Matthew Cooke

In my previous professional experience it has showcased a continuous thread of countryside, conservation, and recreation throughout. One of my first ever civil engineering schemes involved installing wildlife corridors and badger proof fencing. I have also been involved with the land and recreation management of parks and gardens whilst at my role at Mansfield District Council. This included management of roadside verges for wildflower planting and the management of trees both within parks and highways where I had to use asset management principles for cyclic maintenance conforming to the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. Some of the other recreational assets I have been involved in include skate parks, access paths and roads and liaising with park maintenance teams to ensure efficient management of the land. I have also had to manage nature assets within town centres. I have been involved in SUDS projects where we have had to manage the land and work with various groups to help plant reed beds and create nature reserves liaising and maintaining close contact with various groups. There has been several occasions where I have had to liaise with Derbyshire Wildlife Trust to manage Badger Setts within the highway to ensure conservation and protection. As part of my roles I have had major involvement with community groups including SEN Schools to ensure accessibility is incorporated into schemes that have been designed for recreational use. I currently manage eighteen acres of historic parkland in my spare time. This includes managing various different aspects such as tree and garden maintenance and management and ensuring the historic and bio diversity of the site is managed correctly. During my career I have been involved in the protection of the natural and built environment which has included the conservation of historic structures such as historic bridges, stone troughs, ancient landmarks, wetlands and buildings maintaining them for future generations.

In my current and previous Civil Engineering roles I have been involved in the design and project management of schemes, which has meant producing detailed and accurate reports for managers and Councillors involving anything from collation of business cases/feasibility studies to the proposed bids/tender and design of a scheme. This has also meant that I have had to present presentations using power point software to different groups of people and have had to communicate in a clear and professional manner.

As part of producing a scheme or project I have also had to liaise with various different groups of people from the Client/Contractor and stakeholders to Members of the public, Councillors and other external bodies such as the Environment Agency, local volunteer groups, Local Councils and Emergency Services as an Employer Representative. Also within my past role as a Senior Technician I have had to manage technical staff within my section, which has involved developing a good set of interpersonal skills to ensure that the team works well together and that working relationships are built on and maintained. I have also carried out regular reviews of working practices of my staff and the councils policies and procedures to help improve service efficiency and the service user experience.

One of the many tasks as a project manager is to monitor performance on site and budgets in the past I have used Key Performance Indicators to ensure that the work is being delivered on schedule and that the quality of work was to standard. As part of my various project management roles I have had to ensure the correct deployment of resources and monitor these through weekly and monthly planning meetings which involve using assets such as microsoft smartsheets and time management systems. Also as part of this budget management I have been involved the reporting and forecasting of budgets to my line manager and Senior members of staff to ensure that the project is kept on time and within budget which has sometimes involved forecasting the budgets for future schemes so that the programme of works for that year remains on target. I have also been involved in the tendering process to secure external projects including the procurement and management of external contractors as part of my project delivery. I am proficient in the use of budget monitoring software such Microsoft Project, Excel and the County Councils own ALLOY / CONFIRM ordering systems, which has involved checking/authorising orders and also dealing with external invoices from contractors.

The projects I have been involved with in the past have also required procurement of a variety of different materials, plant and specialist items such as culvert screens, and wildlife defences these have been procured using the relevant authorities processes which has involved formal tenders and nominating a contractor who is part of a framework contract.

I have a detailed knowledge and understanding of highway construction and maintenance processes from my experience as a Civil Engineer. My previous job roles have involved me using the Design Manual for Roads and Bridges, The Manual of Contract Documents for Highway works, Chapter 8 of the Traffic Signs Manual, The 6C's Design Guide and the employers own documentation and specifications to help in the design and construction of minor and major highway schemes and drainage projects. Also I have knowledge of These projects have also included designing dropped crossing points utilising tactile paving which is outlined within The Disability Discrimination Act. I also have knowledge of various codes of practice including the Well-managed highway infrastructure code of practise and Safety at Street Works and Road Works Code of Practice, which I have used throughout my Civil Engineering Career. I have knowledge of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 together with other countryside and conservation legislation.

In my past role as a Senior Technician I liaised with Councillors and Members of the public on a regular basis whether it be at meetings or different events, which requires me to have a good understanding of the legal aspects of Highway Maintenance. Not only using the County Councils policies and processes but also using my knowledge of The Highways Act 1980 to ensure that any queries are answered correctly. This can also involve using other relevant knowledge of legislation such as The Land Drainage Act 1991 or The Flood Risk Management Act 2010, which are useful when dealing with highway drainage issues. More recently I have also been involved in using the British Standard ISO 14001 Environmental Management within my schemes and day-to-day knowledge, when dealing with various highway issues. I am also a qualified ISO 9001 Quality Management auditor within my current role, which has enabled me to ensure that the teams that I've been involved with work to a set standard and to deliver the set service objectives.
As part of my career I have always been involved with Health and Safety whether it be conforming to the Construction, Design and Management Regulations 2015 or being part of the council's Health and Safety Management Group, which discuss various Health and Safety issues including Risk Assessments, method statements, general codes of practice and Safe Systems of Working. I have also been on several training sessions to improve my Health and Safety knowledge which included a course for Senior Executives.

My previous roles have always involved me working either in a very small group or on my own on site in order to either design or project manage a scheme. This has meant developing several different skills such as managing people as part of a team, managing budgets, liaising with different groups, being self motivated, managing deadlines, being able to make decisions on my own and managing time in order to ensure that a correct amount of time is given to the task which is needed to be carried out. In order to carry out my duties I have had to use various software packages over the years these include AutoCAD, Microsoft Office including project, word, excel, power point. Also I have used different employer based software packages such as SAP, Confirm and various mapping software. I have involved in the use of social media and other digital media as part of my previous roles also.

As part of my previous project management roles on site and within an office, I've had to manage the budgets of various different schemes by using budget spread sheets, budget monitoring software and also the employers own estimating procedures which involve using schedules of rates to produce a bill of quantities for the forthcoming works.
Within my current employment I have a good understanding of Asset Management processes and principles I had been on several workshops and training courses to update my knowledge and apply good Asset Management practices when designing or project managing a scheme. I also use Asset management based software such as the Councils own ALLOY / CONFIRM / SAMS systems which allows me to ascertain what assets are within the area in question and use this information to build up a picture of whether or not the asset has been identified correctly, what type of asset is it and has it been damaged previously if so further investigation may be needed, this information will all help in managing the asset more effectively.

Since 2017 I have been an Area Manager for Derbyshire County Council, this has allowed me to build on my skills from the past, I now manage one third of Derbyshire's Highway Network which includes managing a team of two Senior Technician's, eight Highway Inspector's and two Assistant Inspectors to successfully deliver management of the local highway network. This has developed my skills in a more senior position. As part of my day to day tasks I have to manage budgets, enquiries from the general public and councillors. Also I have to issue schemes and use both my detailed design and engineering knowledge to help guide and encourage other members of my junior staff. I would like to become an incorporated engineer as I believe I could help mentor other junior members of staff to gain further professional qualifications. In my private life I have been a member of the Air Cadets and I help out with delivering the Duke of Edinburgh syllabus at a local school as a mountain leader, this again has helped me to focus on communication / teamwork and also lead a team using my experience and knowledge. I have transferred these skills to my career and this has helped me to effectively lead a team, motivate people and help to deliver a high quality service to the people I serve.

• Fellow of The institute of Highways Engineers
• Qualified Mountain Leader
• Qualified Duke of Edinburgh Assessor
• Qualified National Navigation Award Scheme Provider