Principal sustainability consultant

• Legal Entity: AECOM Infrastructure and Environment UK Limited
• Business Line: Energy
• Work Location Model: Hybrid
• Operating Group: International
• Primary Location: UK - Leeds

Company Description

Work with Us. Change the World.

At AECOM, we're delivering a better world. Whether improving your commute, keeping the lights on, providing access to clean water, or transforming skylines, our work helps people and communities thrive. We are the world's trusted infrastructure consulting firm, partnering with clients to solve the world’s most complex challenges and build legacies for future generations.

There has never been a better time to be at AECOM. With accelerating infrastructure investment worldwide, our services are in great demand. We invite you to bring your bold ideas and big dreams and become part of a global team of over 50,000 planners, designers, engineers, scientists, digital innovators, program and construction managers and other professionals delivering projects that create a positive and tangible impact around the world.

We're one global team driven by our common purpose to deliver a better world. Join us.

Job Description

We are seeking an experienced Principal Sustainability Consultant to support the growth of our infrastructure decarbonisation and sustainability advisory services within the Environment and Energy Business Unitwith opportunities to be based across our offices - Bristol and Leeds - while also benefiting from our flexible hybrid working model.

Here’s what you’ll do

Working closely with business leadership, you will help to identify emerging market opportunities, and to develop a sustainable pipeline of low‑carbon and sustainability advisory projects, and contribute to the delivery of strategic business objectives.

You will play a role in supporting and leading bids, tenders, and proposals to secure project work. The successful candidate will provide strategic and technical advice to clients helping them identify and implement opportunities to decarbonise projects, improve sustainability and meet regulatory and net zero commitments.

You will also contribute to the organisation's market profile through thought leadership, conference presentations, and industry engagement, promoting our expertise in low‑carbon and greenhouse gas advisory services.

This is a fantastic opportunity to take the next step in your career in leadership and lead the growth. If you're passionate about innovation and turning bold ideas into reality, AECOM welcomes you.

The team

You will be part of a team of over 50 carbon and ESG specialists, delivering advisory and implementation services on a diverse portfolio of high‑profile climate projects. The team partners with major transportation infrastructure operators, energy network providers, renewable energy developers, and water companies to deliver low‑carbon, sustainable solutions. You will also contribute to the growth and development of both the team and its service offering.

Qualifications

Ready to push the limits of what’s possible?

Here’s what we’re looking for:

Technical Expertise

• Demonstrable experience acting as a technical lead for greenhouse gas assessments.
• Excellent knowledge of greenhouse gas reporting methodologies, including GHG Protocol, PAS 2080, and ISO 14000 standards.
• Strong understanding of UK and EU greenhouse gas policy, legislation, and regulatory requirements.
• Working knowledge of greenhouse gas and climate change Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) processes.
• Excellent understanding of greenhouse gas emissions impacts across infrastructure sectors, including power, transportation, and water.
• An understanding of broader sustainability issues and how these can be mitigated on project including climate risk and waste.

Decarbonisation and Carbon Management

• Proven experience developing and implementing low‑carbon design solutions across infrastructure projects.
• Experience leading the development of carbon management strategies and Net Zero Transition Plans.
• Ability to provide strategic carbon advisory services and identify practical decarbonisation opportunities for clients.

Business Development and Commercial Leadership

• Experience supporting or leading bids, tenders, and framework submissions.
• Strong business development experience within infrastructure greenhouse gas and sustainability advisory services.
• Commercial awareness across project delivery, business development, marketing, and proposal preparation.
• Ability to identify and develop new market opportunities and client relationships.

Leadership and Stakeholder Management

• Experience providing strategic and technical advice to stakeholders, regulatory bodies, and infrastructure clients.
• Strong people management, mentoring, and team development skills.
• Ability to collaborate effectively across multidisciplinary teams and contribute to business growth initiatives.

Quality, Communication, and Industry Profile

• Strong attention to detail and commitment to delivering high‑quality technical outputs.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Experience contributing to thought leadership initiatives, industry forums, and conference presentations.
• Experience delivering greenhouse gas management and sustainability services within the power, renewable energy, carbon capture, water, or transportation sectors.
• Experience providing carbon advisory and sustainability services to infrastructure providers, corporate organisations, or industrial clients.
• Experience developing science‑based targets and decarbonisation pathways.
• Understanding of nature‑based solutions, carbon offsetting, and wider climate mitigation approaches.

Benefits

At AECOM, we are committed to maintaining a secure and trustworthy recruitment process and take any fraudulent hiring activity seriously. To support this commitment, all newly hired employees are required to attend an in‑person Day 1 onboarding at an AECOM office location as a condition of employment.

You will have the flexibility you need to do your best work with hybrid work options. Whether you’re working from an AECOM office, remote location or at a client site, you will be working in a dynamic environment where your integrity, entrepreneurial spirit and pioneering mindset are championed.

You will help us foster a safe and respectful workplace, where we invite everyone to bring their whole selves to work using their unique talents, backgrounds and expertise to create transformational outcomes for our clients.

AECOM provides a wide array of compensation, benefits and well‑being programs to meet the diverse needs of our employees and their families. We’re the world’s trusted global infrastructure firm, and we’re in this together – your growth and success are ours too.

Join us, and you’ll get all the benefits of being a part of a global, publicly traded firm – access to industry‑leading technology and thinking and transformational work with big impact and work flexibility. As an Equal Opportunity Employer, we believe in each person’s potential, and we’ll help you reach yours.

We are aDisabilityConfidentEmployer and will offer an interview to applicants who have a disability or long‑term condition, who meet the minimum/essential criteria for the role. Please let us know using this email address ReasonableAccommodationsUKI@aecom.com if you would like to apply through the DisabilityConfidentInterview Scheme.

All your information will be kept confidential according to EEO guidelines.