Rising Star

Sponsored by

Winner Sophie Leake, Speller Metcalfe

With a degree in Industrial and

Product Design, Sophie Leake came to the role of site manager via an unconventional route. Spells with an office furniture company and as a designer and project manager at design consultancies led her to take on the role of assistant design coordinator with contractor Speller Metcalfe in 2018. In 2021, she became a site manager.

With an ability to connect with office and site teams, Sophie’s previous roles allow her to contribute across projects. For instance, she is responsible for corporate social responsibility (CSR), soft landings and BREEAM requirements as well as site management on her current project. She also hosts design meetings and workshops with designers and subcontractors – as well as leading daily activity briefings with Black Hats on site.

Sophie has been recognised for her innovative approaches to raising awareness about health and safety issues, through internal awards and by the Considerate Constructors Scheme. Aiming to increase engagement with toolbox talks, she came up with quizzes such as the Working at Height wordsearch and Silica Dust matching word game and has designed an app which is now being trialled on a Speller Metcalfe project at the New Model Institute for Technology and Engineering (NMITE).

With an interest in sustainable construction, Sophie was a member of the Industry Working Group that designed the Timber Technology, Engineering and Design competency framework. She has helped shape the curriculum that will be delivered by the Centre for Advanced Timber Technology (CATT) at NMITE and has delivered a CPD workshop on ‘Timber on Site’.

As well as demonstrating passion for the project and people she works with, Sophie is highly active outside her day-to-day role. She is heavily involved in outreach to young people, sits on the committee for the Hertfordshire and Worcestershire Constructing Excellence group and co-chairs Speller Metcalfe’s equality, diversity and inclusion group.

Having encountered hurdles at school to studying the A-level subjects she needed for a career in project management, Sophie is a keen advocate of Speller Metcalfe’s Adopt a School initiative. “If I had been ‘adopted’ by one of these programmes, I could have been captured into construction much sooner,” says Sophie.

As well as giving construction lectures at the University of Wolverhampton, creating training interviews and volunteering for careers fairs, Sophie is also part of CIOB’s Tomorrow’s Leaders group.

Other finalists:

Jack Bennion

Redrow

Gary Dearden

Willmott Dixon

Reef Hillary

Morgan Sindall Construction and Infrastructure

Suzie McNicholas

Consilium Academies

Stephen Martin

House of Commons, UK Parliament

Cameron Sanghera

Aecom