Sarah Woolham Jaffier
Strategy lead, National Grid
Expertise
Project Management, ConstructionLocation
United KingdomMy highlights
Winning Young Energy Professional of the Year in 2023
Featuring on a BBC documentary
Helping overhaul the UK electricity grid
A day in my life
A typical day for me involves either visiting one of our national offices or construction sites, followed by a range of meetings.
I’m always on the go because that’s what I enjoy but I do have the flexibility to work from home as well.
As my responsibilities have grown, I’ve moved from being onsite full time to participating in lots of meetings.
When you first start your career, it can be hard to understand what goes on in meetings and why so many take place.
The goal is often to look ahead and mitigate risks to make sure the rest of the team can deliver their work at ease.
Sometimes I’m leading the discussion, sometimes I need to listen deeply to a range of views and sometimes I’m presenting my work on specific topics. My role is always changing.
After work I love to exercise!
The work I do contributes to building the largest upgrade of the electricity grid in over a generation.
Which individual project or person inspired you to become a civil engineer?
The first person that inspired me to become a civil engineer was a family friend that owned a regional construction business.
I explained to him that I wanted to become an architect because when I travel, I look at buildings or bridges and think: ‘I want to build something that people get on a plane to go and see’.
He explained to me that it’s civil engineers that make sure things stand up and offered me a week of work experience.
From that point on, at age 16, I knew I wanted to become a civil engineer and I’m grateful to him for that.
We asked Sarah…
I would recommend a career in civil engineering because…
Infrastructure is so critical to society and delivering important things brings a strong sense of purpose to your life.
What about being a civil engineer gets you out of bed each morning?
The importance of what we do.
I contribute to keeping the lights on, for every second of every day.
If power is lost, homes and businesses are deeply affected.
The work I do contributes to building the largest upgrade of the electricity grid in over a generation.
What’s one great thing that you love about civil engineering that you didn’t know until you started working in the industry?
I didn’t know how broad the opportunities could be.
By the end of five years at university I understood a civil engineer as either a designer (that does calculations in simple terms) or a contractor (that works onsite and gets things built).
After six years working as a client (the owner and operator of infrastructure) I now understand how broad a career in civil engineering can be.
As well as the technical aspects of the job I understand finance, contracts, legal matters, consenting, community needs, land rights and procurement.
Which civil engineering project (past or present) do you wish you’d worked on?
Thames Tideway – so cool!
Name one civil engineering myth you’d like to bust.
That you have to be good at maths. My superpower has been bringing my strong skills in writing, communication and general problem solving to engineering teams.
Has civil engineering helped you overcome any personal hurdles/difficulties?
I worked really hard from when I was 11 years old to get my maths to a grade where I could take the A-level that’d help get me into a civil engineering course. This was a big challenge for me!
Also, civil engineering projects take place all over the world, so they often require you to relocate (if you wish).
As such, I’ve become good at moving around the country, making new friends and picking up new sports clubs!
What motivated you, or is motivating you, to become professionally qualified?
I decided at the age of 16 after a week of work experience onsite that I wanted to become a Chartered Civil Engineer and I’ve been motivated by this experience ever since.
I wanted to contribute to building critical infrastructure that people really need, and I wanted to help improve diversity within the industry.
What does being professionally qualified with the ICE mean for your career?
- Capability: professional qualifications are a way of measuring and displaying our competence and capability to ourselves, our board, our investors, our regulators, potential recruits and all our other stakeholders.
- Risk: professional registration also lowers our risk, as more qualified people make better decisions.
- Development: professional qualification is a fantastic way to develop our people, and to ensure that they keep doing so through continued professional development (CPD).
What’s the best thing about being professionally qualified with the ICE?
That my skills and knowledge are internationally recognised and benchmarked.
How did the ICE and your employer support you to become professionally qualified?
The ICE membership development officer (MDO) provided guidance, my employer supported the subscription fees, and a colleague became my mentor.
What do you value most about being an ICE member?
The network of people and events it offers, and the external benchmark it provides to my career experience.
How has being a member helped your career?
I’ve gained support from my MDO, Ray Hulse, to become chartered, which has been invaluable.
Complete this phrase: I’m a civil engineer, but I’m also …
An aspiring construction adjudicator. I’ve been studying construction law for the last three years.
Anything else? i.e. personal causes, hobbies
I’m happiest when I’m in the mountains – I’ve done some higher altitude hiking in France and Italy as well as my favourite stomping ground: the Lake District.
I really care about social mobility. I’ve been very fortunate in the support I have received and like to replicate this for others.
I help people to reach their potential and advocate for their own development through mentoring and allyship.
Sarah's career path
In my undergraduate career I was sponsored by Vinci/Taylor Woodrow and got experience onsite and in design every year between May and September.
I was also granted a Santander social mobility scholarship to study in Canada for one year.
I then joined the National Grid training scheme for 18 months where I was given a broad range of management, leadership, and technical training.
I have worked at National Grid ever since striving to become a Chartered Civil Engineer.
In 2023, I was sponsored by National Grid to undertake a Construction Law MSc degree after successfully passing the ICE law and contract modules.
