Women in Construction - Justine gains promotion to Site Manager

Justine has spent the majority of her working life in the construction industry but had worked in construction recruitment and customer relations, having emigrated with husband Jason from her native Western Australia to the UK at the end of 2016.

She joined Bellway as an Assistant Site Manager with the North London Region in August 2019, before transferring to the South London Region in October 2022 and has now been promoted to Site Manager.

“I have always worked within the construction industry in some form or other for a number of years in Australia, but things weren’t looking particularly good for the Australian economy when we made the decision to come to London in 2016.

“It is fantastic for Bellway to give me the opportunities that I have. I don’t think I would have had this opportunity in Australia being female. I would like to think that once given the opportunity to prove myself, I have taken full advantage of that.”

After working at a number of sites, Justine was given the responsibility to lead the final build of 20 homes at the site, Buckthorn Grange in Ewell, then was acting interim Site Manager to assist the team at the Indigo Park development in Chichester.

Justine praised Bellway for providing her with the support and training she needed to further her career and to move up the promotion ladder. In particular, Rob Sapsford (now Managing Director at Bellway South London ) and Leon Taylor (now Head of Construction at Bellway South London) who have been part of Justine’s journey with the company from the start.

“From day one, my senior colleagues at Bellway made it clear that they were always there to turn to at any point if I needed any advice or help with a decision that needed to be made,” she said. “It has been good for me to work at various sites at varying stages of construction and to be able to learn from different site managers.

“I have often been the only female member of the construction team on site where I have worked but it has never been an issue for me, or for anyone else. You just have to be confident in your own abilities, put in the hard graft and to give the project your best shot. It’s not about your gender, it’s about whether you can do the job or not.”

Justine is excited to be taking on the challenge of being a project lead Site Manager from the very start of the project at Perceval Grange.

“It is a thrill to be the site manager now and that presents itself with new challenges as the buck stops with me,” she said. “For the first time, I am in right at the start of a development, at Perceval Grange where we will be delivering 69 new homes at an old brickworks site.

“We are having to demolish buildings and getting involved in that process is new territory for me. Once the buildings have been cleared the groundworks can start and then we can get on with delivering a collection of high-quality two, three and four-bedroom homes.

“I love my job and I love Bellway because of the values it stands for. The company is passionate about putting customers first and that fits exactly with my personal ethos. We are building people’s dream homes here and it is a privilege and an honour to do so and we will do all within our power to get it right, first time around.

“I am ambitious, and in the future I would like to become a Project/Contracts Manager. It would be great to be overseeing another site with a female team at the helm. We want more women to come into construction and that would send out a powerful message.”

Daniel Williamson, Sales Director for Bellway South London, said: “Justine’s total commitment and passion for the job serve as inspiration to her colleagues. She leads a team brilliantly and it has been wonderful to see her make the step up into the role of site manager.

“Justine is a shining example of why more women should seriously consider a career in construction. Our aim at Bellway is to spot talent and to give that person the tools and the environment in which they can flourish and reach their full potential.

“We strive to be an employer of choice and we are proud to be part of the Women into Housebuilding programme which was launched by the Home Builders Federation in 2023 to attract more women into trainee assistant site manager roles to start their careers in the industry.”

For more information about careers at Bellway visit https://www.bellwaycareers.co.uk/.

Details about Bellway’s new homes at Perceval Grange are available at https://www.bellway.co.uk/new-homes/south-london/perceval-grange.