Principal Sustainability Consultant

We are currently expanding our Sustainability team in Manchester and we are looking to hire an experienced Principal grade consultant.

About the Role

We are seeking a sustainability professional to join our growing sustainability team in our Manchester office with wide experience of sustainability consultancy. The role will involve working within our Manchester office and with teams across all of our UK offices in order to liaise with clients and lead and coordinate the delivery of technical input.

As part of your role, you will be working with and supporting the Head of Sustainability to deliver and enhance the team's work. You will lead the technical contribution to projects, whilst contributing to business development. This position requires you to perform a variety of complex technical, professional and financial activities.

You will liaise with others advising on professional matters in connection with individual projects or project portfolios. You will be proficient at developing long-term client relationships and securing new and repeat work.

As part of the day-to-day role you will manage medium projects or several small projects with complex features. It is essential to fully understand the scope of projects and ensure all additional works above and beyond the contracted scope are documented as appropriate with the Client (for sign off and approval). This forms part of you being a technical lead for sustainability while supporting the development of the team.

Using your own initiative and technical skills, you will support the wider (multi-disciplinary) project team through safe, efficient and effective delivery of tasks to deadlines. This will ensure that the project remains within budget and to agreed standards. You will be responsible for delivery of projects and tasks whilst acting under minimal supervision, therefore you will be expected to plan your own and others' work and time to meet given objectives.

Main Duties and Responsibilities

As a Principal Sustainability Consultant, you will be required to work closely with technical disciplines within the organisation and clients to help them measure and improve their sustainability performance. Although tasks may vary depending on projects and scope, you'll typically need to carry out research and develop environment and sustainability assessments. Duties will include:

• Collect and analyse data and produce reports to demonstrate your findings including presenting your findings to clients.
• Provide advice on how clients can meet regulations laid out in environmental law and sustainability policies and guidelines.
• Support the Head of Sustainability with implementation of the wider Sustainability Strategy and carry out workshops and trainings.
• Recommend technological innovations and explain the most cost-effective and beneficial routes to sustainability. This could involve switching to alternative energy sources to lower energy costs, smarter water usage, reducing waste and lowering carbon emissions.
• Assist with communications (both internal and external) of our progress and achievements within Sustainability.
• Use of carbon and sustainability tools.
• Manage projects which involve identifying potential clients, preparing marketing materials, bid documents, and managing resources and budgets to deadline.
• Implement project requirements to fully meet the client specification in accordance with relevant standards.

Required Qualifications, Experience & Skills

Essential

• Relevant degree (Environment, Sustainability)
• Working towards professional qualifications and chartership

Preferred

• Professionally qualified CEnv or CSci

Experience

• 10-12 years' experience working in a UK consultancy for private and public-sector developers and operators, on a range of development/infrastructure projects.
• Experience of working within different sectors such as Commercial, Industrial, Retail and Residential.
• Experience of carbon life cycle assessment, developing net zero carbon strategies and supporting organisational carbon footprinting.
• Specialising in environmental design, energy efficiency and low carbon solutions within the built environment with experience from concept and planning stages through to completion.
• Experience with LCA, WLCA and Circular Economy Assessments.
• Experience in implementing circular economy principles across the project and delivery of associated reports such as SWMP, OWMP.

Preferred Experience

• Previous experience of an engineering organisation.
• Well versed in using LCA, WLCA tools.
• Experience of carrying out energy assessments.
• Experience in BREEAM/LEED/WELL AP.

Skills

• Report writing.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills.
• A strong understanding of sustainability principles.
• Strong analytical skills.
• Experience in consulting.

Preferred Skills

• BREEAM Assessor.
• LEED.
• WLCA.