Head of Civil Engineering in England

💧 Principal Civil Engineer / Discipline Head | Water

📍 Hybrid Working | 💰 Up to £80,000 DOE or £500 per day (Outside IR35) | 🚗 UK Travel as Required

Ready to Lead the Technical Direction of Major Water Infrastructure Projects?

What if your next role gave you the opportunity to do more than deliver exceptional engineering?

What if you could shape technical standards, influence the next generation of engineers, and become the driving force behind civil engineering excellence across some of the UK's most significant water infrastructure programmes?

We're partnering with a growing multidisciplinary engineering consultancy that's delivering major water and wastewater projects across the UK. As they continue to expand, they're looking for an experienced Principal Civil Engineer / Discipline Head to provide technical leadership across their Civil Engineering discipline.

This is more than a Principal Engineer role. It's an opportunity to become the recognised technical authority for Civil Engineering, working alongside senior leadership to ensure engineering excellence, drive best practice and help shape the future of the business.

Whether you're looking for a permanent opportunity (up to £80,000 DOE) or prefer the flexibility of a contract role (£500 per day Outside IR35), this position offers the chance to make a genuine impact while working on high-profile projects within the UK's regulated water sector.

🚀 The Opportunity

As Principal Civil Engineer / Discipline Head, you'll provide technical leadership across multiple water industry frameworks, ensuring projects are delivered safely, efficiently and to the highest engineering standards.

Working closely with Design Leads, Project Managers and the Engineering Manager, you'll combine hands-on engineering expertise with strategic leadership—supporting project delivery while developing technical standards, mentoring engineers and driving continuous improvement across the business.

If you're passionate about engineering excellence and enjoy solving complex technical challenges while developing people, this is an opportunity to take your career to the next level.

🔧 What You'll Be Doing

You'll play a key role in both project delivery and discipline leadership, including:

Design Delivery & Technical Assurance

✅ Leading civil engineering design across a portfolio of water and wastewater infrastructure projects

✅ Reviewing and approving design deliverables, technical reports, specifications and Design Risk Assessments (DRAs)

✅ Developing practical, efficient engineering solutions based on project requirements and site investigations

✅ Providing technical guidance to project teams throughout the design lifecycle

✅ Reviewing and independently checking civil engineering designs to ensure compliance with industry standards and client specifications

✅ Ensuring design changes are effectively controlled and documented

✅ Attending design reviews and presenting engineering solutions to clients and stakeholders

Technical Leadership & Governance

✅ Acting as the technical authority for the Civil Engineering discipline across the business

✅ Setting and maintaining engineering standards and best practice across all projects

✅ Mentoring, coaching and developing Engineers, Graduates and CAD Technicians

✅ Assessing technical competency and supporting the professional development of engineering teams

✅ Working collaboratively with other discipline leads to coordinate multidisciplinary design interfaces

✅ Supporting tender submissions through design input, resource forecasting and estimating design hours

✅ Championing Safety in Design principles and ensuring compliance with CDM 2015 Designer duties

✅ Driving continuous improvement in engineering processes, standards and quality assurance

👤 About You

You'll be an experienced Civil Engineer with a strong background in water infrastructure design and a passion for delivering technical excellence.

Essential

✔ Chartered Engineer (CEng)

✔ Degree or HND in Civil Engineering or a related discipline

✔ 10+ years' design experience within the regulated UK water industry

✔ Strong knowledge of water and wastewater engineering systems

✔ Experience producing hydraulic calculations and hydraulic profiles

✔ Proven delivery of both infrastructure and non-infrastructure projects

✔ Experience working through outline and detailed design stages

✔ Strong understanding of construction methods, engineering standards and drawing practices

✔ Excellent technical, communication and stakeholder management skills

✔ Strong digital engineering capability

✔ Full UK Driving Licence and access to a vehicle

Desirable

⭐ Previous experience as a Principal Engineer, Discipline Lead or Technical Authority

⭐ Experience mentoring and developing engineering teams

⭐ Familiarity with multiple UK water company standards and frameworks

⭐ Independent checking experience

⭐ Knowledge of BIM and Common Data Environment (CDE) processes

⭐ Experience supporting recruitment, competency development or engineering governance

⭐ Experience working within framework or design consultancy environments

🌟 Why Join?

This is an opportunity to join a business that's investing in its people, its technical capability and its future.

You'll have the opportunity to:

💧 Lead technical delivery across major UK water and wastewater infrastructure programmes

🏗 Influence engineering standards and technical strategy across the business

👥 Mentor and develop the next generation of engineers

🤝 Work closely with senior leadership and major UK water clients

📈 Enjoy genuine career progression within a growing consultancy

🏡 Benefit from flexible hybrid working

💰 Receive a competitive salary of up to £80,000 DOE or £500 per day Outside IR35, alongside an excellent benefits package for permanent employees

📩 Interested?

If you're a Chartered Civil Engineer looking for a role where your technical expertise, leadership and experience will genuinely shape the future of water infrastructure delivery, we'd love to hear from you.

Apply today or get in touch for a confidential conversation to find out more.