Principal Hydrologist

Mott MacDonald

We’re a global engineering, management, and development consultancy. 
Our purpose is to improve society by considering social outcomes in everything we do, relentlessly focusing on excellence and digital innovation, transforming our clients’ businesses, our communities and employee opportunities. 

A fundamental part of this is respecting each person’s differences and striving to meet their needs. 

We are proud to be a one of Glassdoor’s top employers to work for in the UK, as well as being recognised as a Top Inclusive Company in the UK.

Our values: Progress, Respect, Integrity, Drive, Excellence. 

About the division 

The Water Consultancy Division is the centre of excellence within Mott MacDonald for responding to water and wastewater challenges, providing support to colleagues across our global business, and offering fantastic opportunities to get involved in diverse and technically challenging work. 

Climate change, aging assets, and population growth place increasing pressure on our water and wastewater assets. Our highly successful water consultancy business is servicing ever-increasing demands from water sector clients to help deliver ambitious capital programmes. The work we do is at the forefront of ensuring safe water supplies for future generations and protecting our environment. 

With sustainability, social impacts, digitalisation, and carbon reduction in mind, our diverse and multi-disciplinary teams work together to provide a variety of services throughout the full project life-cycle, from advisory services and feasibility studies, through outline and detailed design, to construction support and site supervision. 

Job Description:

Do you want to work for a company whose purpose is to improve society by considering social outcomes, and to transform businesses, communities, and opportunities for its employees? 

We are especially looking for someone with great team spirit to become an integral part of our wider Water Resources and Flooding sub-sector, which brings together a wealth of knowledge and experience in hydrology, hydrogeology, water quality, catchment management, climate resilience, hydraulic modelling, flood risk, computational fluid dynamics and associated disciplines.

As a Principal Hydrologist, you will be a key figure in the UK Water Resources and Flooding team, and your remit will cover a range of technical, management and commercial/client-facing activities.

You will have particular responsibility for:

• Delivering water resource management, hydrological modelling and climate impact assessment projects.
• Managing projects and maintaining client relationships.
• Assisting with winning work and the development of new business within the water resources team and across the wider water resources practice.
• Providing technical guidance, support and training to junior colleagues and assisting, where practicable, in the mentoring and development of others.

 
Candidate Specification:

We are looking for someone with a proven track record in the field and with a passion for learning and innovating in this fast-moving discipline. In addition, you will need to have:

• Degree level qualification in hydrology, geography, mathematics, civil engineering, or other related discipline.
• Chartered (or near Chartership) with an appropriate professional body.
• Experience in applying UKCP18 and CMIP5/6 projections to climate change impact assessments.
• Proven track record in low flows hydrology, including rainfall-runoff modelling.
• Experience in water systems modelling, such as Aquator, WEAP or Pywr will be an advantage.
• Awareness of regulatory requirements as regards the UK water resources management planning process.
• Able to guide and mentor junior staff.
• Excellent communication and written skills.

 
We are actively recruiting a diverse workforce that is reflective of the communities we serve. We recognise that differences in ability, skills and experience are a strength and encourage applications from people of all backgrounds.

We have an exceptionally strong record in providing hydrology and climate science services and expertise to the UK and international water sectors. Our clients are increasingly demanding better predictions of the impact of climate change on the availability of water and the frequency and magnitude of floods, and we are continually innovating to support them. We have developed advanced rainfall-runoff models and weather generators as well as our own digital tool to interrogate and process the latest climate projections. Our portfolio includes the major UK water companies as well as the EA and SEPA. We are regularly involved in hydropower projects around the world supporting developers and lenders, and we undertake climate change risk assessments and impact assessments at a local, regional or national scale.

Mott MacDonald is a unique company to work for, combining heritage, vision and values into an ethos that encourages innovative thinking and career progression in technical, management or commercial/client-facing directions, or a combination thereof. You will have control of your own career path, which we will support through mentoring and training, but above all by giving you the opportunities to face new challenges and take more responsibilities.

Examples of your contributions are:

• Low flow assessments and water systems modelling to define the availability of water for supply during droughts.
• Estimation of changes in climate variables in the future by using global or regional projections
• Flood hydrology studies incorporating the impact of climate change.
• Hydropower feasibilities studies, including the definition of design floods and the verification of energy generation.
• Climate change risk assessments of assets or portfolios of assets.

As a principal specialist, you will act as technical leader in these and other projects, being responsible for their technical direction and quality, whether applying innovative thinking to new or established services or developing your own concepts from scratch. Alongside your technical role, you will have the opportunity to develop your skills in project management and business development through engaging with our water sector and regulatory framework clients.

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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 

Happy to talk 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.