Personal Profile - Julia Powell (née Pinnington)

I graduated in Environmental Biology and Environmental Science from Oxford Brookes University and have since specialised in the field of environmental impact assessment. I have recently successfully completed a distance learning Master of Law in Environmental Law with De Montfort University.

My first job after graduating was with a firm of environmental consultants who were a public company listed on the stock exchange. We provided environmental advice to property developers and government departments on housing, roads, business parks, urban and rural development projects. Here I gained experience on a wide range of environmental issues, office management and communication skills. It was a fast moving, exciting, high pressured place to work, and very rewarding if you thrive on working to deadlines and a part of a team.

Since then I have moved to work with the Ministry of Defence (MOD). The work is very different from consultancy and with a strong policy, management and political focus. This latest period of my career has been varied and has provided me with a new range of skills, experiences including overseas travel. In my first post I provided advice to facilitate the management of the MOD Estate. My role encompassed a range of subjects such as ecology, environmental assessment of projects, environmental legislation, land use and landscape. I then moved to focus on providing specific environmental assessment and management advice on a 10 month secondment on a high profile project in Cyprus. 

I now work in a post where I am developing and promulgating policy and strategy to incorporate  sustainable development principles into estate management planning and processes, thereby meeting the Government’s and MOD’s SD commitments and performance targets. It involves liaison with other Government Departments, internal customers and external stakeholder, in addition to preparing submissions to Ministers, answering questions from MPs and analytical thinking to formulate the policy and convey ideas. I would recommend it to anyone wanting manage and liaise with a wide range of people, who has an interest in politics and can think on their feet to answer wide ranging queries whilst maintaining a technical specialism.

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