“I’ll be completely honest and say that I have few academic accreditations to my name. I left school at 16 with 12 GCSEs and set out into the big wide world with no clue what I wanted to do with my life.  I drifted from here to there, even lived abroad for a few years, but really got serious about having a career in my mid 20’s. 

I was lucky enough to be given a chance by the owner of an estate agency who saw that what I lacked in formal training, I more than made up for in enthusiasm!  I knuckled down and worked hard. I learnt how to support people selling their home, when they entrusted me with their most valuable asset. I learnt to guide first time buyers or downsizers to seeing potential in homes that they may not have previously considered.  Eventually I also learnt how to hold my own against experienced solicitors and surveyors who had no patience for ‘rookies’ like me.

After five years, I understood conveyancing, the process of selling a house, inside out and had even the stoniest of solicitors warm to me!  We were a busy city centre estate agency, and I had become Sales and Lettings Manager. Looking back, I realise I needed that bit of maturity to get these positive outcomes.  I had been a bit of a wild child in my teens and early 20’s but I was quick to learn life lessons once I got serious about working.  I guess what I’m trying to say here is that you need determination and perseverance. 

I would say that you also need luck, but I believe you make your own luck.  I think that was how I met the founders of Sero, a group of businesses working towards a green, net zero carbon home for everyone. The business was growing rapidly, and they needed a team member to help manage all the new ideas and technologies being planned. I jumped at the chance and that’s how I became Innovation Manager here.

Although my previous estate agency experience clearly gave me an insight into homes, I realise how little I actually knew about energy efficiency.  I think it’s safe to say that this is not one of the main selling features of a house and that, actually, the industry as a whole is pretty ignorant about how to decarbonise our homes.  Working here has given me a real fire in my belly to change that. I believe that we need to educate estate agents, conveyancers, surveyors and mortgage-lenders so they can give the general public the most sustainable guidance possible when buying or selling a home.

My role as Innovation Manager is quite tricky to put into words.  It’s a very diverse and exciting role, which sees me involved in lots of different projects.  I’ve worked on our FLATLINE* project, which demonstrates how important it is to balance energy supply from different sources to meet demand. My current ‘baby’ is the VALUER* project, which is about understanding how the energy running costs of a property should be influencing the market value of that property.

Mostly, my role focusses mainly on green finance, to enable people to choose more sustainable energy solutions.  For example, if someone wants to replace their traditional gas boiler with a more sustainable air-source heat pump, what is the best way for them to pay for it? Do they want to take out a loan to cover the upfront costs? Add it to an existing mortgage? Or would they rather sacrifice some of their resulting energy savings to be able to repay the installation costs over time?  Having different finance options will be key to enabling the public to choose which route is best for them.

Of course, as well as personal finance, mortgage-lenders and the government could also have a part to play in installing these new, sustainable technologies.  Will lenders offer good deals for those looking to install positive new energy management systems? Or penalise those who don’t? Will the government enforce new regulations and legislations - when and how?  All of this financial and funding side is what I spend a lot of my time exploring.

For anyone thinking about a career in innovative tech’ or green finance, I would say the key at the moment would be to get plenty of general experience.  There are so many new technologies being developed, don’t just pick one, but understand that there’s space for a variety of different solutions. Given that I have more ‘life experience’ than academic, it would be hypocritical of me to steer learners towards one path or another – just do what’s right for you when it feels right, whether that’s as a school leaver or someone seeking to retrain later in life. Whatever you choose, embrace the challenges and learn from your fears. I’m still learning every day – it’s another reason I love my job. When you can become familiar with things that once scared you, you become confident in tackling them and they aren’t the barriers you thought they might be.”

* FLATLINE – Fixed Level Affordable Tariffs Linked with Intelligently Networked Energy
VALUER – Valuations and Lending Underwriting Energy Efficiency