manager at Enhance Land & Planning came at the perfect time. I joined the company in April 2019 and became Company Director in July 2020.
Following a successful and very busy 3 years at Enhance Land & Planning, seeing the fledgling business through the Covid pandemic and the associated stress and uncertainty, I reached a stage where I was suffering from burnout. In March 2022, I took the difficult decision to leave the company I had helped grow and took a month off to recover my mental and physical health. Happily, I was offered the opportunity to return to Wardell Armstrong as a Principal Energy and Climate Change Consultant in my original team, which had now grown to include climate change consultancy as a large element of the workload. After a year in the role, I was promoted to Associate Director. I have loved being part of the team over the last 3 years, and I'm excited to see where the future takes us, particularly as Wardell Armstrong has now been acquired by SLR Consulting, which will offer a lot of new opportunities.
What does your current job role entail?
I am currently an Associate Director in the Energy and Climate Change team at Wardell Armstrong, based in our Truro office. I am lucky to work on a wide range of exciting projects, ranging from construction waste recycling to nationally significant wind and solar, to geothermal energy. My role predominantly involves project management and preparing, submitting and overseeing planning applications for renewable energy and infrastructure projects. My day-to-day duties include preparing fee proposals, liaising with clients and colleagues to keep projects on track, and writing reports and EIA chapters for planning applications.
Have any further qualifications, training, internships, or volunteering been valuable to your career journey?
My Internship with Surfers Against Sewage was instrumental in shaping my career. I joined the Campaigns Team for 15 months and worked on several exciting projects, including a marine planning stakeholder engagement programme, responding to consultations on offshore renewable energy projects and helping with high profile campaigns such as "Break the Bag Habit" and "Return to Offender". It was during this time that I realised I wanted to learn more about climate change and sustainable development, so chose to pursue an environmental sciences postgraduate degree rather than continuing with my diploma. If I hadn't done my MSc, I wouldn't have met the people that developed my love of renewable energy and I wouldn't be where I am today.
As a lot of my current and previous roles are very planning focused, it is very important that I can demonstrate my planning knowledge and experience to clients. I chose to do this through gaining Full Membership of the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI) in August 2019, which gives me Chartered status. Holding two Charterships (MRTPI and CEnv) has been hugely beneficial, as it ties my planning experience with my passion for environmental work.
What one piece of advice you would give to an individual starting their career in the environmental sector?
Make the most of every opportunity and broaden your skill set to remain flexible and adaptable when policy and Government agendas inevitably change.
Have you faced any barriers or unfair treatment in the workplace at any stage of your career?
I was diagnosed with ADHD and ASD in June 2020, and it is so refreshing to finally understand why I have found certain elements of my career, and life in general, so difficult. I have always lacked confidence, and I think a lot of that has stemmed from the constant feeling of inadequacy and overwhelm that I have experienced from a lifetime of trying to appear “normal”. Since I've been diagnosed as neurodivergent and started treatment for ADHD, I have noticed such a difference in my ability to apply myself fully to the moment, rather than flitting in and out of a project, training or conversation. I've always been very driven and have worked extremely hard throughout my career, but I've really struggled at times, particularly when I haven't had the flexibility I've needed to work to my full potential, and especially in open plan offices where distractions are incessant. I can't sit still. I find social interactions really draining due to the amount of energy needed to focus on conversations whilst ignoring all the background noise and I hate telephone calls as I really struggle to follow what's being said. I find it impossible to switch off, my brain just can't do it, so I feel constantly exhausted as it has knock on effects on my sleep and mental health. I'm still working on ways to manage it, through medication and general self-care, and I feel so much more confident in my abilities now I know my brain is just wired differently.
Image credit: (c) Lachlan Gardiner | Climate Visuals
