Perfect Circle People | Victoria Carter
As part of our Perfect Circle People series, we spotlight Victoria Carter, Director and Head of Building Surveying South at AECOM. With over 30 years of experience and a Fellowship with the RICS, Victoria leads major defence sector projects and plays a vital role in mentoring future talent, reflecting her expertise, leadership and long-term commitment.
Meet Victoria
I’m a Fellow of the RICS and have been in the industry for over 30 years. My background is in design, contract administration, feasibility studies, condition surveys and project management.
At Perfect Circle, I look after a number of projects, mainly in the defence sector. Some of my client relationships go back more than 17 years, which says a lot about the trust and consistency we’ve built over time. They really value the work we do through Perfect Circle - and we work hard to keep delivering.
Career Highlight
Winning the RICS Young Surveyor “Mentor of the Year” award in 2021 was a huge moment for me. I’ve mentored a number of young surveyors over the years, and it’s something I genuinely love doing. Seeing others grow and succeed in their careers is incredibly rewarding.
Last year was also a bit of a highlight in getting to travel overseas for some surveys, getting to tick off Bermuda off my bucket list was a bonus!
What gets me up in the morning
It’s all about the variety of work and the people. I enjoy tackling new challenges, leading a great team, and watching their careers flourish. And of course, seeing a project through to completion is always a proud moment.
A typical day
No two days are the same - but there’s always a mix of team management, project delivery, winning new work, and a fair few emails! I also lead the Building Surveying Pathway for our Chartership Development programme at AECOM, supporting our junior staff as they work towards becoming chartered.
My Work with Perfect Circle
About half of my current workload is through Perfect Circle. Most of that is in the defence space, especially for the United States Visiting Forces (USVF) estate. I manage a range of instructions from multi-disciplinary design projects across both the built environment and infrastructure on the SCAPE Consultancy frameworks to more bespoke surveys where we are finding specialist resources to deliver surveys such as DSEAR, Reservoirs, Bridges, condition surveys and fire strategies. I also lead our Perfect Circle relationship with the Defence Infrastructure Organisation (DIO).
What I Love Most About My Role
It’s the long-term client relationships. Many of the clients I work with have been with me since I first joined AECOM, and they keep coming back because of the trust we’ve built and the quality of what we deliver.
If I Could Swap Roles for a Day...
I think I’d choose to be an ecologist. I’ve always found their work fascinating!
A fun fact about me
Not many people know this - but I’m currently learning to ride a motorbike. Working on getting my licence!
