Caroline Hazlewood

What led you to join HR Wallingford?

I was interested in getting international experience in hydrology, hydraulics and flood risk. Being at HR Wallingford has enabled me to work on a range of exciting and interesting projects to help broaden my knowledge in these areas.  In the early days, I was involved in developing improved methods for estimating roughness and water levels in rivers, which underpins the Environment Agency’s Conveyance Estimation System. 

I then had the opportunity to work on hydraulic modelling studies, including local, regional and national scale flood risk applications such as producing national flood maps for England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and, more recently, for Ireland.  This led to my involvement with the development and application of decision support systems for long-term sustainable flood risk management planning in the context of climate and socio-economic change; and applying these approaches to the Humber and Thames estuaries in the UK. 

What does your role involve? 

Our team provides consultancy services in flood risk management, flood forecasting, catchment and drainage management, water and international development, dams and reservoirs, informatics and data science. Within that department I manage a team of around 60 people. The work is very diverse and my technical background is helpful in this role, although my day to day revolves around business planning, team management, budgeting, resourcing, and generally making sure that any issues that come up are dealt with in a timely way. I’m also responsible for overseeing our staff in the software distribution business in Italy and South-East Asia.  

A big part of my job is around recruitment. In my experience, keeping staff happy and motivated is a big part of building a successful business. My message to young aspiring engineers and scientists is come and speak to us if you are excited and passionate about working collaboratively on applied research and consultancy projects that make a difference.

What do you find most challenging and most rewarding about the job?

I’ve had the chance to experience technical work and also grow into a managerial career. When I first started in my current job I asked each member of the team what they liked about being part of HR Wallingford. They all said it was the people, and I think that speaks volumes. Working here feels like being part of a big family; we are a small company, so you get to know everybody and you feel as though you can keep up with what other departments are doing. 

Going forward, what do you anticipate will be the new opportunities in your sector?

I think one of the key things will be in the arena of big data, and a great example of this is satellite (earth observation) data. It’s about finding applications where data can be used meaningfully - providing a good evidence-base for decision makers. Our award winning projects for Intelligent Dam Safety Monitoring (DAMSAT) and Dengue forecasting MOdel Satellite-based System (D-MOSS) are two really great examples of that. Climate change is also a huge issue. Both flooding and drought are going to increase in frequency and severity and what we do here is fundamentally important to solving both of these issues. I can also see opportunities for innovation in natural flood management both here and internationally, including our recently awarded Ofwat Innovation Funding, where we are working with Southern Water to develop a National Sustainable Drainage (SuDS) platform.

What do people need to know about working here? 

The opportunity is what you make it. We are flexible, so if you’re really keen on a role, we’ll try to find a way to make it happen. We draw on a wide range of technical backgrounds, for example, engineers and scientists, mathematicians and statisticians, data analysts and developers. Team building is very important to us; anything from away days and sports events to crazy challenges like building the Eiffel Tower from spaghetti and marshmallows, and, more recently, our egg drop challenge – where we expertly designed carriers to drop eggs from height without breaking.

What do you enjoy doing out of work?

My hobbies revolve around anything active. I enjoy sports like squash and tennis, and I love running.  My advice to any new runner is keep going...after 2km everything’s better!