James Hammond knew he wanted to pursue a career in construction after developing an interest in architecture at 12-years-old.

Now, 21 years later, after working his way up within the housebuilding industry, James has been appointed as regional technical manager for Vistry Thames Valley, which has its headquarters in Reading and is part of Vistry Group, Britain’s biggest housebuilder.

‘The 33-year-old, who lives in Puttenham, near Guildford, said: “I’ve always been inspired by Architecture and buildings and with Salisbury Cathedral adjacent to my school, there was inspiration to be taken from at an early age. This fed through to the subjects I learned in school and ultimately, I knew that I wanted to work in the building industry.’

Following on from his early inspiration, James completed school, gained a degree in construction management from university and then joined the building industry as a graduate trainee in the technical department at a housebuilding company.

He worked his way up to senior technical co-ordinator before joining Bovis Homes – now part of Vistry Group – in that role in 2018, then gaining promotion to technical manager and senior technical manager in quick succession.

As regional technical manager, the father-of-two now manages a team of seven in the technical department at Vistry Thames Valley, which is building new homes across Oxfordshire, Berkshire, Hampshire, Surrey and Buckinghamshire across its Bovis Homes, Linden Homes and Countryside Homes brands.

He said: “My role is to look after the operational side of the technical team. Basically, we aim to keep things going on site by co-ordinating all the information from our architects, civil and structural engineers, landscape architects and other third parties. This ensures a smooth handover of information to other departments which, in turn, enables them to carry out their roles in working towards completing great homes for our customers.”

James is also directly overseeing the technical operations at two sites – Buckler’s Park in Crowthorne, in Berkshire, and at Beckley Place in Barton Park, Oxford.

He said: “I have to ensure that all the relevant drawings and technical information is provided so that the commercial department can price accurately and the build team can get on and build the properties to meet Vistry’s exacting standards. What I like about this part of the job is that it gives me the opportunity to be in the office and also get out on site to see the projects come to life.”

“My personal professional ambition is to become a technical director and head up the whole team. The reason I love this job so much is that it is not only challenging but also that two days are never the same. That variety keeps things fresh and exciting. I feel lucky that I love my job and that Vistry has a positive promotion pathway.”

Trevor Wicks, managing director of Vistry Thames Valley, said: “In the six years that James has been with us, his enthusiasm and positive can-do attitude has rightly seen him go from promotion to promotion within the technical department and now sees him occupy a senior role in that team.

“James is a great leader within a great team. His proven ability to problem solve and create an environment where operations run incredibly smoothly means that he has very bright future with us here at Vistry.”

For more information about careers with Vistry Group, visit vistrygroup.co.uk.

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