"If we slow down and get back to nature, we can achieve harmony with everything, whether in our professional or personal life. There is a deep intuitive sense that each of us has to be responsible."
As the world battles the effects of climate change, Senior Project Manager Ivana Radulovic brings her vast technical knowledge and people-centred leadership in the path towards an equitable and sustainable future.
On her days off from work, Ivana goes dragon boating. As her ride slices forward with mighty force through the waters, she and her teammates make a coordinated effort to win against the current – and with each strong and deliberate push of the paddle, they boost themselves closer to the end, racing against time and other players.
At work, Ivana faces a similar kind of race. Her role as a senior project manager in climate mitigation and green energy initiatives requires coordinated efforts with the project team she handles, as well as all the stakeholders involved. Except in this case, in the fight against climate change, there are no competing teams. And in this race, she believes the best way to win is by taking things slow.
In project management, there is often an element of unpredictability. Even when highly experienced project managers draft solid work plans, crises can still emerge due to forces beyond even the best team’s control. When this happens, the NIRAS Serbia team is all hands on deck, dealing with new constraints and pressing timelines while delivering top-quality work. But Ivana takes this tempo in her stride – and combats it with deliberate pauses and conscious intention.
In the end, aside from bringing good results, the purpose is for all of us to be happy working together, even with all these challenges. NIRAS puts projects in the centre. But behind these projects are people, and if you put the emphasis on them, only good results can happen.
Ivana Radulovic
“When there’s chaos and everyone’s frantic, I tell them, ‘With this panicking, we won’t go anywhere. Let’s slow down and focus on finding solutions,’” she shares. A leader with a grounding presence, Ivana then steers the team away from alarm and towards a calmer headspace. Through this, they have overcome challenges as a strong unit.
“I attribute a large part of the good things in all the projects I’ve been recently working on to our in-house team,” says Ivana, who has been with the company since 2018. “I'm very proud of this. Here in Serbia, we are like a small family because we know each other. We talk about our professional and personal lives, and even when we are in difficult situations, we overcome together. Everything has a solution in the end.”
With a Bachelor’s in Mechanical Engineering (Process Engineering) and a Master’s in Mechanical Engineering (Energy Management and Systems Technology), Ivana was in academia as a professor and researcher before NIRAS. Afterwards, she moved into the development sector, working with various donors programmes and supported a wide range of climate and energy-related projects – from creating climate mitigation action plans to promoting renewable energy and energy efficiency-related projects.
At some point in the rush of her career, Ivana took a step back and assessed the trajectory at which she was moving. In this simple act of slowing down, she made a promise to herself: “The next role I take on needs to be something more aligned with my values.” And then, she began working at NIRAS.
Being with the company has been a joy for Ivana, not only because she is able to contribute immensely to climate and energy initiatives, but also because of the structure in the organisation.
“I have a long professional experience, and I’ve worked in various environments. But NIRAS is different. The organisational structure is flat, which means everybody’s opinion is respected,” she says. “You also grow from different perspectives, both professionally and personally. And in this structure, you’re given the space to share the best of yourself to colleagues.”
NIRAS is a special experience. That’s why I’ve been here seven years already.
Ivana Radulovic
As a senior project manager specialising in initiatives designed to mitigate climate change and promote sustainability in the energy sector, Ivana has led multiple efforts in the Western Balkans. Her projects include optimising energy efficiency in public buildings, ensuring better air quality by decommissioning environmentally harmful boiler rooms and improving district heating through integration of the sustainable energy solutions.
One project she is particularly proud of was conducting feasibility studies for the Renewable District Energy in the Western Balkans (ReDEWeB) programme. The goal was to study the readiness of various regions for renewable energy integration and the rehabilitation of district heating systems. “This project helped NIRAS gain recognition in this field in the Western Balkans. It put us on the map in that region.”
Beyond her technical knowledge and natural ability to create synergies in her team, what sets Ivana apart is the way she thinks about time. Climate change puts our planet in a state of constant urgency. But for Ivana, the battle against this crisis is not won by moving fast. It is won by moving with care.
“In this rapid velocity of technological development – and development in any sense – we are losing our souls,” Ivana says. “If we slow down and get back to nature, we can achieve harmony with everything, whether in our professional or personal life. There is a deep intuitive sense that each of us has to be responsible.”
And so, Ivana instead harmonises this sense of responsibility towards our planet with the pace at which advancements emerge by using technology for good. “The work I’ve done is related to fighting climate change itself. All these new technologies in the district heating sector and energy efficiency, they serve the purpose of mitigating and adapting to climate change, not contributing to it.”
When Ivana is in the water participating in dragon boat competitions or enjoying sailing, she knows time is ticking – and she is doing her best to race against it through initiatives that aim to enforce real, positive change. But until then, until the time comes when the world can truly rest from the climate crisis, she promises to keep at climate mitigation projects and give her very best, one paddle at a time.
