Kier has appointed Melissa Dudley to the position of justice sector director, supporting key customers including the Ministry of Justice (MoJ), Scottish Prisons Service (SPS) and Home Office on their plans to build and improve critical infrastructure across the UK.
Melissa joins Kier from the MoJ, where she has held numerous senior commercial and contract management roles, most latterly as commercial deputy director on the MoJ’s 20,000 Prison Place Programme. In this role Melissa was responsible for a £9bn project portfolio that included six new prisons, 14 houseblock expansions, a category D expansion, and several major refurbishment programmes.
Rebecca Boundy, managing director for Clients and Markets at Kier Construction said:
I’ve admired Melissa’s career and accomplishments for a long time and couldn’t be more pleased that she’s joining us to lead our justice sector work. Her reputation speaks for itself - she has delivered landmark projects for the MoJ, including HMP Five Wells and HMP Millsike in partnership with Kier. We have seen first-hand not only her technical expertise but her ability to lead complex programmes with vision and precision.
She joins the business at a pivotal time as we deliver major projects such as HMP Glasgow and the expansions at HMPs Elmley, Lancaster Farms, Northumberland, Bullingdon and Channings Wood, in support of the government’s plans to build 14,000 new prison places by 2031. Melissa will also lead on our work supporting the MoJ’s ongoing capital works across its retained estate."
Kier’s current justice sector portfolio covers a total of thirty houseblocks delivered or pending in recent years for both the MoJ and Scottish Prisons Service (SPS).
Melissa said:
"It‘s an exciting time to be joining Kier with so many interesting projects critical to UK infrastructure in-train and in the pipeline across the construction business. I look forward to bringing my passion for justice and infrastructure to the role."
Kier Construction takes a 360 approach to working with clients across sectors including education, health, justice and defence, providing end-to-end capability from design and build through to maintenance and operation. Its mechanical and electrical arm specialises in the design, installation and commissioning of building services, working closely with Kier’s regional build businesses and the Clients and Markets team.