GEV Wind Power are over the moon to announce that Sophie has been selected as a finalist for the Humber Renewables Awards, 2019, under the category of “Women into Manufacturing and Engineering”. We were delighted to have the opportunity to nominate Sophie for her dedication, maturity and commitment to GEV and wish her the very best going forward!

What Does Sophie Do?

If you are familiar with GEV Wind Power then you will almost certainly have come into contact with Sophie! She is central to getting a project out the door from beginning to end, co-ordinating and liaising with our technicians, clients, project managers, recruitment manager, travel co-ordinator, stores department, QHSE manager & accounts department. Sophie is a walking database of knowledge managing and distributing information from all corners of the business and ensuring everyone has what they need when they need it. Her role is extremely demanding with specifications changing from project to project and client to client, this means she must be constantly flexible and adaptable. Sophie has gone above and beyond in her role, working all hours in the busy summer season. Sometimes taking calls and questions in the early hours of the morning or late at night.

An Example of just one of the situations Sophie has successfully executed would be a last-minute overseas project. The project came through the door on a Friday afternoon for 8 technicians to mobilise by the following Tuesday. This included finding the right technicians, collating certificates, organising working kit, booking all travel, distributing contracts and compiling paper work all in under 2 working days. Needless to say, she worked tirelessly over her weekend ensuring technicians, PMs and clients were satisfied with everything in place. She stayed calm, collected and ultimately took the experience in her stride. It is this dedication to seeing a project run smoothly and commitment to the people involved that encouraged us to nominate Sophie for this award!

A Bit About Sophie:

Sophie is 22 years old and has worked for GEV Wind Power for 4 years. She grew up local to GEV’s head office in Hull, attending Kelvin Hall School and Wyke Sixth Form College. On finishing her education Sophie joined GEV as an Administration Apprentice aged 18 in June 2015.

Sophie very quickly proved herself as an apprentice, she was highly competent and was soon promoted to GEV’s accounts department in April 2016. She didn’t stop there however and her aptitude alongside excellent work ethic were further noted as she rapidly gained her AAT qualifications. Sophie took on responsibilities wherever possible gaining skills in administration, accounting, travel coordination, purchasing and stores management. By now the Senior Management team recognised a key individual to the business. Sophie was given the opportunity to take on much more responsibility, with a promotion to Project Coordinator, a position in which she has excelled. Although Sophie had gotten to know the business inside and out, this was her first foray into Project Management Co-ordination. Despite this she threw herself into the role with enthusiasm and determination. Sophie has been eager to take on continued professional development to propel her in her role, most notably completing Cranfield University’s Improvement Project Performance Course, as well as auditing training and her AAT qualifications.

2018 was GEV’s busiest year to date, increasing our sales by 91%.  Sophie’s constant attention to detail, people and projects throughout this incredibly busy season undoubtedly reinforced the smooth running of the business. She has worked hard, selflessly putting in evenings and weekends to ensure her projects take off without a hitch.

Sophie not only manages her own work load but has taken on line-managing the administration and travel positions, ensuring all processes from beginning to end are harmonised. No job is ever too big or too small for Sophie and at only 22 she has become a real back bone and encyclopaedia of knowledge when it comes to the business!

Managing Director, David Fletcher says:

“Over the past 3 years, Sophie has been on an incredible journey with GEV Wind Power. She joined us on an apprenticeship scheme supporting the project back office team. She quickly impressed and we promoted her to a role within our finance department, where eventually she had responsibility for managing the various disbursements to a field workforce of over 200 technicians. She managed this demanding role diligently and we were therefore delighted to support her successful application for the role of Project Co-ordination Manager in 2018.”