Infrastructure consulting firm Aecom has appointed Rachel Billington as head of equity, diversity and inclusion (ED&I) in Europe.
In her new role Billington is responsible for leading Aecom’s ED&I strategy across the region, with a focus on developing inclusive people practices and leadership, as well as collaborating with clients to drive change in the industry.
Billington joined Aecom in June this year from the Metropolitan Police Service, where she was head of HR diversity and inclusion, bringing more than 20 years of experience in the public and private sectors to her new post.
In her former role, Billington delivered a number of successful ED&I initiatives, including the organisation’s first Women Returners Programme and Met Baby, a bespoke parenting support service.
More recently, she was programme manager of the retention workstream for the Mayor of London’s Race Action Plan where she worked with senior leaders to implement the Race Commitments programme, as well as creating local employee resource groups.
Billington is also a chartered CIPD member, MBTI practitioner and is qualified as an advanced executive coach and mentor specialising in mentoring underrepresented groups, including maternity and career returnees.
Colin Wood, chief executive, Europe, Aecom, said: “Rachel’s appointment reinforces our commitment to ED&I and she takes on an important new role that will help to shape our inclusive culture to attract, grow and retain a diverse network of professionals. She brings extensive experience in developing, leading and implementing innovative ED&I initiatives with tangible results, which will be a great asset as we continue to implement our ED&I strategy.”
Commenting on her appointment, Billington added: “Aecom’s scale and reach across multiple geographies and markets in Europe brings together a truly diverse network of talent. I look forward to working with everyone across Aecom Europe to push forward its ED&I journey, developing and leading exciting initiatives that will enable everyone to have the opportunity to thrive.”