DfT - Estates Surveyor - The best move I’ve made in my career

I joined the Department for Transport (DfT) as an Estates Surveyor to build on my surveying and technical skills.

I had a thirst for trying something new and wanted to be part of exciting and important projects. Since joining the Civil Service, I’ve haven’t looked back!

I’m part of the property team and we’re mostly qualified with RICS status. We work hard and are highly regarded by the rest of the Department for our productivity. We’re often out and about working with other government departments, our own arm’s length bodies and agencies as well as partners such as Network Rail and London & Continental Railways. We provide technical support to policy decisions and we work closely with policy makers, ministers’ private offices and all areas of the Civil Service.

I’ve been lucky to work on a variety of projects. In particular, working on the High Speed 2 (HS2) project where I’ve been involved in acquiring the land needed for the railway scheme. This has brought me into contact with a wide variety of professionals from agents to solicitors and, what makes this a different experience in a development project for me, policy colleagues.

I’ve also gained experience of the parliamentary process for the HS2 bill and the select committee hearings. While I have built on the professional knowledge I already had, I’ve gained considerable understanding of new areas such as policy and how my professional background works in conjunction with the bill requirements of an important public project.

I’ve grown as a person and without doubt, it’s the best move I’ve made in my career. I’ve acquired new areas of expertise and I’m building my knowledge to marry both my background in surveying with knowledge of working with key government policies.

It’s busy and demanding work, but there’s truly never a dull moment and I’m hugely supported by my team.

The department is increasingly at the forefront of the most important developments that the UK has experienced for some time, from HS2, managing land sales, the government housing programme and key station redevelopments, with much more expected in the future.

Are you interested in a career with DfT? Please click here.

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