Associate Director - Drainage

Strata Consulting Limited; Basingstoke; Hybrid; GBP 70,000 - 110,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Annual leave

Pension

Flexible working

Wellbeing support

Professional development

Career progression

Infrastructure projects

Leadership role

Collaborative team

Job summary

Strata Consulting Limited is seeking an experienced drainage professional to join the Sustainable Water Management team in the South East, leading the delivery of innovative drainage and water management solutions across highways, rail, aviation and infrastructure.

You will shape the direction of the drainage team, manage projects from concept to delivery, mentor engineers and develop client relationships to win work.

Qualifications

• Chartered or Incorporated Engineer status or a relevant degree.
• Extensive post-degree experience in the design and delivery of drainage solutions.
• Experience using Civil 3D and drainage design software.

Responsibilities

• Lead delivery of a varied portfolio of drainage and civil projects across highways, rail, aviation and infrastructure.
• Manage projects from concept through to completion meeting technical, timescale and commercial targets.
• Provide technical leadership and mentoring to a team of drainage engineers.

Skills

Project Leadership

Client Engagement

Technical Leadership

Stakeholder Management

Education

Chartered Engineer status

Relevant degree

Tools

Civil 3D

Causeway Flow

MicroDrainage

Job description

Ready to take the next step in your career and make a real impact on some of the UK's most exciting infrastructure projects? This is an excellent opportunity for an experienced drainage professional to join a growing Sustainable Water Management team in the South East, taking a leading role in the delivery of innovative drainage and water management solutions.

Working across major highways, rail, aviation and infrastructure schemes, you’ll combine technical expertise, project leadership and client engagement to deliver sustainable solutions that make a lasting difference.

Whether you’re an established Associate Engineer looking to progress or an experienced leader ready to take on an Associate Director position, you’ll have the opportunity to shape the direction of the drainage team, strengthen technical capability and play a key role in its continued growth across the UK.

What's on offer?

• Generous annual leave: Enjoy a competitive holiday allowance that supports a healthy work-life balance.
• Pension provision: Plan for your future with access to a workplace pension scheme.
• Flexible working: Benefit from flexible working arrangements designed to support your professional and personal commitments.
• Health and wellbeing support: Access wellbeing initiatives and resources designed to support you both inside and outside work.
• Professional development: Opportunities to enhance your technical expertise, develop your leadership skills and maintain relevant professional qualifications.
• Career progression: The opportunity to progress within a globally connected organisation and take on greater strategic and leadership responsibility.
• High-profile infrastructure projects: Work with major clients across rail, highways, aviation and local government, contributing to nationally significant schemes.
• Leadership and influence: Help shape the future of the drainage team, influence technical standards and drive the development of its capabilities.
• A collaborative environment: Join a talented, multidisciplinary team that values innovation, knowledge-sharing and the delivery of high-quality engineering solutions.

The role

• Leading the delivery of a varied portfolio of civil engineering projects across highways, rail, aviation, infrastructure and site development.
• Managing projects from concept through to completion, ensuring delivery meets the highest technical standards, agreed timescales and commercial targets.
• Delivering drainage design services for major transport and infrastructure programmes across the UK.
• Developing sustainable drainage strategies and practical engineering solutions tailored to project requirements.
• Leading client relationships, attending progress meetings and identifying opportunities to strengthen existing partnerships and develop new business.
• Managing, mentoring and developing a team of drainage engineers, supporting their technical progression and ensuring effective project resourcing.
• Providing technical leadership, reviewing design outputs and ensuring compliance with relevant standards, regulations and best practice.
• Supporting project proposals, identifying new opportunities and contributing to the continued growth of the drainage engineering capability.
• Working collaboratively with multidisciplinary teams to deliver integrated, innovative and sustainable infrastructure solutions.

What you need to succeed

• Chartered or Incorporated Engineer status, and/or a relevant degree qualification, depending on the level of appointment.
• Extensive post-degree experience in the design and delivery of sustainable drainage solutions.
• A strong understanding of drainage design principles and solutions for infrastructure projects.
• Experience using Civil 3D and/or drainage design software such as Causeway Flow or MicroDrainage.
• A thorough understanding of relevant technical standards, UK Building Regulations, design standards, codes of practice and health and safety requirements.
• Proven experience managing projects, programmes and teams to achieve technical quality, programme and commercial objectives.
• Strong communication and stakeholder management skills, with the ability to build trusted client relationships.
• Experience leading and developing engineering teams, supporting technical excellence and encouraging collaborative working.
• A proactive, commercially aware approach, with the ability to identify opportunities and contribute to business growth.

Technical experience in one or more of the following areas would be particularly valuable:

• Highway drainage.
• Rail drainage.
• Airport drainage.
• Drainage asset management.
• Foul water drainage.
• Sustainable foul and surface water drainage design.
• Drainage modelling using Causeway Flow or MicroDrainage.