Senior Principal Water Resource Consultant

STANTEC; Lewes; On-site; GBP 40,000 - 60,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading environmental consulting firm in Lewes is seeking a water resources professional to manage projects focusing on water resource planning and compliance. The role involves working with various stakeholders to ensure project success and supporting junior team members. Ideal candidates should have a strong background in water resources assessments, relevant degrees, and must possess excellent project management skills. Join a dynamic team committed to addressing water resource challenges.

Qualifications

• Strong experience in assessment and development of WRMPs and drought plans.
• Extensive experience in the water industry.
• Experience with water resources modelling and environmental assessments.

Responsibilities

• Lead planning, delivery and implementation of water resource projects.
• Support early career team members in technical areas.
• Client-facing role to achieve positive outcomes.

Skills

Water resources project management

Stakeholder engagement

Hydrological assessments

Demand forecasting

Options appraisal

Education

Degree in geography, geological sciences, environmental science, civil or environmental engineering

Postgraduate degree in hydrology, hydrogeology or water resources management

Job description

It’s an exciting time to be involved in water resources in the UK. In recognition of the considerable challenges that we will face in the future, the industry regulator Ofwat has made the biggest investment in infrastructure since privatisation, with £4 billion to boost water supply and £2 billion for Nature Based Solutions in the recently published draft determination for the period 2025‑30. This includes funding for significant solutions to ensure long‑term national resilience, security of supply for the future and lowering demand through unprecedented leakage reduction and smart meter installation programmes.

Stantec’s engagement with water resources planning initiatives across the UK and Ireland has grown significantly since 2020. This has included working on several Strategic Resource Option (SRO) investigations in England and Wales, Water Resource Management Plans (WRMPs), Drought Plans, and WINEP Water Resources schemes. Stantec will continue to focus on this in 2025 and beyond, helping water companies deliver their AMP8 schemes and plan for the future.

Our water resources team works with water companies, regulators (such as the Environment Agency and Ofwat), design engineers, contractors, planners, and other stakeholders to help achieve positive outcomes for projects.

As a member of our multidisciplinary and collaborative team, you will:

• Be involved in leading the planning, delivery and implementation of water resource projects, ensuring they adhere to scope, budget, timescale, quality and regulatory requirements.
• Be expected to bring experience to the team and support the development of early career team members in technical areas such as development of WRMPs, Regional Water Resource plans, Drought Plans, water resource modelling, demand management or forecast, options development, optimisation, regulatory environmental assessment (HRA, SEA, WFD etc) and/or development of SROs through the RAPID led gated process.
• Have a client‑facing role and a willingness to grow your internal and external networks to achieve positive outcomes for your projects.
• Have experience running commercial projects, bids and proposals within budget.
• Support the wider Water and Environment department when required, complementing the other specialisms within the teams and working flexibly on various projects.

About you

We welcome people from varied backgrounds (regulatory, water company, academia or consultancy) who have recent experience applying their knowledge of water resources in policy and technical areas. We are looking for people used to working in fast‑paced multidisciplinary teams, working closely with their clients, statutory authorities, and other stakeholders. Ideally, you will have had previous involvement in the assessment and development of WRMPs, regional plans, SROs and/or Drought Plans.

We are looking for the following areas:

• Strong experience in water resources‑focused projects undertaking: Assessment and development of WRMPs, drought plans and water resources regional plans, development of components of the supply‑demand balance, hydrological, hydrogeological and/or water resources assessment, demand forecasting, options appraisal and/or development of risk and uncertainty.
• Strong experience in WINEP investigations, Environmental Destination, Water Framework Directive assessments, Permitting and Abstraction licensing, wider catchment management, climate change impact assessments/and options appraisals.
• Extensive experience in the water industry.
• A degree in a relevant subject, such as geography, geological sciences, environmental science, civil or environmental engineering and preferably hold a postgraduate degree in hydrology, hydrogeology and/or water resources management.
• Actively involved with relevant institutions such as CIWEM, the Institute of Civil Engineers or the Institute of Water and either chartered or working towards your professional chartered status.

Feel free to get in touch to discuss our opportunities, we don’t expect people to fulfill the whole set of requirements listed above. We have an interesting, versatile and fast‑growing workload within the water resource team that requires a diverse background of skills, experience and knowledge.

#UKWater

About Stantec

The Stantec community unites more than 34,000 employees working in over 450 locations across 6 continents. We have been working with our clients and communities in the UK for over 150 years. We plan, design, deliver and manage the development and infrastructure needed to support the creation of sustainable, healthy and prosperous communities.

Our teams provide effective and relevant solutions, translating our clients’ vision into valued consents, deliverable plans for projects and programmes, and efficient designs for delivery, based on technical excellence and deep market insights. We deal with today’s challenges, but also keep a fairer, better tomorrow in sight, looking at how we deliver clean growth, support radical changes in our economy and meet the needs of future communities.

Stantec provides equal employment opportunities to all qualified employees and applicants for future and current employment and prohibits discrimination on the grounds of race, colour, religion, sex, national origin, age, marital status, genetic information, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression. Stantec is in compliance with laws and regulations and ensures equitable opportunities in all aspects of employment.

Building an inspired, inclusive work environment that attracts, supports, and develops world‑class talent is a crucial key to our success. If you are excited by this role but worry that your experience doesn’t exactly align, we encourage you to apply.

At Stantec we want you to perform your best at every stage of the recruitment process and are committed to ensuring it is accessible to all. If you need any support or require adjustments to be made then please contact [e-mail] and we will talk to you about how we can support you.

ReqID: 7423