Job spotlight: Risk management consultant, CR Management

Name: Jason Farnell

Company: CR Management

Job title: Risk management consultant

Key qualifications: Degree and post-qualification diploma

What's it like working as a commercial risk management consultant at CR Management?

We have a tight, diverse team with complementary skills which delivers results across the construction industry and procurement routes. Working in a partnership makes it easy to bounce ideas around and make decisions.

What's the best thing about working as a risk management consultant?

The opportunity to work with a wide range of companies and individuals and apply your skills and experience to achieve outcomes they could not otherwise have achieved. The diversity of the work means one moment we can be working on audits, the next on adjudication, delay analysis or the extension of time claims to commercial and contractual advice.

And the worst?

The horizon can be very short!

What sort of person is best suited to this job?

A problem solver who is motivated by results and achieving optimum outcomes for everyone involved. Rapport building is important, as is the mental agility to switch between different issues and circumstances.

What qualifications do you need?

Usually a professional qualification or first degree followed by a post-qualification diploma in a relevant field.

Everyone at CR Management has been a director or senior manager and has worked in property or construction all their careers.

Do many women work in the sector?

Construction is a great place for women and they now operate in all fields, both operational and professional. The industry is much more professional and civilized than when I joined, and that is all for the better.

Describe a typical day in the office

A typical job for me can be about solving problems or preventing them from occurring.

For example, we recently helped a company with a contract they thought they had two weeks to put in place, only to find they had not understood the true situation and the deadline for a response was only 36 hours away, so suddenly shore leave was cancelled and the pizza delivery man was in charge of catering.

What was your last job?

My last job was with GB Building Solutions, which I thoroughly enjoyed. It was liberating to work in a dynamic business. I enjoy business change management and being able to influence, in a positive way, the shape and direction of a business. Culturally, GB is streets ahead of others in its sector.

What is the typical starting salary for graduates?

That's tricky. A graduate QS might command £20,000 to £25,000 - the recession is redressing the tension supply and demand equation.

What can you expect after 10 years?

Depending on the starting point, an enterprising young professional can expect to have responsibility and challenge in an industry that demands solutions and imagination.

After 10 years I was running a £32m project with a team of six surveyors.

What is a typical career path?

A graduate surveyor might expect to run projects, assume management positions and eventually manage a business unit.

People who have an aptitude for dealing with complex issues will find there are no shortages of challenge or opportunity, and businesses like CR Management will continue to offer just that kind of fulfilment.

If you have persistence and drive, there is no reason why someone cannot reach senior management or even director level.