Every day is different working as an Adoptions Manager
Natalie Fulk is the first to admit that her career happened by accident. After signing up with a local job agency who sent her to work with a local developer providing one-day reception cover, she ended up staying and beginning her career in housebuilding.
Natalie quickly moved into technical admin becoming a trainee and studying a construction management degree through work. Always willing to gain experience and learn, she realised she preferred the technical side of construction to the design side. After taking time out of work to focus on her children, she returned in a sales role for Kier before being asked to apply for an adoptions role.
Now Natalie is enjoying a career that gives her variety, and where every day is different.
So, what does an Adoptions Manager do?
An Adoptions Manager oversees the legal and technical transfer of completed infrastructure, such as roads, sewers, and public open spaces, from developers to local authorities or water companies.
What qualities do you think you need to do your job?
You need to be a jack of all trades, and interested in everything, with a natural curiosity in order to take things on board. It’s a job on its own so it can be lonely, so you need to be able to be independent but also work with other departments to get work done.
What do you love about your job?
I love the variety as every day is different, and I am still learning new things. There’s a fair amount of autonomy, which I like and I do feel appreciated and trusted.
What challenges have you encountered along the way?
When I first started as a young girl, it was a different environment, for example, people would walk past me twice because they hadn’t registered that it was a woman they were meeting. Nowadays, I encounter very few issues. You do find some of the younger men are sometimes not old enough to understand the banter line, and you need to be able to say when it has been crossed, but I haven’t faced proper sexism for a long time, and I feel supported by my male colleagues.
What would you say to anyone thinking about their career choices or a career in construction?
I would say to do it, the earning potential is huge and there are great career opportunities, plus you are more likely to progress as there is a skills shortage. My personal experience has been positive, and I don’t feel like a minority in the office. Importantly, I feel respected, never disrespected.
What do you think would attract more women into construction?
I think that girls thinking about their career at school age really don’t consider it, with a real perception that it’s a boys’ world. So there is a lack of knowledge rather than anything that needs to change. I also think seeing more women in construction roles will help in time.