Matthew Rostron: Senior Project Manager

What is your role at Pick Everard?

In my role as Senior Project Manager, I am responsible for leading a multi-disciplinary team across different disciplines such as Architecture, Building Surveying, Quantity Surveying, Health & Safety and Sustainability. To deliver high quality projects on time and on budget, that meet our client’s needs.

What inspired you to pursue a career in project management?

I fell into the world of project management after being involved in a project installing low carbon infrastructure, such as wind turbines, hydro-electric turbines and PVs. When you see the positive benefits to users and wider communities after project completion, it really does give you a sense of pride and achievement. Projects in infrastructure and the built environment invariably stand the test of time for many decades and it’s also nice to see these again as the years roll by!

What attracted you to Pick Everard?

Before I even knew about Plan25, the values and culture of Pick Everard resonated immediately at interview stage. After a two-stage interview, PE staff including Directors were willing to meet at their offices and spend time talking about the business, teams and projects. It was very personable and made me feel valued immediately and this was a big reason why I decided to join Pick Everard.

What makes a great Project Manager?

In my opinion, the essential skill a Project Manager must possess in order to deliver successful projects, is the ability to communicate clearly and effectively to all parties involved; the client, the project team and stakeholders. It allows strong, trusting and cooperative relationships to be built, facilitating effective project teams to deliver the best outcomes.

What advice would you give to junior Project Managers?

I would encourage Junior Project Managers to work alongside experienced Project Managers, listen, ask lots of questions and get involved in all aspects of managing a project. Through building experience across projects and reflecting on the personal lessons learned, confidence is built and you are able to adapt to different project challenges (and every project has its challenges!)