Drainage Engineer

First Technical Recruitment; East Midlands; Hybrid; GBP 38,000 - 52,000; Full time

Job summary

First Recruitment Group is seeking a Drainage Engineer for a 6-month contract based in Matlock, Derbyshire. The role is hybrid, requiring presence in the client office two days per week.

You will lead drainage and flood risk interventions, supervise emergency works, and coordinate with water companies and the Environment Agency. The ideal candidate has experience in highway drainage, flood risk, and NEC contract frameworks, with a track record in local authority or consultancy settings.

Qualifications

• Essential experience in highway drainage engineering.
• Experience in flood risk management and asset management.
• Familiar with NEC contracts and public-sector environments.

Responsibilities

• Deputise for the Delivery Manager in coordinating forums and partnerships.
• Supervise emergency works to support network resilience outside hours.
• Lead delivery of drainage and flood risk interventions.
• Manage site investigations and provide expert highway drainage advice.
• Liaise with water companies and the Environment Agency.
• Ensure governance, reporting, and budgets are maintained.

Skills

Highway drainage

Flood risk

Drainage asset management

NEC contracts

Local authority / consultancy

Job description

Our Client has a requirement for a Drainage Engineer, who will be required to work on a 6 month contract basis in Matlock, Derbyshire

Hybrid role - must be in client office 2 days per week

6 month contract with the potential to extend depending on workload and budget.

Key Responsibilities

• Deputising for the Flood & Drainage Delivery Manager in public forums, tactical coordinating groups, political engagement, and partnership collaboration where appropriate to support strategic oversight and responsibility of key operational, tactical, and partnership duties.
• Supervise, arrange, and participate in emergency works supporting network resilience outside normal working hours standby.
• Contribute to a culture of ownership and continuous improvement, using feedback from customers and stakeholders to enhance the technical enquiry process and service standards.
• Lead the delivery of commissioned drainage and flood risk interventions.
• Manage site investigations and technical solutions for complex drainage issues.
• Provide expert engineering advice on highway drainage infrastructure.
• Liaise with water companies and the Environment Agency.
• Work with the Delivery Manager to implement policies and standards for the management of drainage asset information and technical responses.
• Implement best practice from across the construction industry to challenge delivery methods and encourage innovation across the supply chain.
• Act as the accountable officer for the day‑day delivery of a wide variety of commissioned programmes, projects, and tasks related to highway structures.
• Assist in selecting appropriate procurement routes and manage a procurement pipeline to ensure a compliant strategy is in place for each planned item.
• Ensure all internal and external services are procured to allow performance and value for money to be assessed; monitor supplier performance and initiate corrective actions where required.
• Manage and administer contracts with external suppliers, including acting as Supervisor or similar roles under NEC Contracts.
• Work with internal suppliers to develop sustainable workload schedules that meet their business needs and objectives.
• Collaborate with the PDO Manager to ensure projects and tasks are managed programmatically, with appropriate governance and processes.
• Oversee the development of robust delivery schedules, ensuring key risk factors are accounted for.
• Ensure effective and timely reporting is in place for every project, developing accurate forecasts, tracking spend, and managing risk/contingency budgets.
• Guarantee that internal and external communications are appropriate for every project, ensuring stakeholders receive timely information.
• Ensure that financial expenditure and management meet regulatory and council policy requirements, administering budgets correctly.
• Uphold and implement processes and procedures that align with best practice project management principles.
• Champion safety in the delivery of all commissioned services, ensuring the Principal Designer role is effectively delivered in compliance with CDM legislation.
• Maintain and review risk registers for programmes and projects, leading collaborative risk reviews with commissioners and the supply chain.
• Use delivery expertise to act as a point of escalation for operational project issues, escalating unmanageable risks to the Delivery Manager.
• Provide leadership to ensure effective carbon management in the delivery phase of projects.
• Contribute to the annual function delivery plan and Value for Money improvement plan.

Essential experience required

• Highway drainage engineering
• Flood risk management
• Drainage asset management
• NEC contracts
• Local authority, consultancy, or infrastructure environments

Company information

At First Recruitment Group we understand just how important it is to secure the right people. That is why our Recruitment Consultants always take the time to understand requirements in detail and offer sound advice to both clients and candidates. We actively recruit at all levels and this is a superb opportunity for a Drainage Engineer looking for new employment.

As part of putting people first, we strive to be an equal opportunities employer and we are always looking to increase the diversity of our workforce, working closely with our clients to ensure everyone is included.