Water Quality Senior Consultant

APEM Ltd.; Cheadle; On-site; GBP 55,000 - 75,000; Full time

Job summary

APEM Ltd. offers a Senior Consultant - Water Quality role focused on turning environmental data into practical guidance for clients. You’ll design monitoring programmes, perform QC, and deliver high-quality analysis and reporting across a varied portfolio of water and sediment projects.

You’ll mentor graduates and consultants, manage multiple projects and contribute to tenders while engaging with regulators. Strong data skills and a genuine interest in water quality are essential.

Qualifications

• Strong experience in data processing, quality control, analysis, interpretation and reporting.
• Experience designing and delivering environmental monitoring programmes.
• Proven project management experience, including managing multiple projects and delivering work to time, quality and budget.
• Experience working in a commercial consulting environment.
• Experience delivering high-quality consultancy services to clients.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to explain technical information clearly to both technical and non-technical audiences.
• Experience of the project delivery cycle, including commercial aspects of tendering and project delivery.
• Experience working with environmental data, ideally within a water quality setting.
• A genuine interest in water quality and the investigation of water quality issues.
• Knowledge and experience of water and sediment quality assessment and investigations, including at least one of: Storm overflows, nutrients, pollution incidents, continuous water quality monitoring, taste and odour, bathing waters.
• An understanding of key UK environmental legislation.
• The ability to work collaboratively and support the development of colleagues.

Responsibilities

• Lead data-driven analyses across the full project lifecycle from design to reporting.
• Design and cost monitoring programmes and manage data processing and QC.
• Interpret results and present findings to clients in clear, actionable ways.
• Manage multiple projects, ensuring delivery on time, within budget and to high scientific standards.
• Engage with clients and regulators, contribute to tenders and technical proposals, and support junior staff.
• Explore automation to improve data processing and presentation workflows.

Skills

Data processing

Quality control

Data analysis

Client communication

Project management

Environmental data

Water quality

Tendering

Education

Relevant higher degree

Tools

SIMCAT

MIKE

Job description

About The Role

Are you a data-driven scientist who enjoys getting to the bottom of what the data is telling you?

Do you have strong experience in data processing, quality control, analysis and reporting, and want to apply those skills to real environmental challenges?

We’re looking for a Senior Consultant - Water Quality to join our growing Freshwater Quality team.

This is a predominantly desk-based role where data analysis is at the heart of what you’ll do. You’ll work with environmental datasets to identify patterns, investigate issues, interpret results and turn complex information into clear, practical advice for clients.

You’ll be involved across the full project lifecycle, from designing and costing monitoring programmes through to data processing and QC, analysis, interpretation, reporting and presenting your findings. You’ll also take responsibility for managing multiple projects, ensuring they are delivered to a high scientific and quality standard, on time and within budget.

Our Water Quality Division provides water and sediment quality monitoring, analysis and interpretation across a wide range of aquatic environments, from ponds and reservoirs through to rivers and estuaries. We investigate the scale, nature and source of water quality problems and use the data we collect to understand what is happening and help develop appropriate solutions.

We’re particularly interested in someone who already has experience working with environmental data, ideally within a water quality setting. However, if your background is in another environmental discipline and you have strong data analysis skills, alongside a genuine interest in water quality and a desire to develop your knowledge, we’d still like to hear from you.

You’ll have the opportunity to work across a varied portfolio of water and sediment quality projects, with potential areas including storm overflows, nutrients, pollution incidents, continuous water quality monitoring, taste and odour and bathing waters.

There’s plenty of variety beyond the technical work too. You’ll have ownership of projects, work directly with clients and regulators, contribute to tenders and technical proposals, manage project finances and support the development of more junior scientists.

You’ll also have the opportunity to help us improve how we work. We’re interested in finding better and more efficient ways to process, analyse and present environmental data, including exploring opportunities to automate elements of our workflows.

As a Senior Consultant, you’ll become a trusted member of the team, working with increasing independence while having the support of experienced Principal Consultants around you. You’ll also play an important role in mentoring and supporting graduates and Consultants as they develop their own technical skills.

This is an opportunity to use your data expertise for something tangible -helping us understand water quality problems, improve monitoring programmes and provide the scientific evidence our clients need to make better environmental decisions.

You’ll need to bring

• Strong experience in data processing, quality control, analysis, interpretation and reporting.
• Experience designing and delivering environmental monitoring programmes.
• Proven project management experience, including managing multiple projects and delivering work to time, quality and budget.
• Experience working in a commercial consulting environment.
• Experience delivering high-quality consultancy services to clients.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to explain technical information clearly to both technical and non-technical audiences.
• Experience of the project delivery cycle, including commercial aspects of tendering and project delivery.
• Experience working with environmental data, ideally within a water quality setting.
• A genuine interest in water quality and the investigation of water quality issues.
• Knowledge and experience of water and sediment quality assessment and investigations, including at least one of the following:
  • Storm overflows, including SOAF or UPM
  • Nutrients
  • Pollution incidents
  • Continuous water quality monitoring
  • Taste and odour
  • Bathing waters
• An understanding of key UK environmental legislation.
• The ability to work collaboratively and support the development of colleagues.

It’s a bonus if you have

• Experience with water quality modelling, such as SIMCAT or MIKE.
• A relevant higher degree.
• Professional accreditation or working towards it.
• Experience mentoring or supporting graduate and Consultant-level scientists.
• Experience working with UK and Irish regulators or other environmental stakeholders.

Our WOW Factor

When home became work, we learned that flexibility, understanding and balance allowed us all to move forward and grow together. So, no matter where you’re based, the hours you keep, the toddlers you have to entertain, or outside interests that help with your wellbeing, we’re committed to our Ways of Working (WOW) with each other so we can continue to be our best.

You belong

We recognise that everyone’s story is different. The opportunities, experiences and challenges faced in life shape who we are, and we understand that these are the things that make us individual and unique. Embracing our differences means we’re able to approach what we do from every angle.

Inspiration and insight can come from anywhere, and no matter your history or choices in life, we empower our people to be their best, so we can be our best, together. We welcome the whole you.

Next steps

We are focused on creating a diverse and inclusive team. If you can’t tick every box on our job description, then we are still keen to hear from you and are open to supporting your development. That may be working part time or supporting you to gain experience in a specific area – we are a growing company and are able to adapt roles to reflect individual skills.

About Us

With locations across the globe, APEM Group provide independent environmental consultancy and expert scientific advice to a wide range of industries including water, renewables, infrastructure, power and utilities, ports and harbours as well as to regulators and governments around the world.

Our Water Quality Division provides specialist water and sediment quality monitoring, analysis and interpretation. From investigating pollution incidents and water quality problems to designing monitoring programmes and analysing complex environmental datasets, our work helps clients understand what is happening in our aquatic environments and how they can respond.

You’ll be joining a team of scientists who combine technical expertise with practical environmental consultancy, working alongside specialists across APEM’s wider water and environmental disciplines.