Local recruitment: Water Scientist Graduate (22-23) UK

AECOM

Leeds, UK 🇬🇧

Manchester, UK 🇬🇧

  • Manchester, United Kingdom
  • Full-time
  • State/Province: West Yorkshire
  • Business Group: DCS
  • Business Line: Water
  • Work Location Model: On-Site
  • Operating Group: International
  • Primary Location: UK – Leeds

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.

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 you work on, the teams and committees you join and our business.

We offer competitive pay and benefits, well-being programs to support you and your family, and the development resources you need to advance your career.

When you join us, you will connect and collaborate with a global network of experts – planners, designers, engineers, scientists, consultants, program and construction managers – leading the change toward a more sustainable and equitable future. Join us and let’s get started.

Job Description

JOB SUMMARY 
 
AECOM is looking for a Graduate (Surface) Water Scientist to join our growing Water Environment team, a key component of AECOM’s wider environmental business.  This is a multi-disciplinary team currently with surface and groundwater specialists in geomorphology, hydrology, hydro-ecology, water quality (including sediments), water resources management and hydrogeology.   We have an impressive portfolio of water science projects including technical investigation, restoration projects, and impact and WFD assessment for major national and international infrastructure projects.    
  
We are seeking to recruit a Water Scientist to assist with a range of projects. Most of our work is in the fluvial environment, although a significant proportion is also focused on estuaries, lakes and the marine environment, and so experience of these environments is beneficial.   
 
This is a fantastic opportunity to further your career by gaining valuable work experience within a specialist surface water environment team in an established consultancy.  
 
Your work will cover a broad range of hydrological, water quality, hydromorphological and hydroecological activities including on the following types of projects: 

  • Developing a modelling approach to inform management decisions at water level dependent designated sites; 
  • Developing a guide and decision support tool so that users can make informed decisions at barriers to fish and eel migration, as well as producing the upcoming Fish and Eel Pass Guide to enable safe passage at in channel structures such as pumping stations and weirs  

You’ll work with other experienced members of the team who will guide you as you start working on live projects, including groundwater assessments for a variety of projects in the UK and overseas. An integral part of your role will be report writing, analysis, interpretation and presentation of data.  

At AECOM, our water scientists in the Water Environmental Team work for clients from across the public and private sectors, including the Environment Agency, Local Authorities, Highways England, Natural England, Water Utilities, Rivers and Wildlife Trusts as well as commercial developers and overseas clients.   
 
We are also involved in major ongoing projects such as HS2 and as a team are responsible for coordinating/ leading water environment chapters in Environmental Statements as well as coordinating Water Framework Directive (WFD) assessments.   
 
Our multidisciplinary water environment team includes specialists in hydrogeology, hydrology, hydromorphology, water quality and water resource management. There are currently 10 surface water specialists in the team with a considerable diversity of skills and experience   
 
All members of the Water Environment team take an active role in client contact and commercial aspects of our projects. Health, safety and environmental considerations underpin everything that we do.  
 
We are part of AECOM’s Environment business, which delivers environmental management services for feasibility, impact analysis and operational compliance as well as remediation, restoration and reuse of impacted property eg:

  • Developing a Restoration Plan for the River Ver and Verulamium Lake in St Albans; 
  • Deriving catchment improvements for the River Rede, to improve water quality and ecological health of the river; 
  • Undertaking environmental assessments of the potential effects of drought permit on lowland chalk rivers to inform suitable mitigation; 
  • Undertaking an assessment of options to improve three community fishing and amenity ponds in Southampton;  
  • Undertaking desk studies, consultation, water quality monitoring, and site surveys to assess the impact of major new infrastructure, industrial, residential and commercial developments including WFD assessments and Environmental Permitting;  
  • Developing water quality monitoring programmes, pollution prevention strategies and mitigation / monitoring plans for the construction of major infrastructure projects (e.g. Glyn Rhonwy Pumped Storage Scheme, Melton Mowbray Distributor Road, M42 Junction 6 Improvement, and the Trans Pennine Rail Upgrade); and 
  • Producing a Feasibility Study to advise Birmingham Airport on the most appropriate ‘real-time’ water quality monitors. 
  • Water quality studies (e.g. baseline studies, environmental impact assessment, nutrient loading studies and pollution studies including monitoring and modelling); 
  • Hydrological investigations (e.g. flood, drought and water resource allocation); 
  • Hydro ecological studies (e.g. assessing the effects of schemes on aquatic organisms such as salmonids, freshwater pearl mussels, invertebrates and macrophytes); 
  • WFD / Environmental Compliance studies; EIA (e.g. highway, rail, aviation, utilities, power generation including renewables, mixed use/commercial/residential and other development types); 
  • Pollution prevention advice including preparing Water Management Plans, acting as Environmental Clerk of Works, and developing sustainable treatment trains; and 
  • Applications for various permissions (e.g. Environmental Permits for flood risk activities and discharges, Water Abstraction / Impoundment Licences, and Land Drainage Consents). 

Qualifications

Minimum Requirements :

  • MSc desirable but not essential – degree disciplines considered include: Environmental Engineering, Geography, Environmental Science, Hydrochemistry or similar – must have a focus on hydrogeology, hydrology, hydromorphology, water quality or water resource management chemistry.  
  • Ability to conceptualise surface water environment issues; 
  • Strong analytical and numerical skills;  
  • Have experience using GIS; and  
  • Self-motivation, enthusiasm, hard-working, with ambition and drive 
  • Excellent research and report writing skills. 
  • Ability to work as part of a team, collaborating with colleagues, client and stakeholders as appropriate and independently without losing initiative & focus. 
  • Ability to work flexibly under pressure, responding to changing project and programme demands. 
  • Strong numeracy, 
  • Ability to communicate effectively to internal and external clients, both verbally & in writing with the confidence to engage with a variety of people (clients, colleagues, stakeholders and sub-contractors alike) and the aptitude to rationally explain, explore and discuss technical issues and capture feedback 
  • Good Microsoft Office skills essential such as Word, Excel & PowerPoint 
  • Ability to structure & prioritise work effectively through close cooperation with the team as a whole 
  • Strong attention to detail. 

Preferred Qualifications :

  • Language skills;  
  • Experience with databases and modelling software;  
  • Preparation of figures and presentations.  
  • A full driving licence would be beneficial as the role will involve travel for site surveys often – please indicate on your application whether or not you have this. 
  • with equipment 
  • Previous experience of working in a consultancy environment would be beneficial, including work placements or relevant voluntary experience. 

PLEASE ENSURE YOU INCLUDE A COVER LETTER WITH YOUR APPLICATION OUTLINING WHY YOU WISH TO APPLY FOR THIS ROLE. 

Additional Information

Our Graduate Development Programme (ADVANCE) along with our huge scope of projects across the globe will challenge and inspire you to make a real difference to the world we live in. Our GDP forms a core part of our business strategy globally, designed to develop the best talent across numerous disciplines to lead our business into the future. We have more than 750 graduates on our programmes across the UK and Ireland from more than 40 different disciplines, each making a tangible difference to the environment in which we live and work. 
 
We’ll provide you with all the tools and support you need to achieve your professional development ambitions, including Chartership with the relevant international professional institution (we have graduates working towards more than 30 professional institutions in the UK and Ireland). We’ll push you to achieve the highest standards and expect our graduates to pass their professional review first time. You will be assigned a mentor to support and guide your development, and you will take regular training modules throughout the programme. 
 
The Professional Institute you may work towards is the Chartered Institute for Water and Environmental Management (CIWEM). 

With infrastructure investment accelerating worldwide, our services are in great demand, and there’s never been a better time to be at AECOM! Join us, and you’ll get all the benefits of being a part of a global, publicly traded firm – access to industry-leading technology and thinking and transformational work with big impact and work flexibility.

AECOM provides a wide array of compensation and benefits programs to meet the diverse needs of our employees and their families. We also provide a robust global well-being program. We’re the world’s trusted global infrastructure firm, and we’re in this together – your growth and success are ours too.

As an Equal Opportunity Employer, we believe in each person’s potential, and we’ll help you reach yours.

Join us and let’s get started.


POSITION TYPE

ORGANIZATION TYPE

EXPERIENCE-LEVEL

DEGREE REQUIRED

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