Associate / Associate Director, EIA - Onshore Renewables (UK Wide)

WSP in the UK & Ireland; Liverpool; On-site; GBP 85,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

WSP UK & Ireland is seeking an Associate or Associate Director in environmental consents to lead onshore renewables projects in the UK. You will direct planning, EIA and consent strategies, manage client relationships and multi-disciplinary teams across bids and delivery.

This role offers strategic impact, career development and the chance to shape major energy transition projects within a supportive, collaborative culture.

Qualifications

• Environmental or planning degree with chartered status or working toward chartership.
• Experience delivering Environmental Impact Assessments (EIA) for onshore renewables.
• Familiarity with Habitats Regulations Assessment and consenting processes.
• Leading client communications and maintaining stakeholder relationships.
• Knowledge of environmental and planning policy trends.
• Excellent written and verbal communication, report writing and QA.
• Proven people management experience and building internal teams.
• Ability to contribute to strategic planning and win bids/proposals.

Responsibilities

• Grow onshore renewables sector by working with sector leads and client accounts to drive thought leadership and new business.
• Provide environmental advice to clients, project managers and colleagues.
• Lead multidisciplinary teams to deliver sustainable design and environmental enhancements.
• Manage large, complex projects with emphasis on technical quality, safety and delivery.
• Develop client relationships and identify opportunities for project strategy and resourcing.
• Undertake bids, complex proposals and framework opportunities for new work.
• Champion innovation through Digital EIA and Future Ready EIA approaches.
• Support performance improvement and career development within the team.
• Promote an inclusive workplace and demonstrate commitment to health and safety.

Skills

Project leadership

Stakeholder management

Technical writing

Communication

Education

Environmental/planning degree

Chartered status or working towards

Job description

Job Description

At WSP, you can access our global scale, contribute to landmark projects and connect with the brightest minds in your field to do the best work of your life. You can embrace your curiosity in a culture that celebrates new ideas and diverse perspectives. You can experience a world of opportunity and the chance to shape a career as unique as you.

Onshore renewable energy technologies play a leading role in meeting the rising demand for power, maintaining secure and reliable energy supplies, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and delivering future energy schemes to help create a sustainable world. WSP helps clients plan and execute large-scale renewable energy projects, including solar photovoltaic, onshore wind and battery energy storage systems. Armed with a workforce of highly skilled engineers, scientists and technicians, we partner with clients to meet their clean energy objectives.

As one of the largest environmental consultancies in the UK, you’ll get the opportunity to contribute to major onshore renewable energy projects and support the energy transition towards Net Zero. You’ll be encouraged to explore new ideas in a culture that values curiosity and diverse perspectives. With increased support at governmental level across the UK for onshore renewables, the continued growth of this sector will bring increased scrutiny and challenges. As an Associate or Associate Director in our Environmental Consents team, you’ll play a key role in navigating this landscape—supporting the development of onshore renewables projects through strategic planning, environmental advice, and technical studies.

You’ll contribute to some of the UK’s most significant and transformative onshore renewables projects, delivering services such as planning applications and EIA, and support for DCO examinations and planning inquiries to name a few.

This is a post of strategic significance for our business and represents a challenging and exciting opportunity to identify, win and deliver multi-disciplinary inputs for onshore renewable projects. We need people with creative spirit, a dedicated approach and a solid grounding in environmental design, assessment and management at any stage of the development project lifecycle.

Key Responsibilities

• Playing a key role in growing our onshore renewables sector offer, working with sector leads and client account managers to drive thought leadership and win new business.
• Providing environmental advice and support to clients, project managers and colleagues.
• Working with colleagues, environmental specialists, clients and engineering teams to promote sustainable design and environmental enhancement.
• Leading large, multiple, and complex projects, overseeing our performance on technical, quality, commercial, and health and safety.
• Build strong client relationships and identify opportunities to support project strategy, resourcing and delivery.
• Undertaking activities to secure new work, including developing proposals for complex opportunities, delivering strategic level bids and framework opportunities, and undertaking business development opportunities.
• Champion innovation through approaches such as Digital EIA, Technical Excellence and Future Ready EIA.
• Driving performance improvement and career advancement opportunities across team.
• Promote an inclusive and positive team environment, acting as a trusted advisor and mentor.
• Promoting an inclusive workplace, demonstrating an understanding of Health and Safety whilst living the values of our health, safety, and wellbeing culture.
• Undertaking actions that contribute towards the success of the WSP business strategy, whilst being self-motivated towards goals relevant to the role, team, and your projects.

The role would suit an enthusiastic individual looking to influence, lead and deliver environmental elements of onshore renewables projects. You will have responsibility for directing and leading projects including tasks relating to recruitment, bidding, project team management, project delivery, and financial management.

Qualifications And Experience

• Relevant environmental or planning degree (or equivalent experience), with chartered status or actively working towards chartership.
• Demonstrable experience in delivering Environmental Impact Assessments (EIA) for onshore renewables schemes, including under a range of UK planning regimes such as the Town and Country Planning Act and the Planning Act 2008.
• Familiarity with relevant consenting processes associated with onshore renewables projects, including Habitats Regulations Assessment (HRA). Understanding of how these processes integrate with the planning system and EIA for onshore renewables projects.
• Capable of leading client communications and maintaining strong relationships with stakeholders, regulators, and the public, with a solid understanding of public consultation and stakeholder engagement processes.
• Knowledge of emerging environmental and planning policy trends.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with strong report writing and review capabilities, attention to detail, and a focus on quality assurance.
• Proven people management experience and a track record of developing and upskilling internal teams.
• Demonstrated ability to contribute to strategic planning, win new work through bids and proposals, and enhance reputation in the onshore renewables sector.

Equality and Diversity Statement

Here at WSP we positively encourage applications from suitably qualified and eligible candidates regardless of sex, race, disability, age, sexual orientation, gender reassignment, religion or belief, marital status, pregnancy or maternity/paternity. As a Disability Confident leader, we will interview all disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria, please let us know if you require any workplace adjustments in support of your application.