The collaborative consultant

Name: Rob Hubbard

Grade: Fellow

Occupation: Principal Consultant

Employer: Cantidad Limited 

Meet Rob Hubbard FCInstCES

What encouraged you to join the construction industry?

The dad of my girlfriend at the time encouraged me to look at the construction industry after I had been labouring for him at weekends and evenings, he was a scaffolder.

Did you ever consider a different career?

When I left college (BTEC business studies), I initially went into high street banking before joining construction, aged 20. I’ve also dabbled in property management and had a letting agents for a while.

What academic or professional qualifications do you have?

I have an MSc in construction law and dispute resolution, I am an RICS registered expert witness and currently studying to become a registered mediator. As well as being a fellow of the institution, I’m also a fellow of the Chartered Institute or Arbitrators (FCIArb), a fellow of the Chartered Institute of Highways and Transportation (FCIHT) a member of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), member of the Association of Project Managers (MAPM) and an associate member of the Institution of Civil Engineers (AMICE).

What does a typical day involve?

I don’t have one of those, which I’m very grateful for! As my company represents several clients on a range of commissions, every day is different and varied. I usually start the day with reviewing my diary and then producing an action list, prioritising what needs to be completed on that day including scheduling in time for calls and replying to emails. Most meetings I attend are over MS Teams so there’s a lot of juggling things around to suit. I usually take lunch at my desk and use that time to review what’s been achieved in the morning and if necessary, re-plan the afternoon. Unless I’m working on something time critical, I usually wrap up around 6pm to spend time with the family as they arrive home from school/college/work.

Can you give an example of any recent projects you have been working on?

Workload is diverse and presently includes commissions for several local authorities, for example, managing a highways maintenance framework, pricing works for direct delivery for another authority and supporting procurement events for both delivery contracts and professional services for several others. In the private sector, we are supporting a tier 1 contractor in closing out several legacy projects, providing project management support to a major pharmaceutical company and commercial support to a series of residential development projects in London.

We also undertake some pro bono, community works and act as contract administrator for a local rugby league club’s project to expand its existing changing room facilities. These projects are interspersed with various pre-dispute or dispute matters, providing advice to clients or receiving instruction from lawyer to act in an expert capacity.

What are the good bits and bad bits about your job?

Generally, it’s all good, I enjoy the diversity and really enjoy the opportunity to solve complex problems for clients. The worst part is having to wait around for information which sometimes causes issues around time planning, but our clients are usually very accommodating when we need to move things around which is really appreciated.

If you were to recommend your job to someone else, what would you say?

It’s so much more than counting bricks! Quantity surveying has been a great career for me. I’ve worked all over the UK on some interesting projects and met hundreds of interesting people along the way. I’m still in touch with people I met during my first week on site over 30 years ago. As a career choice, this discipline offers something for everyone and there are many specialisms that can be focussed on if that’s what you’re looking for.

What’s been your biggest career challenge?

I think the biggest challenge on reflection was learning to understand me as a person and what I want out of life. To accept myself and to focus on being a better version of me, rather than trying to be a copy of something or somebody else. ‘People buy people’ is a saying that I use a lot and by being the best version of me that I can be professionally, and to continue to keep learning and hopefully provide some inspiration to others I keep challenging myself every day.

Where would you like to take your career in the future?

I set up my own consultancy in September, which only a month earlier was probably the furthest thing from my mind to do. My passion is supporting clients to solve the issues that they have with construction projects. These exist all the way through the life cycle from inception of a project all the way through to closing out or resolving disputes. Through the experiences I’ve gained during my career, and with the support of a team around me I’m enjoying the opportunity to make a difference, this is especially apparent when working with local authorities who I find are great clients to work with.

What surprised you about the construction industry, if anything?

 The other area of change that must happen is to remove the stigma of talking about mental health problems within the industry.

I guess looking back how intertwined it is. I’ve always sad that you could put two apparent strangers in a room and within 10 minutes of conversation they would have colleagues or acquaintances in common. It seems that everyone either knows, or knows of everyone else at times, I love that there’s always a friend to seek advice from or to reconnect with.

If you could change one thing about the construction industry, what would it be?

To make the industry fairer and more collaborative. I’m an ambassador for the Conflict Avoidance Pledge which is an initiative to commit to conflict-avoidance and early intervention into disputes.

The financial cost of disputes in the construction industry is measured in billions of pounds and causes untold problems, which are often hidden from everyday life. The other area of change that must happen is to remove the stigma of talking about mental health problems within the industry. Everyone knows that construction is a dangerous pastime, but the number of suicides is phenomenal, three times higher than the national average for males, this needs to be addressed.

What encouraged you to join CICES?

Most of my career has been involved in civil engineering and infrastructure and when I got to the point in my career that I felt it necessary to attain industry recognition of my experience, I turned to CICES as the seemed the most relevant institution to join. I’ve found CICES to be welcoming and inclusive ever since and I’m proud to be a part of this.

Have you had any involvement with the CICES regions, committees, or panels?

Yes, plenty! I’ve been the chair for the Yorkshire region for the past four years but I am stepping down at the AGM in March 2023. In 2021, I was elected to the Council of Management and I am therefore also one of the institution’s trustees. I am also the chair of the construction law membership subcommittee and a membership examiner; I try to take part in each cycle to enable more people to join the institution.

What are your hobbies/interests?

My greatest passion is football, in particular following Leicester City FC (I grew up in Leicester) where I have a season ticket and have followed all my life, more recently having the pleasure of seeing them win the FA Cup and I have been able to watch them play all over Europe. Both of my sons have played rugby league and through involvement with their club, initially helping with fitness training, I qualified as a level 2 rugby league coach. I enjoy spending my downtime with my wife Cathy and children Freya, Finley and Isaac. I also like to keep myself fit through cycling, running, and going to the gym. Planning, that’s the key to fitting everything in, I sometimes get it right as well.