- Role type: Full time
- Location/s: Flexible, UK, Madrid
- Closing Date: 29/09/2022
Role: Water Framework Directive Specialist
Location: Flexible – Hybrid, Harwell, London, Glasgow, Manchester, Bristol, Madrid
Role ID: 1591
Our vision is to create a safe and sustainable world
Ricardo plc is a global strategic, environmental, and engineering consulting company, listed on the London Stock Exchange. With over 100 years of engineering excellence and employing close to 3,000 employees in more than 20 countries, we provide exceptional levels of expertise in delivering leading-edge and innovative cross-sector sustainable products and solutions. Every day, we enable our customers to solve the most complex and dynamic challenges to help achieve a safe and sustainable world.
Energy & Environment, one of Ricardo plc’s five operating business units, is a leader in sustainability consultancy, solving complex environmental challenges through industry-leading analysis, advice and data. With more than 40 years of heritage in addressing air quality, environmental and sustainability issues, our customers value us for our deep understanding and breadth of services covering the entire value chain from evidence, policy & strategy to implementation.
We are currently looking for a Principal Consultant to join our Water team.
Key responsibilities
- Ricardo’s water and environment practice has an extensive and rapidly expanding water resources planning and environmental management project portfolio centred on the UK water companies.
- We have been successful of winning numerous water company environment-related frameworks across England and Wales.
- We are therefore looking for an experienced and expert water resources specialist with a strong understanding of environmental assessment to join our growing team.
- The successful candidate will need to demonstrate excellent technically skills in terms of delivering and managing all elements of environmental appraisals.
- We are looking for someone who can work as part of a multi-disciplinary team of experts to assess the water resources, hydro-ecology, geomorphology and water quality implications of proposed water resource schemes and drought management measures including strategic water resource options and plans:
- You will provide a technical lead to a portfolio project, as well as direct, coach and mentor junior staff on all technical aspects of environmental appraisal to support.
- Offer technical input into proposals and to win work under our frameworks and beyond.
- Understand the links between appraisal elements, have a strong background in hydro-ecology, interpretation of WFD and an analytical mind.
Key competencies and experience
- A strong track record in water consultancy and working directly with UK water companies.
- An understanding technically how environmental appraisal supports best environmental and customer outcomes related water resources planning outcomes and can identify risks and opportunities.
- An understanding UK water policy and legislation, water resources management and the how the Water Framework Directive is integral to/embedded with environmental assessments.
- Taking the lead technically on complex environmental appraisal water resource projects.
- Regulatory and stakeholder communications and management.
- Able to interpret models, review and analyse statistical trends.
- A degree in a relevant environmentally based subject with a strong understanding of the links between hydrology, ecology and water resource planning.
Skills and behaviours
- Excellent team working and communication skills with a close attention to detail.
- Enthusiastic and self-motivated to thrive in this busy and demanding environment.
- Good IT experience (including ideally understanding of relevant software/models).
- Innovative thinking.
- Excellent report writing and bid-writing.
- Excellent communicator.
- Ability to give presentations at all levels including to regulators and external stakeholders.
- Excellent interpersonal skills.
- Excellent organisational skills.
- Clean driving licence.
Working here
Ricardo is an exciting and rewarding place to work and you have the opportunity to make a difference. You will work with teams of talented, dedicated, and supportive individuals. Alongside having a fantastic opportunity to develop your career with us through our broad range of projects, mentoring opportunities and a personalised approach to your learning and development. We are always keen to hear from people who have driven, ambition and a flair for innovative thinking.
Wellbeing and work life balance
We offer flexible approaches to work, whether that’s 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. Our People are important to us, and we take pride in our wellbeing programmes and policies that support individuals including flexible working, carers policy, mental health first aiders and readily available support through our extensive Employee Assistance programme.
Diversity, Equality and Inclusion statement
We are an Equal Opportunity Employer, we believe in each person’s potential, and we’ll help you reach yours. We have an ambitious diversity, equality, and inclusion approach as explained here. We value diversity; recognising that a more diverse workforce creates a richer and more varied working environment. Diversity also drives innovation, by allowing us to offer our clients the best consultancy service that we can. As part of our commitment to engage positively and pro-actively with all our employees and ensure a culture of inclusivity, we are a recognised as a ‘disability confident’ employer.
Benefits
Our core benefits include 25 days’ annual leave, plus 8 flexible bank holidays, a competitive company pension scheme, life assurance and professional subscriptions reimbursement. We also offer a wide range of flexible benefits to suit your lifestyle.
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.
