Local recruitment: Technical Director - Rivers & Flood

Job Description

Are rivers, floods and the way they shape and interact with our landscapes your thing? If it is, you’ve come to the right place.

SLR Consulting

At SLR Consulting, we are technical specialists focused on environment and sustainability, that come together to tackle some of the biggest sustainability challenges for our clients. We are a global consultancy with a strong local presence, diverse range of skills and depth of expertise across industries, markets and geographies. Our partnerships with our clients are what matters to us the most. 

We’re proud to have the flexibility to be able to deliver large scale multi-disciplinary projects through to small, single discipline projects, and everything in between. Our nimble business approach is enabled through governance and processes that have empowerment of our staff at the core. We manage risk pragmatically, relying on the expertise of our skilled staff. This approach enables our staff to work on a broad range of technically interesting and challenging projects, including legal and expert witness work.

Key Responsibilities 

This role is for a NZ Rivers & Flood Technical Director, taking a lead role in helping our clients manage the increasing risks they face from rivers and floods, with a particular focus on geomorphic processes. Demand from our clients for robust and pragmatic solutions is high, and with your strong knowledge of the complex interactions between water, sediment and land use, and you will take a lead in delivering and growing these services.

The role can be based in any of our offices, although Wellington or Auckland are preferred as this is where the core of our hydrology and hydraulics services are currently based. As a team player, you will be comfortable collaborating with our team of hydrologists, hydraulic modellers as well as other technical experts across the business. Most of our work is currently for local government and the renewables sectors, although we also deliver projects across Industry, Mining & Minerals and the Built Environment sectors.

We have a solid pipeline thanks to our focus on technical excellence, practical solutions and strong client relationships; however, we expect that as a seasoned consultant, you will bring your own client relationships with you, and we will support you to do that. We work in a collaborative environment across our NZ offices, as well as with our Australian based Geomorphology and Hydrology & Hydrogeology teams.

Our Ideal Candidate
We are looking for a technical leader, and an expert in your chosen field.  You will have excellent client relationships and strong commercial acumen. Technical excellence will be your core value and you will thrive in a dynamic consulting environment. You will enjoy growing and developing the team around you and helping SLR achieve our goal of Making Sustainability Happen.

We are open to investing in proven Principals looking to take their career to the next step, and open to those who may be relatively new to consulting but with a strong and practical academic career.  Perhaps you are a seasoned consultant looking for a bit more freedom in how you work. We can be flexible in shaping this role to fit the right candidate.

Skills and Experience
As a passionate industry expert, and genuine team player, you will bring with you some of the following skills:

• A PhD or equivalent experience in fluvial geomorphology, hydraulics, hydrology, geological sciences or environmental/civil/natural resources engineering.
• Minimum 15 years’ experience in the field of fluvial geomorphology, hydraulic modelling or environmental/civil/natural resources engineering.
• Strong analytical skills, with a strong background across some of the following topics:
  • Fluvial geomorphology with proven understanding of the complex interactions between sediment, water and land use – across catchments and coasts
  • Numerical modelling of river hydraulics, hydrology and sediment transport
  • River and/or coastal engineering design and management.
• An understanding of NZ legislation, particularly the RMA and understanding of how that informs the work we do
• Effective communication with colleagues and clients.
• Strong commercial acumen and ability to support building our client base.
• Genuine ability and desire to be a leader in supporting and elevating the team around you.

Our Benefits
We are proud of our unique culture where we work together to collaborate on projects to get the best possible outcome for our clients. You can find a comprehensive list here.

Next Steps
We make hiring decisions based on your experience, skills and passion. Please note that interviews are conducted with gender diverse interview panels to the best of our ability. When you apply, please tell us the pronouns you use and any reasonable adjustments you may need during the interview process.

Unsolicited resumes from recruitment consultants will not be accepted. You must be part of the preferred supplier agreement list which is coordinated through our Talent Acquisition team.