What does ‘Career of a lifetime’ mean?

People want to achieve amazing things in their work, and we want to ensure they do that with us. Working here is more than a job; it’s a career where you grow and develop as part of a team that wants you to win. Everyone feels our success is aligned with their personal contribution.

We want our people to feel that everything they want from their company – development, training, challenge and stimulation, career progression, friendships, pride and reward - can be achieved here; there is nowhere else they need to move instead.

We want our people to regard Willmott Dixon as the place to enjoy the best years of their career by being a company that….

…wants to see you succeed

…wants you to feel challenged and rewarded

…believes in nurturing and developing your potential

…provides an opportunity to achieve your aspirations

…wants you to feel valued

…makes you feel your contribution really does make a difference

…promotes flexible and agile working

…regards you as an talented individual rather than a ‘member of staff’

…makes you feel you belong

…allows you to have an impact on the life chances of others

…will not take your hard work and loyalty for granted

What does a ‘Career of a lifetime’ look like

Our longest serving 365 people have 5,933 years’ service between them

Meet some of our people enjoying a career of a lifetime

Hilary - header - Mid.png

When did you join Willmott Dixon?

August 2000 in a temporary role then became permanent in November 2000.

What was your first job?

Temporary secretary or administrator as it is now known.

What do you do now?

I'm a systems manager, I manage the Field View system in the health and safety team.

How did you get there?

I’ve worked for Willmott Dixon for 19 years, I started as an administrator which required me to maintain the system and before long I went to help out on site as a site administrator. I really enjoyed site work, but after 12 years I fancied a change. I applied and moved into a role managing the roll out of Field View in July 2014. I’ve always felt that I was able to grow within the business and the directors I have worked with have always rewarded my hard work. I worked closely with my manager and I was given another promotion to my current role. I really enjoy my role and the variety - every day is different!

Alex Coppin - mid.png

When did you join Willmott Dixon?

I joined in 2016.

What was your first job?

I started as a helpdesk analyst for a year.

What do you do now?

Infrastructure analyst.

How did you get there?

Before I joined Willmott Dixon, I had primarily worked on IT helpdesks. In my first year, I was getting to grips with the company withing my helpdesk support role, which I worked for a year. Being willing to learn and putting in the hours, I was promoted to principal helpdesk support analyst. I was in this role for a year when two secondment vacancies came up in IT. I applied and moved into the infrastructure analyst role on a secondment basis for six months and then moved over permanently. The infrastructure analyst tole focuses a lot more on projects than my helpdesk support roles. So rather than fixing end user issues, I not work on projects that affect larger areas of the business.

What advice would you give others?

Don't just wait for the promotion to come to you - work hard, ask and show you're interested.

Career of a lifetime - Laura Musgrave.png

When did you join Willmott Dixon?

I joined in October 2015 as a temp in document control. My contract was due to end at Christmas but I was asked to stay on a permanent basis.

What was your first job?

I initially started in document control.

What do you do now?

I have since progressed to bid coordinator.

How did you get there?

I was asked to stay on when I was in my document control role and I thought it was an opportunity I couldn't miss. I could see that Willmott Dixon was a great company and the people were lovely. I was in my document control role for six months when an opening came up to join the bid team as an assistant bid coordinator. The bid role was really interesting to me as I could put things I had learnt at University into practice and continue to develop in the role.

My manager was a big part of my progression. She mentored me and spent a lot of time in the first year training me up. She developed an ongoing development plan which helped me to get the role I am in today. Initially the role was daunting, but by working in a supportive team the move from document control to the bid team was made a lot easier.

What advice would you give others?

Talk to everyone in different departments to find out what would be suitable for you. Finding a mentor can be really helpful. This can either be your line manager or someone else in the business who can support and advise you.

Career of a lifetime - mid.png

When did you join Willmott Dixon?

In April 2011 on a fixed term contract at South London and South East.

What was your first job?

I was a site administrator and due to my project finishing before my contract had ended, I went to help out with the commercial team.

What do you do now?

Finance manager at Central South.

How did you get there?

Towards the end of my contract as a site administrator, I was asked to move into the office of the commercial team in October 2012. In January 2015, I was promoted to commercial assistant and, whilst in this role I started to study for my AAT (a finance qualification).

When the Central South office went live in January 2018, I took on the role as an assistant finance manager and was promoted to finance manager in 2019. I got into finance as I really enjoyed working with numbers and my role enables me to work with everyone in the business.

What advice would you give others?

Follow your heard and do what makes you happy. If you enjoy something then go for it and if you want to succeed, the opportunities are here within Willmott Dixon - no matter where you start!

Career of a lifetime - Steph.png

When did you join Willmott Dixon?

August 2002.

What was your first job?

I started on reception for four months, then progressed to production secretary for a year.

What do you do now?

I'm the principal sustainable development lead in North London and The East.

How did you get there?

Starting on reception, I then moved into various roles including sales and marketing and bid writing. I applied for a business development coordinator role progressing to an assistant business development manager alongside my community engagement role.

As Building on Better came in, I was asked if I can head up the 'legacy pillar' which I continue to do. This made me move outside of my comfort zone, especially presenting to the whole team. After a year, the position of a senior manager for the sustainable development team became available and I applied. I was initially worried about taking on the role of managing a team again, I hadn't done it for so many years. I got the role, I set out what I wanted to achieve, and I haven't looked back!

What advice would you give others?

Progressing in the business is about taking up opportunities, showing how you believe you can improve the business and you should aim for something you think will give you fulfilment.

What does Career of a Lifetime mean for customers?

  • Total commitment
  • In-house knowledge
  • Stability and loyalty
  • Long-term relationships
  • People with a vested interest that customers succeed
  • People that grow with you
  • People committed as much to the future as the present