Jacqui Hughes – associate, office manager, HR manager, colleague, friend and above all a trusted and valued member of the Sutcliffe family with over 24 years dedicating her working life to us here at Sutcliffe. Jacqui is a more than deserving winner of the Employee of the Year Award this year and we want to celebrate her achievements and say thank you for her continued dedication to the company. We feel proud to work alongside Jacqui as she is recognised as one of the very best female business leaders and entrepreneurs across the Liverpool City Region.

After 24 years working for Sutcliffe, Jacqui is an experienced member of our team, and looks back over her career so far:

“I was employed initially by our founder, John Sutcliffe, starting as office junior and working through the ranks to break the glass ceiling to become the company’s first female associate and I’m anticipating progressing to director level.

“I have witnessed the peaks and troughs of the construction industry and during this time we have been fortunate to have more than doubled in size and now provide national coverage with offices in Liverpool, Manchester, North Wales and London. 

“Sutcliffe is more than just engineers. One of our key selling points is being a multi-disciplinary, engineering practice, offering in-house expertise which has grown and developed extensively over the years.”

Before Jacqui embarked on a career with us, her previous roles ensured she was well prepared for the journey ahead at Sutcliffe:

“I have worked in the construction industry throughout my career for property developers, real estate and M&E consultants, so my heart was with this industry from day one. My journey has taken a number of paths and while being Office Manager as Sutcliffe one of my caps is HR Manager, which I seem to have inherited, which is quite common in the workplace. I thrive in this role as being the go to person and the opportunity to influence policies and procedures and business decisions, but more importantly to assist and support the development of the team”.

Jacqui has always demonstrated drive and commitment to aid her self growth, so when asked what the best thing was about her job the answer was simple:

“The best things about my job are the people and the working environment, and how varied my role is. I have about six different caps but I wouldn’t change any of it. It is fantastic to see the company grow over the years, both in turnover and staff, but also how I have grown with it (not just in age!) but as a person. I have learnt so much but I also have the drive and commitment to keep on learning and developing and getting better at what I do”.

Sutcliffe prides itself on creating a friendly atmosphere. Luckily, although it is a large company, it still manages to maintain a family feel, which is ingrained in its culture and work ethos. Jacqui added:

“Sutcliffe is all about the people, work/home life balance is top priority and investing in people is one of the most valuable things a business can do and this is part of our culture. As a team we feel engaged, valued and appreciated and while we are here to work we all feel part of a family business and part of the Sutcliffe journey both at work but also in home life.”

It is safe to say that Jacqui wears many hats and can just about turn her hand to anything. She is the glue of the business and keeps us all in check.

Congratulations Jacqui on your well deserved win from all of us here at Sutcliffe.

Sean Keyes

Managing Director