From the Royal Artillery to Senior Project Manager

Mace

Matt Burton served in the Royal Artillery for 13 years, retiring in the rank of Major in 2022.  His last role involved working in PJHQ as part of the COVID-19 Response Cell. This was an operational crisis role and so day-to-day was spent analysing the evolving situation, providing situation updates to the chain of command and then updating and communicating operational policy. The role required extensive stakeholder engagement with wider operational, medical and scientific planning teams, overseas operational commands, single service headquarters and government ministries.

Matt’s key skills gained during his military career were:

  • Operational delivery: experience across a broad range of business areas – HR, planning, strategy, operations, project management, change management, policy and R&D.
  • Communication and relationship management: ability to communicate, collaborate and build strong working relationships across a diverse range of clients and colleagues, including global networks in Europe, USA and the Middle East.
  • Problem solving and operational improvement: collaborative approach to problem solving. Track record of identifying problems, securing stakeholder buy-in and formulating solutions to optimise outcomes.
  • Resilience: experienced working in ambiguous scenarios and maintaining high standards under pressure. Proven ability to motivate and mentor others through challenging situations.

Matt gained his current role as Senior Project Manager (Consultancy) within Higher Education for Mace through the BuildForce team submitting his CV to the Mace Military Talent Programme.

‘Time’ was Matt’s greatest support through his transition, he found he had plenty of time to decide what he wanted to do and how best to place himself to achieve success, finding great support from both BuildForce and the Officers Association.  However, finding a role he would find interesting, rewarding and with work-life balance was his greatest concern.  He was never worried about getting a job, it was all about the ‘right’ job, finding a new rewarding career with opportunity for development and progression.

In his new role, Matt works on the ‘client side’; working on behalf of the client to deliver building projects from concept to completion. For each project he oversees a multi-disciplinary design team who help the client to realise their brief, design the building, gain planning consent and appoint a Main Contractor to build the building. During construction, Matt monitors the contractor’s work and manages any changes to ensure the project is delivered on time, to the budget and to the expected quality.

A typical day involves lots of problem solving and keeping the plates spinning! It is mostly meetings and emails but it covers a wide range of areas and disciplines – commercial/financial, risk management, procurement, contractual law, planning permission and statutory regulation, technical design, sustainability considerations, communications and media – there is always something new to learn! Matt’s time is split equally between time onsite or the office and working from home which has allowed him to balance both his and his wife’s career – sharing nursery pick-ups and drop-offs and not being away at weekends.

Communication, organisation and adaptability are Matt’s core transferable skills honed in the Army and now used daily in his role as PM.

Matt goes on to advise those leaving the Armed Forces, seeking a career in construction:

“Do your homework and take advantage of the chance to speak to as many people as possible, especially if you are coming to it with no conventional construction experience. The BuildForce online training, mentoring programme and work experience opportunities really helped me to understand what roles would be open to me and gave me the confidence to sell my skills and experience.”

And finally, 3 words to describe a career in construction:

Complicated. Collaborative. Satisfying.