Senior Project Manager

MOTT MACDONALD; Newcastle upon Tyne; On-site; GBP 65,000 - 95,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Employee ownership

Hybrid working policy

Competitive benefits package

Job summary

Mott MacDonald is recruiting for experienced technical project managers in water and wastewater to lead multidisciplinary projects for UK clients across AMP8. The role focuses on delivering water treatment, distribution, and wastewater infrastructure while maintaining cost, schedule, and quality controls.

You will lead diverse teams, manage client relationships, and drive project governance, risk mitigation, and mentoring across the project lifecycle.

Qualifications

• Essential: Degree-qualified in engineering or a related discipline.
• Essential: Demonstrable project management experience delivering infrastructure projects in the water sector.
• Essential: Experience managing multidisciplinary teams across project lifecycle stages.
• Essential: Strong client-facing and stakeholder management skills.
• Essential: Ability to manage programme, cost, and water and wastewater engineering risks to achieve successful project outcomes.
• Essential: Proven ability to work independently and contribute to project success while guiding others.

Responsibilities

• Lead delivery of water and wastewater projects to time, cost, and quality while complying with management systems.
• Manage multidisciplinary teams across design and delivery stages.
• Act as key client interface and build trusted stakeholder relationships.
• Identify, manage, and mitigate project risks and opportunities.
• Oversee commercial and contractual aspects including forecasting and reporting.
• Support team development and mentoring of junior staff.

Skills

Project management

Client-facing

Stakeholder management

Team leadership

Risk management

Education

Engineering degree

Job description

Location/s: London, Cambridge, Croydon, Brighton, Southampton, Reading, Cardiff, Bristol, Birmingham, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Manchester, Leeds, Newcastle, Inverness; UK

Mott MacDonald is a global engineering, management, and development consultancy with over 20,000 employees across more than 50 countries and 140+ offices.

We work across incredible global industries, delivering exciting work that is defining our future and making an important societal impact in the communities we serve. Our people power our performance – we succeed when they do. With countless opportunities to collaborate, learn, and grow, the possibilities for excellence are as varied as every individual.

Whether you want to grow as a subject matter expert or broaden your experience with roles across our international community, you're surrounded by global specialists who want to combine their expertise and champion you to be your best. As a proudly employee-owned business, we benefit our clients, our communities, and each other, investing in creating the right space for everyone to feel empowered, included, and valued. Whatever your ambition, Mott MacDonald is where people come to be brilliant.

About the Division

The Water Utilities Division is Mott MacDonald's centre of excellence for responding to the UK and Ireland's water and wastewater challenges. The work we do is at the forefront of ensuring safe water supplies for future generations, preventing urban flooding, and improving the health of our rivers and coastal environments. Our multi-disciplinary teams provide a variety of services throughout the full project life cycle, from advisory services and feasibility studies to outline and detailed design. Together, we deliver best-in-class solutions to our clients while offering diverse and technically stimulating opportunities to our people.

Our clients include most UK water utility companies and many other governmental organisations and private companies in the UK and overseas. We cover all phases of the project lifecycle from feasibility studies through detailed design, construction support, and commissioning to handover.

Overview of the role

This role will focus on managing multidisciplinary water sector projects across the full project lifecycle, supporting delivery for major UK water company clients during AMP8. The successful candidate will play a key role in delivering projects across areas such as water and wastewater treatment, storm overflows, and wider infrastructure programmes.

We work on a vast range of design projects covering, for example:

• Water treatment
• Water distribution and storage
• Strom Overflow
• SuDS
• Wastewater drainage and recycling
• Desalination

To help us to meet the growing needs of our clients, we have several positions for experienced technical project managers in water and wastewater who will thrive:

• Leading the delivery of projects to time, cost, and quality, ensuring compliance with business management systems
• Managing multidisciplinary teams, coordinating technical specialists across design and delivery stages
• Acting as a key client interface, building strong and trusted relationships
• Identify, manage, and mitigate project risks and opportunities
• Overseeing commercial and contractual aspects including forecasting, programme control, and reporting
• Supporting team development, providing guidance and mentoring to junior staff

This is great opportunity to make a difference. You have the skills, now use them at a company that values a different perspective. Being employee owned means we can choose our own direction and focus on what we believe is important for our clients, our people and the communities where we work and live.

Candidate specification

Essential:

• Degree-qualified in engineering or a related discipline
• Demonstrable project management experience delivering infrastructure projects in the water sector
• Experience managing multidisciplinary teams across project lifecycle stages
• Strong client-facing and stakeholder management skills
• Ability to manage programme, cost, and water and wastewater engineering risks to achieve successful project outcomes
• Proven ability to work independently and contribute to project success while guiding others

Desirable:

• Chartered Engineer or working towards chartership
• APM PMQ / MAPM or equivalent
• Experience in AMP frameworks or UK water utilities programmes
• Knowledge of CDM regulations and design management
• Experience contributing to bids and proposals

UK Immigration

Mott MacDonald Ltd. are not currently offering sponsorship to candidates under the Skilled Worker visa route in the UK. This decision is as a consequence of the changes made to the Skilled Worker route by the UK Government in April 2024. We continue to welcome applications from candidates who are eligible for alternative immigration routes in the UK, that do not require sponsorship as a Skilled Worker now or in future.

Agile working

At Mott MacDonald, we believe it makes business sense for you and your manager to choose how you can work most effectively to meet your client, team, and personal commitments. We offer a hybrid working policy that embraces your well-being, flexibility, and trust.

Equality, diversity, and inclusion

We put equality, diversity, and inclusion at the heart of our business, seeking to promote fair employment procedures and practices to ensure equal opportunities for all. We encourage individual expression in our workplace and are committed to creating an inclusive environment where everyone feels they can contribute.

Accessibility

We want you to perform your best at every stage in the recruitment process. If you are disabled or need any support to enable you to apply or attend an interview, please contact us at [e-mail] and we will talk to you about how we can support you.

We offer some fantastic benefits including:

Financial wellbeing

• We match employee pension contributions between 4.5% and 7%.
• Life assurance equal up to 4 x your basic salary, with an option to increase the level of cover to 6 x your salary.
• Our income protection scheme provides a financial benefit, as well as absence and return to work support due to long-term illness or injury.
• Flexible benefits, including increased life assurance cover, critical illness insurance, payroll saving and will writing.
• As an independently owned business we share the financial success of the business with all our colleagues in various ways including annual bonus schemes.

Employee Ownership

• Our employee ownership model means no external investors, just us, creating a culture of shared success.
• Our employees have a stake and a voice in our business, giving them a direct connection to our success through our personal and group performance bonuses.
• As your career grows, so does your stake, recognising your long‑term impact and contribution.
• Your voice matters, with the opportunity to connect directly with senior leadership through formal channels to help shape our future.
• For our senior roles you will have a direct pathway towards ownership from day one.

Health and wellbeing

• Private medical insurance for all UK colleagues.
• Health cash plan to support you with every day health costs and treatments.
• Access to Peppy, providing free support from menopause experts for all UK colleagues.
• A variety of wellbeing support is available through our comprehensive wellbeing program, including access for you and your family.
• Ability to flex your salary to opt into a wide range of health benefits, many of which can be extended to your family too.

Lifestyle

• A minimum of 33-35 days holiday each year, inclusive of public holidays and dependent on level, with the ability to buy or sell leave through our flexible benefits programme.
• Holiday entitlement increased to a minimum of 35 days after 5 years' service.
• Variety of employee saving schemes and discounts from high‑street retailers.

Enhanced family and carers leave

• Enhanced family leave policies, including 26 weeks paid maternity and adoption leave, and two weeks paid paternity/partner leave.
• Our shared parental leave matches maternity leave meaning we pay up to 24 weeks at full pay.
• Up to five additional days leave are provided for those with significant caring responsibilities, two of which are paid.

Learning and development

• Primary annual professional institution subscription.
• A broad range of opportunities to enhance both technical and soft skills through mentoring, formal training, and self-development options.

Networks, communities, and social outcomes

• Join a wide range of groups including our Advanced Employee Networks which support our LGBTQ+, gender, race and ethnicity, disability, and parents/carers communities.
• Make a difference within our communities through our social outcomes.