Asset Management - ETCS in Manchester

Asset Management Principal Consultant – Arcadis

Arcadis is the world\’s leading company delivering sustainable design, engineering, and consultancy solutions for natural and built assets.

We are 36,000 people across 70 countries dedicated to improving quality of life. Everyone has an important role to play. Together we can solve the world’s most complex challenges and deliver greater impact.

Role Description

Arcadis is committed to becoming the leading asset management organisation, helping clients maximise the performance and value of physical and natural assets across the entire lifecycle – from planning and creation through to maintenance, operation and disposal. By combining digital innovation, engineering expertise, data analytics and consultancy, we deliver sustainable and predictive solutions that enable asset‑intensive organisations to make better decisions in an ever‑changing environment.

We are seeking an Asset Management Principal Consultant to join our UK rail asset management team. In this role you will contribute to delivering our rail asset management strategy, lead consultancy projects and develop value propositions within the rail sector. You will also support our wider global advisory business across mobility, resilience and places.

As part of the mobility division, reporting to an associate director, you will play a key role in shaping and growing this newly established team. This position offers excellent opportunities for career development, with scope to manage colleagues and act as a subject‑matter expert in asset management.

We are looking for individuals with a growth mindset who are eager to help build a unified, forward‑looking asset management offering.

Role Accountabilities

• Deliver projects successfully; apply your skills, knowledge and insight to enable the delivery of asset management projects on time, meeting both quality and budgetary targets, whilst striving to exceed client expectations.
• Support strategy implementation; contribute to the delivery and implementation of our UK mobility asset management strategy and help build our global capability, applying recognised international standards such as ISO 55000 and risk/performance‑based maintenance advisory.
• Develop asset management strategies, change programmes and business cases.
• Design and implement ISO 55001‑aligned management systems.
• Optimise investment decisions and long‑term business planning for asset portfolios.
• Create tools and approaches for value‑driven decisions on asset renewals, maintenance and improvements.
• Prepare asset strategies, management plans and maintenance optimisation programmes.
• Drive operational efficiency improvements.
• Enhance asset information strategies and improve data maturity.
• Build strong relationships; manage client and stakeholder engagement to deliver positive outcomes, ensuring trust and collaboration.
• Promote growth and leadership; represent Arcadis in the rail asset management market, contribute to thought leadership, support cross‑business tenders and actively showcase our capabilities to create new opportunities for Arcadis’ rail asset management services.

Qualifications and Experience

Essential Qualifications

• Experience with transportation clients, asset‑rich organisations or consulting in this space.
• Proven ability to resolve strategic, tactical and operational challenges, including:
  • Asset management strategies, change programmes and planning.
  • Investment planning, risk/value assessments, operations and maintenance.
  • Decision support tools, asset information strategies and data quality.
  • Maturity gap analysis, benefits management, process development and data analysis.
• Delivery or management of asset, infrastructure or technology projects in the transport sector.
• Project management experience.
• Strong communication and numeracy skills.
• Bachelor’s degree (or equivalent) in a relevant discipline.
• Industry connections to support growth of Arcadis’ asset management business.
• Leadership experience managing professional teams.
• External accreditation (e.g., MCA or IAM) or willingness to work toward it.
• Experience in project and business change management.

Desirable Qualifications

• Experience with ETCS technologies and digital railway systems.
• Tender/bid delivery or evaluation experience.
• Knowledge of risk management (FMECA, Bow Tie, Fishbone), ISO 55000, Six Sigma.
• Expertise in asset lifecycle phases (strategy, design/build, operations, decommissioning).
• Additional leadership experience.

Why Arcadis?

We can only achieve our goals when everyone is empowered to be their best. We believe everyone\’s contribution matters. It’s why we are pioneering a skills‑based approach, where you can harness your unique experience and expertise to carve your career path and maximise the impact we can make together.

You’ll do meaningful work, and no matter what role, you’ll be helping to deliver sustainable solutions for a more prosperous planet. Make your mark on your career, your colleagues, your clients, your life and the world around you.

Together, we can create a lasting legacy.

Our Commitment to Equality, Diversity, Inclusion & Belonging

We want you to be able to bring your best self to work every day which is why we take equality and inclusion seriously and hold ourselves to account for our actions. Our ambition is to be an employer of choice and provide a great place to work for all our people. We believe that by working together diverse people with different experiences develop the most innovative ideas and that a diverse and skilled workforce is essential to our success.