Aaron

Aaron Sichilombe joined Royal HaskoningDHV Southern Africa in 2014 as an engineer.

"It was the job they advertised, and the job I was hired for,” he says, “but from the onset, my performance was as Project Manager, and it has been that way all through my career at Royal HaskoningDHV.”

Born in Zambia, Aaron moved to South Africa in search of opportunities to work on big projects for large companies.

“Civil engineering is a field that depends on infrastructure development, which depends on the economy of the nation,” he says. “With Zambia having a small economy, there wasn’t much activity there.”

His desire to work on big engineering projects grew stronger when colleagues came home from South Africa and spoke about the projects they were working on. He knew that he had to emigrate to keep up with the latest advancements.

Once here, Aaron worked for several smaller companies before applying at Royal HaskoningDHV. “My goal was to get into a large, established organisation. So, when I saw the engineer job advert on LinkedIn, I just realised this is my position. I applied, and I got the job!”

What do you love about your job?

“You have to make decisions every day on how to run the project and then ensure that it goes smoothly. Having that responsibility is exciting.”

Although he was hired as an engineer, Aaron couldn’t resist getting involved in project management. Having control of a project from inception and dealing with the various dynamics that the project entails is where Aaron finds much of his motivation.

So, in 2020, his title changed from Engineer to Senior Project Manager.

Having come from much smaller organisations, Aaron is still blown away by the structure at Royal HaskoningDHV and how everything ‘just works’. “From the very start, I was impressed. You know what you need to do when everything is clear and structured. And that’s why I’ve been here nearly eight years. When I joined Royal HaskoningDHV, I knew I had arrived.”

Proudest moment?

"The day Royal HaskoningDHV was awarded the tender that I was the lead on."