Women in the City Winner: Carol Bell, Senior Project Manager, Robinson Low Francis LLP
by Elizabeth Harrin (London)
Carol Bell holds a string of accolades for her work as a project manager on major construction projects including most recently becoming the first winner of the Property category in the Women in the City Awards. Construction isn’t necessarily the first choice for women in project management, but the challenges and rewards make it a really exciting industry in which to work.
Two years ago Carol joined Robinson Low Francis LLP, the construction and property consultancy responsible for the roll out of Caffé Nero to a UK high street near you. As a senior project manager with 20 years’ experience she leads commercial developments across the UK, managing large multi-disciplinary teams. She has chosen to specialise in risk and value management and is also a qualified expert witness on delay analysis, putting her analytical skills to good use in construction dispute resolution.
Carol developed her people skills at the sharp end on a number of high profile construction projects and she sees herself very much as the “hands-on, hard hat and muddy boots” project delivery specialist as well as the smart suited client-facing professional.
Despite a busy schedule, she still finds time to encourage young people to consider a career in non-traditional fields of science, engineering and technology. “I promote our professions by being active in organisations like Women in Property and its schools’ roadshows,” Carol says. “I participate in media advertising aimed at young people and I attend careers fairs as a Construction Ambassador, to demonstrate the many and varied careers in property.” Carol also offers informal coaching and formal mentoring to support new entrants in the property and project management fields and help them to develop their careers.
Property may be the industry she has adopted, but Carol’s career as a project manager has seen her manage huge budgets and significant teams during the periods while construction initiatives come to fruition. She feels that project management in any sector is a complex balance of managing time, budgets and customer requirements to achieve a quality end result which delivers the business benefits underlying the project.
She currently chairs the South East branch of the Association of Women in Property, having been active in the Association since being invited to found the Devon & Cornwall satellite branch while she lived and worked in the area.
Carol is also active in the UK’s professional body for project managers, the Association for Project Management (APM). She currently chairs the Women in Project Management Specific Interest Group and recently relinquished the chairmanship of the APM Inspire Initiative Steering Group, a forum which aims to help develop entry-level and newly qualified project managers. The APM recognised her efforts in project management last year, when she was voted one of the top 10 most influential Project Managers in the UK by the organisation’s members.
Just when you thought she couldn’t possibly fit any more into her week, she has just completed a course of study leading to qualification as an expert witness as well as working towards the professional qualifications of the Institute of Leadership and Management through her employer Robinson Low Francis’ Leadership Development Programme.
Carol herself believes that she hasn’t yet reached the top of her profession, and while some would say she is being too modest, this acknowledgement contributes to the mentoring ethos. “I can learn from my mentees as their experience is different to mine,” she says. “Mentoring teaches invaluable communication and listening skills and keeps me in touch with younger members of my profession.”
Carol certainly has great experience to pass on to her mentees. She was deputy project manager on the award-winning Eden Project in Cornwall, England, the largest conservatory in the world.
Construction is a varied industry so it’s important for women aiming to work in property to seek out an area that meets their interests and skills. “I would encourage women considering a career in construction to seek advice from those already in the industry who can offer help and support in selecting the discipline most suited to the candidate,” Carol says. “A career in property offers tangible rewards similar to those of other careers with one added ingredient; the visible results and physical legacy from working in the built environment, so that, years from now, you can point to a structure and say ‘I built that’.”