I work in the Infrastructure Coordination Service at the Greater London Authority (GLA). My team’s work reflects the Mayor of London's priorities to unlock affordable housing delivery, enable decarbonisation, improve air quality and create healthy streets. My team is multidisciplinary and made up of architects, engineers, town planners, policy professionals, data analysts and engagement specialists. 

 

A typical day for me is speaking with councils and housing associations about their GLA funded affordable housing schemes to understand where issues related to utilities infrastructure - electricity, water, telecoms – may be stalling the timelines of their construction projects, in some cases for up to ten years. 

 

I provide technical support, mediation and provisions for the team working to allow the councils and housing association, along with their construction teams, to find workable solutions with the utility providers. The three main skills I use are listening, negotiation and problem solving. I help to find routes to resolution that are agreeable for all parties, and I would describe my discipline as a built environment facilitator.  

 

The best thing about my job has been going to building sites to see the construction of the new affordable, sustainable homes for Londoners for which I have facilitated a solution. Since I joined the GLA in 2023, I have supported solutions for delivery of 7,000 new homes that would otherwise have stalled. I also get to input my learnings into reviewing the London Plan, the Mayor of London's statutory spatial development strategy for Greater London. The London Plan provides a framework for how London will develop over the next 20-25 years – it feels exciting to be part for of the blueprint for future good growth across the capital. 

 

I did not know this is what I always wanted to do, and I came to this role at the GLA in my 30’s. I did an undergraduate degree in architecture but then I spent six years trying my hand at design and fabrication for: exhibitions, commercial and retail interiors, brand experiences, large-scale sculptural artworks and sets for theatre, TV, film and fashion editorials. I learnt a lot across these disciples, but I struggled to find fulfilment in outcomes that were often very beautiful but impermanent and not always particularly supportive of an equitable society. In my current role, everyday my work is in the pursuit of building high-quality affordable homes for a fairer built environment. 

 

As a young Londoner, pursuing a career at the GLA means you get to spend every working day ensuring your city is the best it can be. The GLA offers a wide range of built environment employment roles – we have a Cultural and Community Spaces at Risk team, a 24-hour Economy team and a Regeneration team, to name just a few. As well as the jobs advertised on the City Hall website, the GLA offers paid apprenticeships and paid internships. London's diversity is its biggest asset, and the GLA strive to ensure our workforce reflects London's diversity at all levels.