Local recruitment: Senior Water Advisor

Job Info

• Job Identification: 6458
• Job Category: Engineering
• Posting Date: 10/14/2025, 04:56 PM
• Locations: United Kingdom
• Apply Before: 10/29/2025, 12:59 AM
• Job Schedule: Full time
• Salary: £46,030 – £52,120
• Working Hours: 37
• Fixed Term: no
• Part Time/Job Share Considered: Yes

Job Description

About the job.

National Highways have an excellent opportunity for a Senior Water Advisor to join our Environmental Sustainability Division within Safety, Engineering and Standards (SES). The Division provides environmental sustainability advice and assurance across the business and leads on development and implementation of National Highways’ Environmental Sustainability Strategy, including complex and high-profile capital programmes such as the renewal of high-risk water quality treatment facilities. 

The Senior Advisor position sits within the Water Environment Team, a team responsible for providing water quality and flooding operational advice and technical leadership to the company, whilst also leading the cross-company programme to renew and retrofit water quality treatment facilities at locations posing a pollution risk. As a Senior Advisor, you will provide specialist technical advice and guidance to the wider business and will support with the development, renewal and maintenance of National Highways assets. 

Please note this is a hybrid position and can be based from any of our UK offices however travel to regional offices / sites to attend team meetings will be required. 

• Provide technical advice on Water Quality Environmental Impact Assessments, Flood Risk Assessments, Design and management of drainage treatment and attenuation facilities (including nature-based solutions) and water quality monitoring. 
• Manage the company’s Performance Indicator (PI) for Water Quality and ensure our metric governance processes are followed. 
• Develop effective relationships with key organisations in the regulatory, professional, academic and NGO communities, including the Environment Agency, CIWEM and campaign groups.
• Support the team leader and the wider team to manage the programme of investment in drainage treatment facilities, including providing technical input and supporting programme managers to be effective in their role
• Lead, or support as necessary, research and development tasks designed to help us address key future challenges to the water environment (such tasks currently include research into understanding and addressing microplastics and other pollutants in highway runoff and understanding the future risk of flooding to the network under climate change). 

About you.

• Membership of a relevant professional institution (CIWEM, CEng, IEng, MICE, or IStructE) working towards will also be considered. 
• A relevant degree / academic background in water quality, flooding or related discipline. 
• Experience of working with stakeholders and/or the public to understand the complexity of views involved in managing the environment; and finding mutually beneficial ways to progress work.
• Experience of managing and analysing data to provide useful intelligence to help decision makers.
• A track record of delivering projects with positive environmental outcomes.

About us.

Here at National Highways, we manage and improve England’s motorways and major A roads, helping our customers have safer, smoother and more reliable journeys. Our priorities are safety, customers and delivery, and at the core of this, are our values of passion, integrity, safety, teamwork and ownership. 

Safety, Engineering and Standards (SES) focuses on supporting outstanding operational delivery and providing expert technical advice for our road network. We also deliver essential services that lead, enable, and drive innovation in the development of the Strategic Road Network, while offering expert guidance on health and safety matters. 

External candidates will be offered a starting salary at the lower end of the pay scale, while current employees will be appointed in accordance with our established pay policy.  

We are committed to creating a diverse environment and welcome applicants from all backgrounds.

About Us

Why you should join us

At National Highways we believe in a connected country. We are passionate about creating a culture where colleagues feel connected, included and enjoy greater wellbeing to achieve this. We’re proud that as an organisation we are continually striving to do better and actively encourage and support our colleagues to do the same with their careers. 

So, if you put safety first, take ownership of your work, show passion for what you do, work effectively in a team, and demonstrate integrity in how you do it – then you’ll be a great fit for our organisation.

A connected and sustainable working approach has been adopted across National Highways. For some roles, this means being able to work in a hybrid way spending up to 60% of time working from a remote location such as home.

We offer many different ways to work flexibly and we’re open to discuss part-time working, job shares, and flexible start and finish times. 

Please wait until the interview stage before asking us about flexibility, and we will explore what is possible.

Our benefits package

• Our total reward package includes basic salary, the potential for a performance related bonus
• Contributory pension scheme with employer contribution of up to 10%
• Annual Leave starting at 26 days (plus Bank Holidays) rising by 1 day each year up to 31 days (plus Bank Holidays)
• Flexible hours and an approach driven by connected and sustainable working which includes hybrid working
• Life assurance of 4 times annual salary
• Health and wellbeing support, including an Employee Assistance Programme, available 24/7 365 days and network of mental health first aiders. Plus access to a wellbeing app to enhance your self-care 24/7, Occupational health service and flu vaccines
• A cycle to work scheme for the purchase of a bicycle and equipment for healthy, low carbon travel
• Significant investment in your career development, through learning and development, talent management, coaching, mentoring and on job experience

And we are

• Family friendly with enhanced maternity leave and pay, paternity leave (15 days), shared parental leave, adoption leave. Plus access to financial support for holiday play schemes and paid special leave (up to 5 days pa), eg for caring responsibilities
• Money friendly with access to a discounts platform including over 3000 discounts for supermarkets, eating out, leisure, holidays. Alongside a financial wellbeing programme
• Community friendly – offering paid leave to volunteer, 3 days basic/year

If you are successful, it is key to know all offers of employment are subject to satisfactory completion of our pre-employment checks which include:       

• Right to work check
• 3 year employment history references
• DBS criminal record check
• Social media and adverse journalism check
• Driving licence check (if applicable)
• Fit to work questionnaire (for all), followed by a medical check (if applicable)
• Qualifications and/or professional membership check (if applicable)

And finally 

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