Associate Director – Environmental and Ecological Assessment
Overview
Role: Associate Director – Environmental and Ecological Assessment
Location: Bristol, UK - Hybrid
Role ID: 2025-3068
Our vision is to create a safe and sustainable world. Ricardo plc is a global strategic, environmental, and engineering consulting company with over 100 years of engineering excellence and close to 3,000 employees in more than 20 countries. We provide expertise in delivering cross-sector sustainable products and solutions to help achieve a safe and sustainable world.
The Role
The Associate Director role within Aquatic Ecology is an opportunity to develop and shape a dedicated technical team and build upon the existing project portfolio in the UK and internationally. Experience in engagement with clients, customers, and environmental regulators is essential. Many projects are complex and require collaboration with other disciplines to create effective solutions. In addition to delivering the current portfolio, you will contribute to identifying opportunities and bidding for work.
Key Responsibilities
* Provide technical leadership across the Ecology team to deliver expertise in aquatic ecology investigations across all project stages, from bidding/feasibility/optioneering, extensive field survey programming, to detailed design and assessment.
* Act as technical lead for the production of consent-related technical assessments such as Habitats Regulations Assessments (HRA) and Water Framework Directive (WFD) assessments.
* Maintain quality of service provision.
* Business development, client liaison, and establishing new clients.
* Growing, leading, and developing teams and supporting and training junior staff.
Key Competencies And Experience
* A degree in a relevant subject, such as ecology or other biological sciences, and/or a relevant postgraduate qualification.
* Demonstrable commercial consultancy experience.
* Extensive knowledge of UK and EU Wildlife Legislation, planning policies, licensing requirements and best practice survey techniques.
* Demonstrable experience working on large-scale environmental projects.
* Willingness to undertake line management responsibilities and a business leadership role.
* Strategic mindset able to contribute to wider team leadership.
* Confident to take on a mentor role to junior staff.
* Flexible approach to working, with inquisitiveness and willingness to learn.
* Ability to adapt to working on a wide range of projects.
* Broad knowledge across a range of ecological disciplines with specialist knowledge in areas such as fisheries, macroinvertebrates, or macrophytes (preferable).
Desirable Competencies And Experience
* Full Membership of a recognised professional body such as CIEEM or ISEP.
* Advising and managing consenting applications such as planning, Development Consent Orders, HRA, WFD and Environmental Permits.
* Experience in Project Direction and technical reviews.
Working Here
You will be warmly welcomed into our workplace where every voice matters. We are diverse thinkers and doers, coming together to create a culture of inclusion. We will support you to find your place and use your passion and expertise to make a positive impact through the projects you work on, helping communities worldwide become safer and more sustainable.
Work Life Balance
We offer flexible approaches to work, whether from home or in the office, or as a hybrid worker. We are happy to discuss flexible working arrangements. Wellbeing is core to our culture, allowing employees to flourish and reach their potential.
Benefits
Our remuneration and benefits package reflect our value for you. Core benefits include 25 days of annual leave plus 8 flexible bank holidays, a competitive company pension scheme, life assurance, and professional subscriptions reimbursement. A wide range of flexible benefits is available to suit your lifestyle.
Diversity, Equality, and Inclusion
We are an Equal Opportunity Employer. We are committed to diversity, equality, and inclusion and are a recognised disability confident employer. We value diversity as it drives innovation and improves our service to clients.
Next steps
After you submit your application, a member of our Recruitment Team will be in touch. Timing can vary based on application volume, and in some cases we may begin reviewing before the closing date. If you require adjustments to support you through the recruitment process, please contact recruit@ricardo.com.
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