Associate / Associate Director - Flood Risk & Sustainable Water

Associate / Associate Director – Flood Risk & Sustainable Water Management
London Leeds Bristol Hybrid Working
Excellent Salary Package

Shape the future of sustainable development

Are you an experienced Flood Risk, Drainage or Sustainable Water Management professional looking for an opportunity where your technical expertise, commercial awareness and leadership skills can make a genuine impact?

We are working with a leading multidisciplinary consultancy that is delivering some of the UK's most interesting and challenging development, regeneration and infrastructure projects.

As an Associate / Associate Director – Flood Risk & Sustainable Water Management, you will join an established and growing team, taking a leading role in providing high–quality technical advice across a diverse portfolio of UK projects.

This is an excellent opportunity for an experienced consultant who wants to combine technical leadership, client engagement, project delivery and business development, while helping shape resilient and sustainable places for the future.

The Opportunity

You will lead and support a varied portfolio of development–led projects, providing specialist advice on flood risk, drainage and sustainable water management throughout the planning and environmental assessment process.

Your responsibilities will include:

Leading flood risk and sustainable water management inputs to planning applications, EIAs and wider technical studies.

• Providing authoritative advice on flood risk constraints, mitigation and sustainable drainage solutions.
• Preparing, reviewing and overseeing high–quality technical reports and supporting planning documentation.
• Interpreting hydraulic modelling outputs and using them to inform technical advice and solution development.
• Working collaboratively with planners, environmental consultants, engineers and project managers to integrate water management considerations into project design.
• Engaging directly with clients, Local Planning Authorities, the Environment Agency, Lead Local Flood Authorities, water companies and other stakeholders.
• Representing the business at client meetings, technical workshops and stakeholder discussions.
• Managing multiple projects and helping ensure delivery to programme, budget and quality expectations.
• Contributing to fee proposals, tenders, bids and wider business development activity.
• Developing strong, long–term client relationships and identifying opportunities for further work.
• Providing mentoring, coaching and technical guidance to junior members of the team.

What You'll Bring

We're looking for an established consultant operating at Associate or Associate Director level, with substantial UK consultancy experience in flood risk, drainage, sustainable water management or a closely related discipline.

You'll ideally have:

• A strong track record delivering flood risk and drainage consultancy for development–led projects.
• Good knowledge of UK flood risk policy, planning guidance and regulatory requirements.
• Experience contributing to planning applications, EIAs and environmental or technical assessments.
• An understanding of hydraulic modelling and confidence interpreting modelling outputs.
• Experience working with multidisciplinary project teams and external stakeholders.
• Strong technical report writing, presentation and communication skills.
• Experience managing projects, reviewing technical work and maintaining quality standards.
• A commercially aware approach, with experience contributing to bids, fee proposals and business development.
• The ability to mentor and develop less experienced colleagues.
• Experience of major development, regeneration or infrastructure projects would be advantageous.
• Knowledge of DCO, EIA or other statutory consenting processes would be beneficial.
• Experience of SuDS, nature–based solutions, local authority planning processes and flood risk consultation would be highly advantageous.
• A relevant degree qualification.
• Chartered status with CIWEM or a similar professional body is strongly preferred.
• UK project experience and a full UK driving licence.

Why Consider This Opportunity?

This is more than a technical flood risk role. It offers the opportunity to take a genuine leadership position within a high–calibre multidisciplinary environment, working on projects where your advice can directly influence how developments are planned, designed and delivered.

You'll have the opportunity to:

Lead – Take ownership of technically challenging projects and play a key role in shaping project strategy.

Influence – Work directly with clients, regulators and multidisciplinary teams, providing advice that can make a tangible difference.

Develop – Build on your technical, commercial and leadership capabilities with a clear opportunity to progress your career.

Collaborate – Work alongside specialists across planning, environmental, engineering and project management disciplines.

Grow – Contribute to business development, develop client relationships and help grow an established service offering.

Make an impact – Help deliver practical, sustainable solutions that support resilient communities and high–quality development.

Location & Working Arrangements

The preferred locations are London, Leeds or Bristol, although other UK locations may be considered for the right candidate.

The role offers hybrid working, combining flexibility with regular collaboration across teams and projects.

As projects are UK–wide, occasional travel will be required for client meetings, site visits and team meetings, with some flexibility around working hours where project requirements dictate.

Interested?

If you're an experienced Flood Risk / Sustainable Water Management consultant ready to take the next step in your career and are attracted by the opportunity to combine technical leadership with client–facing and commercial responsibilities, we'd be very interested in hearing from you.

Apply now for a confidential conversation about the opportunity.

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