Senior Environmental Specialist (Utilities & Assurance) in Birmingham

Location: Birmingham or London. Salary – Birmingham: Base salary: £54,878pa to c£64,562pa depending on skills and experience. London: Base salary: £59,268pa to c£69,727pa depending on skills and experience. In addition, we offer a flexible benefits fund of 20% which is paid on top of the base salary and is fully pensionable, as well as a range of competitive benefits.

HS2 Ltd endeavours to ensure everyone working for us and with us feels included, thrives and achieves their full potential. In practice, this means we are positive and inclusive about making adjustments, providing flexible working, encouraging our staff networks to flourish and providing personal and professional development opportunities.

About The Role

• Provide leadership on Environment and Sustainability across the Construction and Utilities contracts, directing and coordinating the provision of technical advice and approaches to assure compliance of works undertaken.
• Ensure HS2 Ltd discharges its Nominated Undertaker responsibilities and complies with the EMRs and General Principles and U&As.
• Develop and deliver a risk‑based assurance model for the HS2 Construction and Utilities Contracts, evidencing compliance with HS2’s Environmental and Sustainability requirements, the law and consents, licences or permissions required.
• Work closely with the MWCC IPT Heads of Engineering and Environment to manage the technical interface between the Main Works Civils and Utilities contracts.
• Encourage use of best practice and drive consistency in the application of HS2 environment processes, policies, standards and requirements across Construction and Utilities Contracts.
• Assist with the provision of functional responses to requests made under Construction and Utilities Contracts (e.g. Departures, RFI, Early Warnings).
• Support the Utilities interface with key environmental statutory and key environmental stakeholders.
• Support the Technical Directorate in defining technical environmental requirements for works delivered by HS2’s contract partners.
• Support the business reporting cycle ensuring environmental risks, performance and issues are communicated within Utilities.
• Monitor and report environment & sustainability assessment and assurance outcomes within Construction and Utilities Contracts and provide regular status reports to the Head of Environmental Delivery and other stakeholders.
• Support responses to environmentally themed enquiries from the public and other stakeholders under Freedom of Information Act and Environmental Information Regulations, on behalf of Construction and Utilities.
• Support the identification and management of Construction and Utilities based environmental risks (threats and opportunities).
• Assist with the inclusion of technical environmental requirements into relevant procurement activities and provide review and assurance of the procurement activities.
• Champion the environmental aspects of the Utilities programme and build and maintain strong relationships with stakeholders, relevant Government Departments, the public and other interested parties to gain their buy‑in and input required to achieve environmental requirements.
• Actively promote and embed Equality Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) in all your work, and support and comply with all organisational initiatives, policies and procedures on EDI.

Skills

• Complex problem solving – identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop, evaluate options and implement solutions.
• Decision quality – gathering and synthesising information, identifying options and applying sound judgement based on logic and reason.
• Technical leadership – can confidently communicate most discipline‑specific technical ideas to stakeholders and colleagues.
• Technical communication – able to communicate some discipline‑specific technical ideas to colleagues.
• Influencing & negotiation skills – including external and internal stakeholders.
• Organisation & planning skills – including working to agreed timescales, cost and quality requirements.

Knowledge

• Knowledge of the UK context surrounding HS2, including political and environmental implications.
• Understanding of the Environmental and Sustainability Regulatory/ Legislative Framework relevant to HS2.
• Commercial awareness including understanding of cost delivery, schedule targets and the need to deliver an integrated solution that meets all functional requirements.
• Membership of an appropriate professional institution or equivalent experience.

Experience

• Experience of working to multi‑disciplinary standards and managing environmental activity on major projects/programmes.
• Experience of managing and achieving positive environmental outcomes within engineering, technical, cost and schedule demands.
• Experience of environmental project management gained across a range of environmental disciplines and processes.
• Experience of assuring environmental management systems, reporting, designs and construction activities.
• Experience of stakeholder management including external stakeholders such as consent granting bodies and sponsors.

Additional Information

The post‑holder is expected to behave at all times in a manner consistent with the HS2 values of Safety, Leadership, Integrity and Respect. It is expected that you will actively promote and embed Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) in all your work and support and comply with all organisational initiatives, policies and procedures on EDI.

As HS2 Ltd do not hold a sponsorship licence from the Home Office, we are not able to provide sponsorship to any applicant. Applicants must already have the Right to Work in the UK at the time of application.

Any offers made to applicants will be subject to satisfactory completion of pre‑employment checks which include Nationality & Immigration Status, employment references, DBS, Financial and Education checks.

In a further development of our efforts to create a more diverse workforce, your CV will be anonymised and personal information will be removed during the first stage of the application review.

HS2 Ltd will be the UK’s new high speed rail network, improving capacity, shortening journey times, boosting the economy and creating thousands of jobs. HS2 Ltd aims to be a leader in EDI practice by creating a safe & inclusive working environment for all our staff.