Kier has named Melissa Dudley as justice sector director, where she will support key clients including the Ministry of Justice (MoJ), the Scottish Prisons Service (SPS) and the Home Office in delivering and improving critical infrastructure across the UK.

Dudley joins from the MoJ, where she held senior commercial and contract management roles, most recently serving as commercial deputy director on the 20,000 Prison Place Programme. In that position, she oversaw a £9bn portfolio covering 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 she2s 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.

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"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 justice-sector portfolio currently includes a total of 30 houseblocks delivered or in the pipeline in recent years for both the MoJ and the 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."