All Locations
Manchester, Gtr Manchester, UK based (Remote / Home Working)
Advertising Salary
£Competitive + private medical + bonus + benefits
Vacancy Type
Permanent
Water
Hours Per WeekHours Per Week:
37.5

About The Role

APEM’s Water Quality team continues to grow at pace, and as such we are now seeking an Associate Director – Freshwater Quality to play a central leadership role within our Freshwater division.

This is a senior opportunity for a passionate and experienced freshwater professional with demonstrable experience in the UK water sector; ideally gained within consultancy, leading teams delivering services to water company clients. You will join the wider Water Sector leadership team and take responsibility for operational delivery, commercial performance and the continued development of our freshwater quality service offering.

The Water Quality Division has expanded significantly in the past year, bringing together investigations, monitoring, assessments and interpretive consultancy services across rivers, reservoirs, lakes, ponds and transitional freshwater environments. You will help shape and drive this growth, ensuring excellence in technical delivery while strengthening client relationships and unlocking new opportunities.

This is a highly visible leadership role. You will work closely with the Divisional Director, Senior Leadership Team and Business Partners to deliver operational resilience, sustainable growth and a high-performance culture. Alongside strong UK water sector experience, wider industry exposure, contractual understanding and commercial awareness will be highly valued.

If you are an experienced consultant and people leader who thrives in complex, multi-disciplinary environments and is motivated to shape strategy as well as delivery, this is an opportunity to make a meaningful impact.

What we’re looking for

You’ll need to bring:

  • Demonstrable experience within the UK water sector, ideally leading consultancy teams servicing water company clients

  • Strong technical expertise in freshwater quality and environmental monitoring

  • Proven ability to lead operational delivery across multiple projects, ensuring performance to time, budget and quality

  • Experience managing and developing high-performing teams

  • Strong stakeholder and client management skills, with proven industry relationships

  • Knowledge of the full project lifecycle including bidding, tendering and commercial delivery

  • Confidence working collaboratively across leadership teams to drive growth and capability

  • Excellent written and verbal communication skills

It’s a bonus if you have:

  • Experience beyond the UK water sector

  • Strong contractual and commercial management experience

  • Postgraduate qualification in a relevant field

  • Chartered status or membership of a relevant professional body

  • Experience in water quality modelling, data interpretation or applied data consultancy

  • Exposure to consultancy delivery outside of the UK 

Next steps

We are focused on creating a diverse and inclusive team. If you can’t tick every box on our job description, then we are still keen to hear from you and are open to supporting your development. That may be working part time or supporting you to gain experience in a specific area – we are a growing company and are able to adapt roles to reflect individual skills.
If you think you have what it takes to join our fast-growing business, then please apply immediately on our website. All we need is some basic information and your CV; we will review all applications quickly and will respond to all applicants.

About Us

APEM is a world-class environmental consultancy with a strong reputation for technical excellence and trusted client relationships. Our Water Quality Division operates at the forefront of freshwater investigations, monitoring and interpretive consultancy, supporting water companies and other clients across the UK.

As part of the APEM Group, and within a growing global structure, we continue to expand our capability and market reach. This role offers the opportunity to influence divisional strategy, strengthen industry partnerships and contribute to sustainable, long-term growth.

Other jobs like this

All Locations
Manchester, Gtr Manchester, UK based (Remote / Home Working)
Advertising Salary
£Competitive + private medical + bonus + benefits
Vacancy Type
Permanent
Water
Hours Per WeekHours Per Week:
37.5
All Locations
Manchester, Gtr Manchester, UK based (Remote / Home Working)
Advertising Salary
£Competitive + private medical + bonus + benefits
Vacancy Type
Permanent
Water
Hours Per WeekHours Per Week:
37.5
All Locations
Banbury, Oxfordshire
Advertising Salary
£Competitive + private medical healthcare + benefits
Vacancy Type
Permanent
Group Services
Hours Per WeekHours Per Week:
22.5