Senior Economic and Financial Consultant, Water

Jacobs; Tempe (AZ); Hybrid; USD 123,000 - 251,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Healthcare benefits

Hybrid work policy

401(k) plan

Job summary

Jacobs is actively seeking a Senior Water Economic and Financial Consultant to support cities, utilities, and regional authorities with funding, rate studies, and financial modeling. You will lead multidisciplinary teams and collaborate across departments to develop credible financial plans for infrastructure investments.

Based in the United States, Florida preferred, with travel to meet clients and staff. The role emphasizes inclusion and impactful projects in water, wastewater, and stormwater

Qualifications

• Master’s degree in economics, finance, or related field.
• Minimum of 5 years of related professional experience.
• Expertise in economics and finance for water, wastewater, and stormwater sectors.
• Proven ability to lead multi-disciplinary teams (engineers, planners, economists, scientists).
• Strong writing skills to develop and review analyses.

Responsibilities

• Lead funding strategy and financial planning to identify outside funding and debt/equity mix.
• Lead cost of service and rate studies to set revenue-adequate rates.
• Lead CIP prioritization studies for municipal and regional clients.
• Develop economic and financial analyses with junior team support.
• Present findings to client staff and governing bodies.
• Travel to client sites and Southeast meetings as needed.

Skills

Economic analysis

Financial forecasting

Project leadership

Grant writing support

Education

Master's degree in economics, finance, or related field

Job description

At Jacobs, we're challenging today to reinvent tomorrow by solving the world's most critical problems for thriving cities, resilient environments, mission-critical outcomes, operational advancement, scientific discovery and cutting-edge manufacturing, turning abstract ideas into realities that transform the world for good.

Your impact

Here at Jacobs, we apply our expertise and knowledge as welook intothe future with great optimism and focus. We don’t settle until we give our best and know that we’re making a difference. If you want to join a company invested in you, your success, and the global community, join us as a Senior Water Economic and Financial Consultant to help the communities thrive.

As a Senior Water Economic and Financial Consultant based out of the United States, preferably Florida, you will support the efforts of our clients, including cities, counties, regional authorities, state water agencies, water, wastewater and stormwater utilities to identify appropriate infrastructure investments, develop funding and rate plans to enable implementation of the recommended projects, and supporting clients in implementing the recommended financing plans for those projects. A key part of this work is anticipated to include leading projects that include developing economic and financial models, such as cost of service and rate planning models consistent with industry best practice manuals. The work may also include development of benefit‑cost studies and pro‑forma financial model projections, to support clients in developing competitive federal and state funding applications to secure grants and low‑interest rate loans to support the projects. You will collaborate with diverse teams at Jacobs such as our federal grant writing experts, government relations team, transportation and water planners and engineers, fellow economists, resiliency specialists, and many others to understand our clients’ infrastructure projects and funding needs, and ultimately to develop technical economic and financial analyses to support competitive federal and state grant applications. You will also support clients in securing funding from the municipal bond market and rate and fee increases and other emerging forms of infrastructure finance.

Working together, we’ll help you grow and pursue what fulfills you so that we can make impacts on the future – big and small, global, and local.

Typical assignments that the Senior Economic and Financial Consultant is envisioned to support include the following:

• Lead funding strategy and financial planning projects to help identify the appropriate mix of outside funding, debt, and equity funding sources to implement capital projects and pay for ongoing operation and maintenance expenditures.
• Lead cost of service and rate study projects to identify rate and fee increases needed to satisfy utility client revenue requirements and maintain strong financial metrics.
• Lead Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) prioritization studies and other related studies to help identify the appropriate sequencing of capital projects and related operating initiatives for municipal, regional, and state clients.
• Lead business case analyses, financial pro‑forma projections, benefit‑cost analyses, valuation models, and other related forms of economic and financial analysis with support from more junior members of the financial services team.
• Lead pursuits for economic and financial studies or financial tasks within larger multi‑disciplinary pursuits, including developing appropriate scopes of work and fee estimates for economic and financial consulting tasks.
• Present findings of economic and financial studies to client staff and governing bodies.
• Preference for location is residency in Florida or nearby states. If not residing in the southeastern region of the U.S., a successful candidate will be willing to make frequent trips to this geography to meet with clients and local Jacobs staff supporting these clients.

Your most impactful mission in this role is to embrace living inclusion every day and enable diversity and equality globally. For us, this means creating a culture of belonging where we all thrive by embracing all perspectives. An inclusive culture with many perspectives through diverse backgrounds allows us to leverage knowledge, leadership, and connection to bring forth opportunity, creativity, and growth.

Here’s what you’ll need

• Master’s degree in economics, finance, or related field.
• Minimum of 5 years of related professional experience.
• Training and significant experience in principles of economics and finance, including business case analysis, benefit‑cost analysis, cost of service and rate‑making, and financial forecasting with focus on the water, wastewater and stormwater utility sectors.
• Proven ability to successfully lead multi‑disciplinary teams such as teams that include engineers, planners, economists, and scientists, all contributing to their respective elements of a project within required schedules and budgets.
• Strong writing skills, including the ability to develop and review write-ups of the findings of economic and financial analyses.
• Industry domain economic and financial expertise and leadership in at least one primary water sector of infrastructure (water, wastewater, or stormwater) as demonstrated by
• Proactive involvement in recognized industry associations and committees related to economics and finance for the related sector of infrastructure such as the American Water Works Association and the Water Environment Federation.
• Published articles in recognized industry publications and/or presentations at recognized conferences in the related sectors.
• Contributions to industry guidance documents or research studies in the related sector.
• Notable project experience in leading financial and economic studies in the related sector, either as a consultant or a government agency lead.
• Ability to train and mentor more junior members of the consulting team.
• Travel This position is part of a national Advisory Solutions practice. You periodically will be required to travel to client sites for workshops and other meetings. Because a concentration of the work for this position is expected to be located in Florida and other parts of the southeastern US, candidates not located in this geography will be expected to make frequent trips to the Southeast for meetings with clients and local Jacobs staff serving those clients.

Ideally, you’ll also have

• More than 5 years of related professional experience
• Experience in developing and documenting economic and financial analyses to support successful grant applications to State and Federal agencies in the United States.

Our health and welfare benefits are designed to invest in you, and in the things you care about. Your health. Your well‑being. Your security. Your future. Employees have access to medical, dental, vision, and basic life insurance, a 401(k) plan, and the ability to purchase company stock at a discount. Eligible employees may also enroll in a deferred compensation plan or the Executive Deferral Plan. Jacobs has an unlimited U.S. Personalized Paid Time Off (PPTO) policy for full‑time salaried/exempt employees, seven paid holidays, and caregiver leave. And certain roles may be eligible for additional rewards, including merit increases, performance discretionary bonus, and stock.

The base salary range for this position is $123,000.00 to $251,150.00. Within the range, individual pay is determined by work location and additional factors, including job-related skills, experience, and relevant education or training.

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability or protected veteran status. Job posted on September 01, 2026. This position will be open for at least 3 days.

We value collaboration and believe that in‑person interactions are crucial for both our culture and client delivery. We empower employees with our hybrid working policy, allowing them to split their work week between Jacobs offices/projects and remote locations enabling them to deliver their best work.