As part of a series of stories profiling people of influence from around Beca, we asked Chief Sustainability Officer Sanchia Jacobs to tell us about her career journey and life outside of work.
Where did you grow up?
I grew up in Dunedin in a very creative, artistic family. Dunedin wasn’t exactly a melting pot of diversity in the 1970s, but a lot of migrant arrivals in the city would find themselves in our home for a meal. I think my parents’ own cultural heritage influenced this – Mum has Middle Eastern and Mediterranean heritage, and Dad is Māori (Ngāti Maniapoto) and Polish. Even though they were both born and raised in South Otago, their backgrounds and lifestyle gave me an early sense of both being from this place and a global citizen. Dad was a social worker with hobbies in wood turning and making stained glass windows, and mum was a hematologist when I was young, but returned to art school and became a jeweller and artist.
I hadn’t even reached high school when I knew that I either wanted to be the lawyer who freed Nelson Mandela, or a New Zealand diplomat. Nelson was freed before I got to law school, so diplomat it was, but both options were about my role in the world and wanting to make a contribution towards making the planet a better place.
So you decided to study law?
I didn’t go to university right away. I left Dunedin when I was 16 on an exchange programme to Istanbul, and when my year was up I didn’t come home. I stayed for five and a half years and that was where I met my ex-husband. He is from Tanzania, and after a few years in Turkey, we went to East Africa before coming home and starting uni at 22.
I studied law, sociology and te reo Māori at Canterbury, then did post-graduate study in international relations (law and politics).
Tell us more about the experience of living in Africa.
Tanzania was everything I dreamed it would be.
My mum used to buy the World Vision calendar every year. At the end of the year, she would cut out the photos of the kids from around the world and stick them up on my wall. I would look at the photos of those kids and wonder about them and their lives. That made me think about some of the places I’d love to go – and Africa was always at the top of the list. Tanzania was the realisation of that dream, and it was everything I hoped – peaceful, friendly and full of amazing people.
Whenever I speak about leadership I talk about the impact those kids on the wall had on me, because through them my eyes opened to the way others live, and it inspired me to understand that more.
Tell me more about your career journey.
I’ve had a really wonderful and varied career. I started as a diplomat doing trade negotiations and then went on to manage New Zealand’s relationship with Samoa and Cook Islands before being posted to Taiwan.
I got to experience some extraordinary moments, like being in Samoa with Winston Peters (during his first stint as Minister of Foreign Affairs) when he was made a matai (chief); and navigating violent protests as part of the NZ delegation negotiating free trade terms in the WTO.
I was back in New Zealand on holiday from my posting in Taiwan when I saw a role at Auckland Council in the international space. I took leave from Foreign Affairs (thinking I would go back) and took up that role. But local government reeled me in! I loved being close to the outcomes that the council delivered for its community.
After a number of years in leadership roles at Auckland Council I moved south to Central Otago and took up the position of Chief Executive at Central Otago District Council - a role I was privileged to hold for five-and-a-half years. The Local Government Act only allows a five-year term for a CE, with one two-year extension before it must go back to the market. I was in that extension period and realised I didn’t want to apply for another five years, and it wasn’t long after that a conversation started with Beca.
I knew that I wanted to try my hand in the private sector, but if I’m honest, I didn’t see myself joining a consultancy (it seems crazy to say that now). It was Chris Upton, Beca’s then Director Local Government, who encouraged me to consider a career at Beca. I quickly realised how values and purpose-driven Beca is – and how aligned it is with my personal values.
I was lucky to have a great relationship with the Mayor at Central Otago District Council. He was aware I was considering a move and told me, “Your eyes light up when you talk about Beca. I think you’re going to say yes.”
I’m pleased to say that all of what I felt about Beca then has proven to be true.
Tell me more about the experience of living in Taiwan.
The people, the place and the food were amazing. It was a really interesting place to live because of the geopolitical dynamics, but also because of the strong indigenous links to Māori.
I did find it challenging though. I was a single mother with a primary school-aged child, learning a new language that would equip me for a big role. I also struggled with allergies there, which was fatiguing. But it was a time that my daughter and I treasure because of the great people we met there. She was seven and she still knows a tiny bit of Mandarin.
What languages do you speak?
My Turkish is fluent like a four year-old, and then it goes downhill from there with Swahili, Mandarin and te reo Māori. So none very well!
My international work pulled me further away from the te reo I studied at university, and I have a personal goal to remedy that.
You started at Beca in a Local Government role and you’re now Chief Sustainability Officer. Tell us about that transition.
The two are not mutually exclusive of course. I will always have a lot of love for local government and the place-based outcomes it delivers. Through that work, I have seen first-hand some of the impact a changing climate is having on our communities. The combination of that, with some of my experience working at a global level on challenges all nations face, hopefully offers a unique perspective that helps Beca deliver better outcomes for people and planet.
My job now is to help Beca navigate the evolution of our sustainability journey, ensuring that we deliver on the aspirations we have for our business, and helping to articulate the whole value of the work we deliver that has real world impact.
Part of the reason why this job is so cool is because of the amazing people I get to work with. We have incredible people at Beca, and specialists who are doing impactful work across the sustainability spectrum. My job is to bring clarity and direction to that.
If I were to pick it, I would argue that this will be the role of my career – it is where I can have the impact that I envisioned as a young person, wanting to make a meaningful contribution.
You live in Alexandra and work in Auckland a lot. How do you make that work?
Yes, I live between Alexandra and Auckland and there are three things that are top of mind in making that work: Am I keeping the home/work life balanced and healthy? Am I doing what I need to do to build the right relationships across our business and with the market, given I am not in one place all the time? When I travel, am I clear on why I am doing it, and in a way that leaves the least possible footprint?
At the end of the day, the biggest consideration is whether the impact of my work will be greater than the impact of my travel. That keeps me very pragmatic in my decisions.
What’s life like in your household?
It’s pretty busy – my partner and I both have jobs that require a lot of travel and hours. He is the Managing Director of a construction company. Between us we have four children. My daughter is 24 and living in London doing her Masters. My partner has three kids between 20 and 25. One still lives with us in the uni holidays.
When we can, we like exploring the environment around Central Otago, usually on bikes. We have two dogs – a Hungarian Vizsla and a big cuddly Labrador.
What are your interests outside of work?
I love the outdoors and I get to do a lot of hiking and biking in Central Otago – the hills are our playground here.
I have a group of local female friends and we take turns planning adventures. Typically it involves staying somewhere remote and trying something adventurous like rock climbing, abseiling or kayaking. It’s about getting out into the environment and just being up for adventures.
What advice do you give to people who are early on in their career journey?
It is increasingly rare that a career is linear, so it is important to leave the door open to the opportunities that might otherwise pass you by.
And remember that leadership isn’t a job title – it is practice that each of us can show leadership every day in the decisions and actions we take.