Water EIA Consultant

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Due to strong and sustained growth in our Sustainable Water Management business, we are seeking new colleagues who have experience in Flood Risk Assessments to join our team of 350 water consultancy and engineering professionals. Applicants are invited to further strengthen our technical capability in water environment assessment to lead the delivery of a range of project work, including planning and DCO applications for major infrastructure development.

Our Bristol team comprises 15 water environment and flood risk professionals who work collaboratively on projects with our regional team of 30 across the South and South West, and with our national team of approximately 150 across the UK. We are seeking new colleagues who have experience in environmental assessment within the water sector, primarily experience with EIA. We have a strong portfolio of major infrastructure projects such as the Bristol Heat Network and with clients such as National Grid, and we are seeing significant growth in wind farm, solar farm and carbon capture developments. We also continue to support investment in transport infrastructure with projects ranging from improvement of active travel measures on behalf of the West of England Combined Authority and other Local Authorities, to major schemes such as East West Rail and the Cullompton Town Centre Relief Road.

The Sustainable Water Management business operates as a national team and work is shared around the team in a fair and transparent way, ensuring project allocation takes into account personal interests and development aspirations as much as practicable.

A little more about your role…

We are looking for a Consultant who has experience in the delivery of Water EIA projects, including some familiarity with the suite of water and flood risk related disciplines to work collaboratively on technically complex projects for a range of clients.

Working as part of our national team, the successful candidate will also be able to work seamlessly across other technical areas within the Sustainable Water Management team. This includes but is not limited to flood risk assessment, WFD assessment, permitting applications, water quality, hydrogeology, geomorphology and BNG.

You will contribute to a diverse range of projects but the main focus of your work is likely to be EIA and associated appendices including FRA, WFD and environmental permit applications for major infrastructure projects in the UK and overseas. Sharing your technical expertise and mentoring more junior members in the team will also be part of your role.

Responsibilities will include:

• Undertaking / performing project tasks assigned by senior team members such as:
• Carrying out environmental assessment of surface water resources and preparing deliverables such as the Water chapter of EIA Screening and Scoping reports and Environmental Statements, WFD assessments, geomorphology assessments, water quality and FRAs.
• Completing biodiversity net gain assessments for river habitats (training can be provided if this is an area of interest).
• Supporting environmental permit applications.
• Carrying out site surveys to collect baseline information on the water environment.
• Taking leadership of certain project management activities including financial and programme management.
• Communicating and liaising effectively and efficiently with the project team (both the Sustainable Water Management team and the wider business).
• Working collaboratively within the team and proactively supporting junior staff in developing their technical knowledge and understanding of tasks assigned.

What we will be looking for you to demonstrate…

Skills / Experience

• Experience working in water EIA including Scoping and ES preparation, and experience in one or more of the typical supporting appendices including flood risk assessment, water quality, geomorphology, BNG and WFD assessments.
• Experience of providing technical inputs for planning and permitting for major infrastructure projects. This could include preparation of Water EIA, FRA and WFD inputs to planning applications, supporting DCO examinations or planning inquiries, and developing applications for environmental permits.
• Some knowledge of the regulatory context for planning and EIA in the UK.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills.
• Some experience in supporting project management.

Qualifications

• A degree in a relevant environmental, geographical, science or engineering discipline is essential.
• Actively working towards chartered status with C.WEM, CEnv, CSci or CEng.

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Join our close-knit community of talented individuals who share your passion for making a positive impact. Our global team includes more than 69,000 employees, working together to make a difference in communities both close to home and around the world.

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