Meet one of Mott MacDonald Bentley's brilliant people: Gemma Mitchell, mechanical engineer

Meet one of our brilliant people: Gemma Mitchell, a mechanical engineer and STEM advocate in the Midlands.

Gemma speaks about her work on Mott MacDonald Bentley’s (MMB) Severn Trent framework, and how she strives to create an inclusive environment through her work as a regional STEM lead.

Tell us about your role and where you are based

Currently, I’m based in the Midlands and part of the MMB team delivering work in the Severn Trent region, including supporting the delivery of Lichfield Sewage Treatment Works (STW) where we are delivering a major upgrade to the existing works to meet tightening environmental permits and support future growth.

How do you deliver excellence in your role?

In my role as a mechanical engineer, I deliver excellence through design, planning and coordination. Communicating openly with client operatives to understand the challenges faced and challenging the client’s specification, to ensure that designs resolve existing challenges and meet programme and budget constraints.

What advice would you give to someone looking to shape their own story at MMB?

Speak to colleagues and find out what the different roles and pathways available to you in the company are, whilst taking the time to find out what is important to you.

Describe life at MMB in three words.

Teamwork, driven and safety.

How do you strive to create an inclusive, collaborative and supportive environment with your colleagues?

I strive for inclusion through my work as a regional STEM lead. Being a STEM lead involves coordinating with a range of stakeholders, to deliver educational outreach to students – promoting the different pathways into the engineering industry for children and young people who are just starting out their professional journeys.

What has been your proudest achievement?

In 2024, I won the Young Professional Engineer Award at the Water Equipment Show, for my work at Roundhill STW, despite only being 18-months into my career at the time.

The award was a proud achievement for me, as it represented the months of hard work and learning I had to do during the planning, coordination and design of the primary sludge thickening plant on the scheme which led to a successful delivery of the section and a positive outcome for the client.

How do you manage safety and wellbeing?  

I manage my safety and wellbeing by making sure I take time to step back from the different things at work. I find that noticing the little details, especially in nature always has a positive impact on my wellbeing.

Finish this sentence: I feel included when… 

People take the time to ask my opinion based on my experience.

Check out our latest annual review to read more people stories from across the business.

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Interested in a career at JN Bentley?

Check out our careers page or get in touch with the team at recruitment@jnbentley.co.uk.