Principal Environmental Consultant – Water Quality & Management

Our excellent track record in supporting the water industry and airports is resulting in substantial and exciting growth of our Water & Environment Team. We have established long-term relationships with many of the UK’s water companies and airport operators. Consequently, we are servicing multiple environmental frameworks and some sizeable capital water and wastewater projects. Our growing focus on water and environmental solutions, alongside a wider array of consultancy services, means we are seeking to appoint an experienced Principal Environmental Consultant with both a strong technical background and the ability to manage projects throughout their lifecycle.

Key accountabilities

You will work as part of a wider team of multi-disciplinary water and environmental experts that includes specialists in the fields of water resources, hydro-ecology, ground and surface water hydrology, flood risk, geomorphology, water quality, aquatic and terrestrial ecology, natural capital, environmental impact assessment and planning. Elements of all of these disciplines can feature in our work which can include a focus on water resource investigations, strategic water resources (SROs), drought planning, surface water runoff and wastewater investigations. As such, critical to this role is understanding various environmental strands and linkages to support us in helping solve sometimes complex environmental challenges with a well organised and collaborative approach.

Together with technical delivery and leadership skills, you will have an ambition to help drive our business forward by delivering excellent services and winning new work. A key requirement is for the effective oversight of specialist projects and sizeable technical elements of work within wider multi-disciplinary projects and programmes of work. This might well include experience of leading on bidding through to project execution and close-out. Acting in a technical lead role in an appropriate technical discipline, the post-holder will have the ability to clearly communicate within technical delivery teams and to clients. The role will also require some commercial understanding and the ability to own client and stakeholder relationships. Maintaining quality of service provision is essential, whilst balancing client needs and environmental regulatory requirements within the confines of contracts. People manager experience would be helpful, as depending on the individual and our business needs some direct management of staff may be required. An appetite and experience in developing new business would also be very much welcome.

Key competencies and experience

We are looking to appoint a Principal Environmental Consultant who has relevant environmental consultancy experience supporting the UK water sector and possibly beyond. Essential is significant understanding and experience in a relevant water related environmental technical discipline, to include one or more of: hydrology, hydro-ecology and freshwater catchment science related technical disciplines. We also require the following key competencies and experience:

• Excellent understanding of the UK water industry and its regulation.
• Ability to lead specialist project delivery and sizeable technical elements of work.
• Strong technical management/direction skills to ensure a high level of service.
• Experience in helping to develop proposals and win work.
• Previous experience of people management and/or technical development of staff would be beneficial.
• An environmentally related degree (ideally with a post-graduate qualification also).
• A clean full UK driving licence would be preferable.

Skills and behaviours

• Excellent organisational, communication and presentation skills.
• Collaborative technical leader who has the ability to develop and support others.
• Ability to effectively manage resources and prioritise own and others’ workload.
• Effective multi-stakeholder management skills, including internally and externally.
• Ability to prioritise and manage significant operational demands and pressures.
• Client-facing, opportunistic and comfortable with developing new work.
• Keen to develop and own segments of our service offering.

Working here

Working alongside our technical experts, you will contribute to cutting-edge projects that address real-world sustainability issues. By actively participating in these projects, you will be exposed to the latest methodologies and innovations shaping the industry. As your knowledge and expertise grows through the learning and development opportunities provided, you will be well-positioned for career advancement within Ricardo. We believe in recognising, supporting and nurturing talent.

Work life balance

We offer flexible approaches to work, whether that is working from home, being in the office, or as a hybrid worker. We’re happy to discuss flexible working arrangements. Wellbeing is at the core to our culture, allowing employees to flourish and to achieve their full potential.

Benefits

We want you to know how much you are valued. Your remuneration and benefits package will reflect that. You will receive a range of benefits which include support for your physical and mental health.

Next steps

If our application process does not align with your requirements, please email recruit.ee@ricardo.com and we will make necessary arrangements to meet your needs. Once you have submitted your application a member of our Recruitment Team will be in touch. Please be aware that the timing can vary dependent on the volume of applications that we receive for each role and in some cases, we may start to review applications prior to the closing date.