As the Commercial Lead on the Bicentennial Schools Project in Peru, Simon Wareing oversees the Gleeds team as part of our role in the British-Finnish consortium, Koulu. This Government-to-Government programme aims to provide international best practices in project management office, commercial and delivery assurance, and knowledge transfer to the Peruvian Government.
The project involves the delivery of 75 replacement schools across Peru, creating 118,000 school places. Simon describes his role as highly dynamic, with no two days being the same.
I’m an early bird, I like to get into the office early. My day often includes a series of meetings supporting our team and our client, resolving issues and suggesting solutions. I still manage to learn something new every day, which I love about my job.
Two main factors drive Simon’s motivation. Firstly, he enjoys working at the early stages of projects, setting up teams, programme approaches, and developing business cases to capture what the client wants and determine the best way to deliver it. Secondly, seeing projects in use, especially educational ones, where the impact on students over the years is significant, gives him immense satisfaction.
The opportunity to work in Peru was a once-in-a-lifetime chance for Simon to bring global experience to a new context where he could make a real difference. He joined Gleeds in 2006 and continues to enjoy his career with the company. Initially specialising in public-private partnership projects, and his background in law and quantity surveying has contributed to several successful project deliveries. Simon appreciates Gleeds' partnership approach with other consultants to create the best team for clients.
Simon relates to Gleeds’ excellence with humility value, recognising that the best results come from doing the best for clients and acknowledging that everyone in the team contributes to successful outcomes. He also emphasises being open to new ideas while remaining pragmatic and understanding the client's goals. His advice for new joiners at Gleeds:
Take the opportunity to work in another country with Gleeds – you will gain invaluable experience working with people from vastly different backgrounds, cultures and experiences, which will widen your own knowledge and develop broader skills and outlooks.
Reflecting on his proudest achievement at Gleeds, Simon highlights the development of junior staff and watching their careers flourish, along with several education sector projects, particularly in special schools.
Outside of work, Simon was a Group Scout Leader back in the UK. He also loves wildlife gardening, allotment gardening, and is a Manchester United season ticket holder. If not in his current profession, Simon imagines he might be running a pub or bar, drawing from his past experience as a bar manager in York.