Principal Consultant –CCUS & Hydrogen Policy and Industrial Decarbonisation

Ricardo; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 70,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

A global strategic consulting firm is seeking an experienced Principal Consultant focused on CCUS and hydrogen policy. This role will involve collaborating with various EU bodies to design and implement decarbonisation policies. Candidates should hold a Master’s degree or PhD and have expertise in relevant fields, with demonstrated experience in consulting environments. The position offers a hybrid work model, supporting work-life balance and professional growth.

Benefits

Flexible working arrangements

Support for physical and mental health

Diversity, Equality, and Inclusion initiatives

Qualifications

• Demonstrated expertise in CCS and/or hydrogen from a policy and regulatory perspective.
• Strong familiarity with EU legislative and policy frameworks.
• Hands-on experience applying policy appraisal tools.

Responsibilities

• Lead EU-level policy studies on CCS, hydrogen, and decarbonisation.
• Design and deliver policy impact assessments.
• Engage with EU institutions and stakeholders.

Skills

Expertise in carbon capture and storage (CCS)

Knowledge of hydrogen policy

Experience with EU policy frameworks

Consulting experience

Education

Master’s degree or PhD in economics, physics, or energy policy

Tools

Impact assessment methodologies

Cost-benefit analysis (CBA)

Multi-criteria analysis (MCA)

Job description

Overview

Role Title: Principal Consultant –CCUS & Hydrogen Policy and Industrial Decarbonisation

Location: London, Manchester, Madrid, Italy, Belgium (Brussels) - Hybrid

Job ID: 2025-3023

Our vision is to create a safe and sustainable world.

Ricardo, member of WSP, is a global strategic, environmental, and engineering consulting company. With over 100 years of engineering excellence and employing close to 3,000 employees in more than 20 countries, we provide exceptional levels of expertise in delivering leading-edge and innovative cross-sector sustainable products and solutions. Every day, we enable our customers to solve the most complex and dynamic challenges to help achieve a safe and sustainable world.

About the Role

You will act as a policy-facing expert on carbon capture and storage (CCS) and hydrogen, supporting the European Commission, Member States and international institutions in the design, assessment and implementation of industrial decarbonisation policies and regulatory frameworks.

The role centres on analysis, support and evaluation of:

• EU policy and legislation (e.g. Net-Zero Industry Act, TEN-E, ETS, State Aid)
• Cross-border CO₂ and hydrogen transport and storage regulation
• Economic and financial assessment of public policy choices
• Impact assessments and evaluation of EU-funded interventions

Key Focus Areas

You will work at the interface between technology, policy and economics, with particular focus on:

• CCUS and CO₂ transport & storage

Regulatory frameworks, cross-border infrastructure, liability, access regimes, cost recovery, public support and market creation

• Hydrogen policy and markets

Regulatory design, infrastructure planning, certification, public support schemes, integration with industrial policy and energy markets

• EU industrial decarbonisation policy

Net-Zero Industry Act, industrial roadmaps, EU funding instruments, State Aid and market-based mechanisms

• Policy appraisal and decision-support tools

Impact assessment, cost-benefit analysis, multi-criteria analysis, and evaluation methodologies supporting evidence-based policymaking

Although you are not required to demonstrate experience in all these areas.

Key Responsibilities

• Leading or co-leading EU-level policy studies on CCS, hydrogen and industrial decarbonisation for the European Commission and international institutions
• Designing and delivering policy impact assessments, including:
  • Cost-benefit analysis (CBA)
  • Multi-criteria analysis (MCA)
  • Economic and distributional impact assessment
  • Evaluation of public support schemes and regulatory options
• Providing regulatory and economic analysis on:
  • CO₂ and hydrogen transport and storage (including cross-border issues)
  • Market design and access regimes
  • Financing models and public intervention logic
• Engaging directly with EU institutions, Member State authorities and stakeholders through interviews, workshops and consultations
• Contributing to business development in CCS, hydrogen, industrial decarbonisation and wider energy policy, including proposal leadership and technical input
• Mentoring junior staff and ensuring high analytical and quality standards across deliverables

Key Competenciesand Experience

• A Master’s degree or PhD in economics, physics, energy policy, public policy, environmental economics, or a related discipline (engineering background only if combined with strong policy/economic expertise)
• Demonstrated expertise in CCS and/or hydrogen from a policy and regulatory perspective
• Proven experience working with EU institutions, in particular:
  • European Commission (DG ENER, CLIMA, GROW, MOVE, etc.)
  • EU agencies, Member State authorities or IFIs
• Strong familiarity with EU legislative and policy frameworks, including:
  • Net-Zero Industry Act, Clean industrial deal, Affordable energy package, Electricity Market Design reform, EU ETS and carbon pricing
  • State Aid and public funding instruments
  • TEN-E and cross-border infrastructure governance
• Hands-on experience applying policy appraisal tools, such as:
  • Impact assessment methodologies
  • Cost-benefit analysis (CBA)
  • Multi-criteria analysis (MCA)
  • Evaluation frameworks aligned with Better Regulation principles
• Strong experience in consultancy or policy advisory environments, including proposal writing, team leadership, project financial management and client management

Desirable Competenciesand Experience

• Experience with EU Better Regulation Guidelines and evaluation standards
• Knowledge of industrial financing models, public support schemes and risk-sharing mechanisms
• Experience with stakeholder consultation and facilitation at EU or national level
• Additional European languages (French, German, Italian, Spanish)

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.

Work life balance

We offer flexible approaches to work, whether that is working from home, being in the office, or as a hybrid worker. We're happy to discuss flexible working arrangements. Wellbeing is at the core to our culture, allowing employees to flourish and to achieve their full potential.

Benefits

We want you to know how much you are valued. Your remuneration and benefits package will reflect that. You will receive a range of benefits which include support for your physical and mental health.

Diversity, Equality, and Inclusion statement

We are an Equal Opportunity Employer, we believe in each person's potential, and we'll help you reach yours. We have an ambitious diversity, equality, and inclusion approach as explained here. We value diversity; recognising that a more diverse workforce creates a richer and more varied working environment. Diversity also drives innovation, by allowing us to offer our clients the best consultancy service that we can. As part of our commitment to engage positively and pro-actively with all our employees and to ensure an inclusive culture, we are a recognised as a 'disability confident' employer.

Next steps

Once you have submitted your application a member of our Recruitment Team will be in touch. Please be aware that the timing can vary dependent on the volume of applications that we receive for each role and in some cases, we may start to review applications prior to the closing date.

Ricardo is a Disability confident employer please advise the recruitment team [e-mail] if you require any adjustments to support you throughout the recruitment process.