Principal Water Resources Planner

Location/s: Cambridge, Brighton, Bristol, Cardiff, Leeds, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Manchester, Liverpool, Exeter & Birmingham; UK
Recruiter contact: Nicola Coyle

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 business 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.

Overview of the role

Water resources are under pressure globally from climate change, population growth and urbanisation – this includes parts of the UK where there is now recognition that investment in both demand management and resource development is needed to secure resilient water supplies for the future. We are market leaders in providing strategic water resources planning services to water companies, regional groups (including Water Resources South East and Water Resources East), regulators and the government in the UK as well as supporting our global business delivering water resources planning services internationally.  We help our clients to consider the resilience of their existing resources in the face of environmental pressures, growth, climate change and severe drought and then to identify, appraise and develop future demand and supply-side interventions to address the needs identified.

To support our growth ambition in this area, we are looking for motivated strategic thinkers, who want to generate the best possible outcomes for our clients, the environment and society, with an interest in developing their knowledge and experience, joining our existing team of climate scientists, data scientists, engineers, environmentalists, hydrogeologists, hydrologists, managers and planners. In this role you will apply your knowledge and experience on a diverse range of advisory projects and strategic/feasibility studies, and have the opportunity to further develop your skills across different areas of our portfolio, such as water resource planning, resource options appraisal, demand forecasting, demand management options appraisal, investment optimisation and environmental assessment.

At Mott MacDonald you will have control of your own career path and great prospects for career progression as the business continues to grow. We can offer you development in technical, management or client-facing directions. 
 

Candidate specification

We are looking for a driven individual, keen to make a difference in the sector, take wide responsibilities and progress professionally.

Essential: 

• Relevant water resources, engineering or other related degree
• Experience with developing regional plans, Water Resource Management Plans and/or Drought Plans
• Familiarity with UK water sector regulation
• Keen interest in developing your technical and commercial skills

Desirable:

• Chartered Status with a recognised Professional Institution
• Project management, client liaison and consulting skills
• Understanding of the components that make up a water supply-demand balance and how these are estimated and forecast 
• Experience of undertaking options appraisal
• Experience of best value planning
• Experience of auditing and assurance 
• Experience of using asset information

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.

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 reasonable.adjustments@mottmac.com and we will talk to you about how we can support you.

Agile working  

We are happy to talk openly about flexible working and how we can support your responsibilities beyond the workplace. 

We offer some fantastic benefits including:

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.

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.

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.

Apply now, or for more information about our application process, click here.