Principal / Associate EIA Consultant – Water Environment
Meet Our Recruiter
About the Role
The Opportunity
Ocean to Earth Recruitment is working with an established, employee-owned water specialist consultancy looking to appoint a Principal or Associate EIA Consultant to strengthen its Cardiff team.
This is an excellent opportunity if you enjoy the technical side of environmental consultancy and want to remain close to project delivery rather than moving into a heavily corporate or people-management focused position.
You will join a small, highly experienced team where your contribution will be visible and valued. The structure is deliberately straightforward, with a short reporting line through to the Technical Director, giving you autonomy over your work and access to senior technical expertise when you need it.
The consultancy has a strong reputation within the UK water environment sector and works across renewables, power, transport, residential and commercial development, alongside work for regulatory organisations.
The Role
At Principal or Associate level, you will take a leading technical role in the delivery of Environmental Impact Assessment work, with a particular focus on hydrology and the water environment.
A key part of the position will be preparing, reviewing and taking technical ownership of hydrology, water environment and related EIA chapters for major infrastructure and development projects. Existing projects span areas including wind farms, solar developments and transport infrastructure.
You will have the space to get on with technical work, apply your judgement and manage your own workload without unnecessary layers of management.
Depending on your experience, your work could include:
- Leading and authoring hydrology and water environment EIA chapters
- Undertaking and reviewing environmental impact assessments for major infrastructure and development projects
- Providing senior technical review and quality assurance
- Interpreting hydrological, hydrogeological, water quality and environmental data
- Assessing potential impacts on the water environment and developing appropriate mitigation
- Using GIS and analytical tools to interpret and communicate technical information
- Working directly with clients, project teams, regulators and other environmental specialists
- Scoping technical assessments and determining proportionate approaches to EIA
- Managing your own projects, budgets and programmes
- Supporting proposals and work winning where appropriate
- Contributing to the development of technical processes, methods and tools
- Working across related areas such as hydrogeology, water quality and LowFlows assessments where this aligns with your expertise and interests.
There is scope to shape the position around your technical strengths. This could particularly suit someone who has reached Principal level within a larger multidisciplinary consultancy and would now value greater independence, fewer internal layers and more opportunity to concentrate on technically interesting work.
About You
You will already have strong experience within environmental consultancy and be comfortable taking responsibility for technical EIA delivery.
We would particularly like to speak with you if you have:
- Principal, Associate or equivalent-level consultancy experience
- Strong EIA experience relating to hydrology and the water environment
- Demonstrable experience writing and/or technically reviewing hydrology or water environment EIA chapters
- Experience working on infrastructure, renewables, energy, transport or major development projects
- A strong understanding of UK water environment regulation and consenting
- Excellent technical report writing skills
- The confidence to take ownership of projects and work independently
- Experience liaising directly with clients and wider multidisciplinary project teams
- A relevant degree, with postgraduate qualifications welcomed
- Chartered status or relevant professional membership, or equivalent senior professional experience
Most importantly, you will enjoy technical consultancy. You may be someone who wants progression and influence without losing the hands-on technical work that attracted you to the sector in the first place.
The Company
This is a specialist, employee-owned water and environmental consultancy with a strong technical reputation and a long-standing presence in the UK water sector.
Its expertise is firmly centred on the water environment, combining consultancy with specialist hydrological analysis, modelling and software development. The business is also known for developing the Flood Estimation Handbook software and has links with the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, providing opportunities to engage with leading scientists and evolving methods within the sector.
Because the consultancy is relatively small, senior specialists can have a meaningful influence over how work is delivered and how the business develops. Good technical ideas do not have to pass through multiple management layers, and individual contributions have strong visibility with senior leadership.
Location and Flexibility
The role is based around the Cardiff consultancy team, with flexible workplace arrangements available to suit individual circumstances.
There will be collaboration with colleagues and clients across the UK, but the emphasis is on giving experienced consultants the autonomy and tools they need to deliver their work effectively.
What’s on Offer
Alongside the opportunity to join a technically respected specialist consultancy, the existing benefits package includes:
- Employee-owned working environment
- Generous 40.5-day holiday allowance, with options to buy or sell additional leave
- Tax-free employee ownership bonus, subject to company performance
- Separate performance-related bonus scheme
- 5% employer-matched pension, increasing with length of service
- Flexible working hours
- Medicash health plan
- Annual Environment Day for environmental or educational volunteering
- Five dedicated training and professional development days each year
- Financial support towards relevant professional memberships
- Access to specialist GIS, modelling and analytical software and technology.
For someone who wants to combine senior-level responsibility with genuine technical involvement, this offers an interesting alternative to a traditional large consultancy structure.
To find out more, contact Ocean to Earth Recruitment for a confidential discussion.