Ecological Compliance and Consents Lead

Start here. Grow here. Are you an experienced ECoW professional looking to lead and grow a nationally significant environmental compliance service? Join our dynamic Nature team as an Associate Director - Environmental and Ecological Compliance Lead to provide technical leadership for our Ecological Clerk of Works (ECoW) and Environmental Clerk of Works (EnvCoW) services across the UK & Ireland. This role can be based in any of our UK office locations, including Basingstoke, Cambridge, and Leeds. A key part of the role will be building and managing a high-quality network of specialist delivery partners. Through strong technical leadership, quality assurance and supply chain development, you will help create a scalable environmental compliance business capable of supporting some of the UK's largest infrastructure projects. Working with contractors, developers and project teams, you will help clients deliver planning, DCO and environmental consent commitments during construction, while acting as a senior technical authority and lead verifier for environmental compliance activities. Here’s what you’ll do: - Act as AECOM's UK&I lead for ECoW and EnvCoW services. - Act as Lead Verifier for ECoW-related deliverables produced by internal teams and supply chain partners. - Ensure projects are appropriately resourced, mobilised and delivered to AECOM's quality standards. - Provide expert advice on construction-phase ecological risk management, environmental compliance and consent implementation. - Support the growth of the secondary consents service line through your focus on environmental and ecological compliance role. - Develop and implement a UK&I supply chain strategy for ECoW, EnvCoW and wider environmental compliance services. - Support successful delivery of environmental commitments across major infrastructure projects. - Support the growth of wider Clerk of Works services such as arboriculture and archaeology, through integrated environmental compliance solutions. Come & Grow with Us. Become part of AECOM's industry-leading Environment Business Line, working alongside specialists in ecology, environmental assessment, nature-based solutions, arboriculture, archaeology, impact assessment and environmental management across the UK & Ireland. You will have the opportunity to help shape a growing and strategically important service area, working on some of the UK's largest infrastructure and DCO programmes. Our collaborative culture, technical excellence and commitment to innovation provide an exceptional platform for career development and industry leadership. Enjoy the Perks. At AECOM, you'll enjoy a range of core and personalised benefits designed to support your future and well-being, customised to fit your lifestyle. Take advantage of career development opportunities, our flexible hybrid working model to ensure a work-life balance that suits your lifestyle, technical practice networks, AECOM University, and volunteering days. Ready to push the limits of what’s possible? Here’s what we’re looking for: - Experience delivering Environmental and / or Ecological Clerk of Works (ECoW) services on major infrastructure, utilities or development projects. - Strong understanding of construction-phase ecological and environmental compliance requirements. - Experience working directly with contractors and construction delivery teams. - Knowledge of required environmental and / or ecological secondary consents, including planning conditions, Development Consent Orders (DCOs), environmental permits and protected species licensing requirements. - Experience reviewing, assuring and approving environmental compliance deliverables. - Strong ecological background with the credibility to act as a technical lead and quality reviewer for ECoW services. - Experience managing subcontractors, suppliers or specialist delivery partners. - Strong commercial awareness and experience supporting business development, client engagement and work winning activities. - Membership of CIEEM or an equivalent professional body and preferably chartered (or working towards chartership). We celebrate diversity, including neurodiversity, and believe it enriches our team. We welcome applications from all backgrounds and abilities. If you are an applicant with a disability that requires reasonable accommodation to complete the application process, please contact us at [email protected]. At AECOM, we value everyone's unique contributions and perspectives. If you meet some of the requirements above or have transferable skills you believe would benefit us, we would be delighted to hear from you!