Senior Aquatic Ecologist

Company Description
**At AECOM, we’re delivering a better world.**

We believe infrastructure creates opportunity for everyone. Whether it’s improving your commute, keeping the lights on, providing access to clean water or transforming skylines, our work helps people and communities thrive.

Our clients trust us to bring together the best people, ideas, technical expertise and digital solutions to our work in transportation, buildings, water, the environment and new energy. We’re one global team - 47,000 strong - driven by a common purpose to deliver a better world.

**Here, you will have freedom to grow in a world of opportunity.**

**Job Description**:
We are looking for an experienced Senior Aquatic Ecologist to join our Water Environment Team. We have multi-disciplinary offices throughout the UK, and you would play a key role in providing technical expertise and undertaking surveys for new and existing projects, as well as in the continued growth and development of our successful team.

You will work closely with other members of the Aquatic Ecology, Water Environment, Ecology, and multi-disciplinary teams to support a coherent nationwide approach providing expert advice to our external and internal clients. You’ll join a growing, friendly, and highly motivated team, and contribute to a diverse range of projects: baseline data collection and monitoring for major infrastructure and utility projects, fish passage and weir removal projects, fish rescue and translocation, habitat restoration for regulators and the private sector, pollution response surveys, water quality investigations, etc.

You will have a good understanding of many areas of freshwater ecology, including survey design, mitigation, and reporting, as well as wider consideration of aquatic ecology in Planning and Impact Assessment. They will be able to analyse and interpret survey data and provide robust technical opinion based on this, including for Ecological Impact Assessment (EcIA).

**Role Responsibilities**
- Provide aquatic ecology input into EcIA, planning, mitigation, and multi-disciplinary projects.
- Author technical reports and work with multi-disciplinary teams to provide specialist input.
- Undertake data analysis and processing.
- Produce EcIA documents in line with CIEEM guidelines.
- Manage aquatic ecology input into projects, including survey design and costing.
- Play an important lead role in a team of multi-skilled aquatic ecologists in AECOM’s nationwide offices and laboratories.
- Support the wider environmental business.

**Qualifications**:

- A degree in Aquatic Ecology or related discipline (e.g. Freshwater/Marine Biology/Ecology/Zoology).
- Previous commercial and/or regulatory experience.
- Member of CIEEM, CIWEM, IFM, or similar professional body or eligible to qualify.

**Required Experience**
- Have an understanding and experience implementing industry standard monitoring techniques and analyses for aquatic ecology (macroinvertebrates, macrophytes, river habitats etc.) and associated consenting/permitting requirements.
- Be familiar with legislation relating to the aquatic environment and its implementation, including the Water Framework Directive (WFD).
- Experience of the EcIA/EIA process, from baseline data collection (desk-based and field surveys) to impact assessment and mitigation design.
- Experience of WFD compliance assessment.
- Travel to site.

**Desirable Attributes**
- Experience of fish pass and screening design, installation, and monitoring, including legislative drivers and best-practice guidance.
- Knowledge and experience of using novel monitoring techniques.
- Wider aquatic ecology surveys, River Habitat Survey, River Condition Assessment for Biodiversity Net Gain, etc.
- Understanding and experience of industry standard WFD-compliant monitoring techniques and analyses for macroinvertebrates, macrophytes, and/or phytobenthos.
- Experience of HRA and Appropriate Assessment.
- Specific training relevant to the role, e.g., RYA Powerboat Handling Level 2, Water Safety, 4x4 driving, trailer towing, etc.
- CSCS Card.

Additional Information

We will give you the flexibility you need to do your best work with hybrid work options. Whether you’re working from an AECOM office, remote location or at a client site, you will be working in a dynamic environment where your integrity, entrepreneurial spirit and pioneering mindset are championed.

You will help us foster a culture of equity, diversity and inclusion - a safe and respectful workplace, where we invite everyone to bring their whole selves to work using their unique talents, backgrounds and expertise to create transformational outcomes for our clients.

We will encourage you to grow and develop your career with us through our technical and professional development programs and diverse career opportunities. We believe in leadership at all levels. No matter where you sit in the organization you can make a lasting impact on the projects