Kirsty Ayres

"In the water industry it's really important to understand what the customers need - safe, clean drinking water - so the \"Coach\" personality is very true as I like to help my team solve any problems that could stop us providing good quality drinking water. I do like working with detail and making sure any risks are minimised so that everybody goes home safely. The work I do on wellbeing in the water industry really fits with the \"Quality Control\" personality as it challenges the way people work to help make them safer and happier in their jobs. I was a bit surprised by the \"Influencer\" personality as it makes me think of people on social media advertising products they are using. But actually I do spend time explaining things to people and doing presentations to make sure they understand so my influencing takes place in important meetings rather than on Instagram! "

"I am currently working on HS2, helping to project manage the Utilities Diversions teams. There are lots of water mains, gas mains, electric cables and telecoms that need to be moved before the new train line can be built. I help by making sure the teams designing the diversions are completing the work on time, within budget and to a good quality. This means I get to work with lots of different people as we have specialists for each type of utility which I really enjoy. "

"I had never really thought about working in the water industry until I was offered a job on a project replacing leaky water mains because of my mapping skills gained from my Geography degree. Since then, I have worked on several different projects that aim to reduce the amount of water wasted through leaks which is really important to me as it helps us to be more sustainable. Sir David Attenborough is one of my biggest inspirations because of his work in the environment. It can be difficult though, deciding which leaky main to replace and there are lots of factors that need to be considered. I like weighing up the different factors and risks such as flooding, number of customers affected, cost of repair and how easy it will be to close the road to decide which main is most in need of replacement. "

"Outside of work I do pilates and am learning some of the Latin dances from Strictly Come Dancing like salsa and jive. I love spending time in my garden trying to grow lots of colourful flower and herbs, as well as watching Marvel movies. I have two cats called Patch and Muesli. "

"As I work from home most days, I spend a lot of time in Skype calls talking to my design team to get updates and help resolve any problems they may be having. I use Excel spreadsheets a lot to keep track of costs and progress and provide updates to senior managers through emails and action plans. "

"A Levels in Geography, Biology and ChemistryGeography (Human & Physical) BSc - First Class (Hons)"