Consultant II
AtkinsRéalis
Growing up I never knew what I wanted to do apart from play for Liverpool Football Club and be the next Steven Gerrard. However, by the time I finished my A-Levels and went to university I realised two things; being a footballer was nothing more than a childhood dream and I was in fact well suited to office life. Studying International Business at Loughborough University gave me a holistic view of how organisations operate and it was the modules that focused on change management and how employees within these organisations interact that enticed me the most. I knew I wanted to work closely with clients to understand their needs and wants, and guide them through their biggest challenges, so in 2021 I joined AtkinsRéalis on the Junior Consultant Development Programme.
Three years on and I have worked on some thrilling projects with fantastic people in the Security and Intelligence field. From spearheading digital transformation by running short, innovative experiments on emerging technology, to working with over 30 people on first-of-its-kind change programmes, I have had a varied experience in a short time. I am currently working in a cross-government cyber security venture, leading the change management for colleagues working in the programme. My role as business change lead requires me to ensure all my colleagues are able to adopt new ways of working, are comfortable with their responsibilities and have a strong desire to sustain the change in the future. Whilst there is no set routine for every day, communicating with my peers and trying to understand the impact of my work and the change on the team and my client’s organisation is a constant.
As I’ve developed at AtkinsRéalis I have grown to appreciate the importance of being able to evidence your consulting skills and capabilities to clients and managers. Clients want to trust that consultants can deliver great results and value. The ChMC Associate Chartership Award has enabled me to showcase the breadth of knowledge I have gained, and that I can deliver a standard of consulting that goes above and beyond. Gaining the qualification illustrates my motivation for success and the drive I have to achieve full chartership, something I am looking to obtain in the near future.
Consultancy can take many forms and this is what really excites me. Being able to work in an array of roles and industries means you can be flexible with what you do and how you shape your career as a consultant. The broad nature of consultancy means you can quickly build a lot of experience, and drawing on this knowledge during the ChMC Associate Chartership application can be a challenge. However, the process that the application sets out helped me break down each competency logically and provided useful tips and advice on how to frame responses.
Completing my ChMC Associate Chartership Award left me with a sense of pride and surprise about how much I have achieved in the last three years. The projects I’ve worked on and the people I’ve worked with have been pivotal to my development. AtkinsRéalis has enabled me to lead teams and hold a high degree of responsibility from the outset and this is something I look forward to continuing in the future.
Find out more about the Chartered Management Consultant Award.