Employee Profiles

People are the life blood of any business. That is particularly true in a consultancy where growth and development in new areas comes through bringing new people and new skills into the business. As a fast-growing business we are always looking for new people, new ideas and new skills.

If you believe you can add to SKM Enviros' success we want to hear from you, even if you do not fit exactly one of our current vacancies. If you would like to know more about the career opportunities at SKM Enviros read our people profiles and get in touch.

Phil Wallace, Technical Director, Waste and Resources Management, London

My work with SKM Enviros is very varied and interesting. As a Technical Director, I interact with a great number of other people within SKM Enviros, within the Waste & Resources Management group and other departments too such as Sustainable Development and the Water Environment. I am responsible for sales as well as carrying out technical work. I enjoy selling work to clients, fulfilling their needs whilst also doing some interesting work at the same time. I prefer the research element, but am also involved in training, compost facility design and operations, and technology appraisals. 

I joined SKM Enviros in 2001 from a commercial research company operating in the agricultural and horticultural sectors. Compost use was an area of 'growing' interest to me, being a soil scientist and from a farming background. The composting process is not well understood by many of those in the waste industry. This gives me opportunities in training, which I enjoy. Technologies are also being developed and tested with this area of waste management changing rapidly, trying to keep up with legislation.

My work gets me involved with a large number staff in other departments all over the UK. Although this means travelling and time away from home, it is interactive and I don't have time to be bored. However, I still have a happy family life and enjoy sports, balancing home and office commitments. Would I settle for an easy job? Never!

Heidi Hutchings, Section Manager, Land and Water Management, Cardiff

I joined SKM Enviros London Office in September 1993 as a Graduate Consultant, after graduating with BSc (Hons) in Environmental Studies from the University of Hertfordshire. I worked on a variety of contaminated land projects within the South East including the environmental assessment of the Channel Tunnel Rail Link. During this time, I was trained to undertake soil, groundwater and soil gas sampling, and was seconded to a waste management company for three months to undertake the routine monitoring and sampling of several landfill sites. I returned to college in 1995 to undertake an MSc in Environmental Technology at Imperial College, London.

Since my return to SKM Enviros in 1996, I worked as a project manager on a wide range of projects involving the investigation and assessment of contaminated land prior to acquisition, reclamation or redevelopment. Clients include property developers, local authorities and landowners such as the Ministry of Defence. I have designed remediation strategies for land affected by toxic chemical, radiological and landfill gas contamination, prepared remedial works method statements and supervised works on site. I have also co-authored published guidance on assessing risks posed by hazardous ground gases (CIRIA C665).

I was fortunate to be involved in a clean-up project on behalf of the Ministry of Defence, which took me to a remote island in the South Pacific for 12 months. The work involved supervising and verifying the clean-up operation both on island and off shore, liaising with government officials and providing briefings to the local community.

I am currently a team leader with management responsibilities for six consultants and am actively involved in technical innovation, business development and recruitment.

Helen Fairclough, Section Manager, Climate Change and Renewables, London

I joined SKM Enviros in 2000 as an Assistant Consultant in the Programme Management Group (PMG) having completed an MSc in Pollution and Environmental Control at the University of Manchester. I was immediately integrated into a project team working for the former Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) to provide help and advice to UK industry, commerce and academia in bidding for funds from the European Commission's R&D funding programme, the Framework Programme. This work involves organising events, preparing newsletters and factsheets, running a helpline and analysing the UK's performance in the Framework Programme. I am now the Project Director for this long running contract which is now managed by the Department of Energy and Climate Change.

Over the past nine years I have worked on a range of projects in the energy and resource efficiency fields, specialising in the management of information and funding programmes and other large projects. The projects often combine the programme management skills of my team with the technical skills of other teams within SKM Enviros, in particular the energy consultants and waste consultants.

I am now a Section Manager managing a team people of 14 people in the Climate Change and Renewables team at SKM Enviros. I am positive about the potential for career progression with SKM Enviros and I am always looking to develop new skills and take on new challenges.