Are you an experienced river restoration specialist looking for a senior leadership role where you can shape the future of nature-based solutions? Do you want the opportunity to combine technical expertise, client relationships, commercial growth and team leadership within a consultancy recognised for its environmental expertise?
We’re looking for an Associate Director – River Restoration to join our growing Water Management Division. This is an exciting opportunity for an experienced river restoration professional to play a key role in leading and expanding our Nature Based Solutions capability.
APEM has a strong reputation for delivering high-quality, innovative environmental solutions, with an established and successful portfolio of river restoration and natural flood management projects. Due to continued demand and a healthy pipeline of work, we’re looking for an Associate Director who can help us build on this success and further develop our offering.
This role is ideally suited to someone with significant river restoration experience who enjoys working at the intersection of technical excellence, client delivery and business growth. You’ll lead on the development and delivery of projects, working with water companies, regulators, government bodies and other partners to deliver solutions that enhance river environments and create wider environmental benefits.
You’ll have the opportunity to influence strategy, develop client relationships, support commercial growth and work alongside multidisciplinary specialists across APEM. Whether your passion lies in technical leadership, mentoring others, winning new work or delivering complex projects, this role provides the platform to make a real impact.
What we’re looking for
You’ll need to bring:
• Significant experience in river restoration, catchment management, natural flood management or a closely related discipline
• A strong technical understanding of river processes, restoration approaches and nature-based solutions
• Proven experience delivering complex environmental projects from concept through to completion
• Experience leading multidisciplinary teams and coordinating technical specialists
• Strong client relationship management skills, with the ability to build trusted partnerships
• Commercial awareness, including experience contributing to proposals, tenders and business development activities
• The ability to communicate complex technical information clearly to a range of audiences
• Experience working within a consultancy, regulated environment or similar client-focused setting
• A proactive approach with the ability to identify opportunities, influence outcomes and drive delivery
It’s a bonus if you have:
• Experience working with water companies, regulators or public sector organisations
• Experience managing large-scale river restoration programmes
• Knowledge of relevant environmental legislation and consenting processes
• Chartered status or membership of a relevant professional body
• Experience developing nature-based solutions beyond river restoration, including wider catchment interventions
• Experience mentoring and developing technical teams
At APEM, we combine technical excellence with flexibility and wellbeing. Our Water Management Division brings together specialists across freshwater science, hydrology, geomorphology, fisheries, ecology and environmental assessment to deliver solutions that make a genuine difference.
This role offers the opportunity to join a team with an excellent reputation, a strong pipeline of work and the ambition to continue growing our capability. You’ll have the autonomy to shape your role, influence our future direction and work on projects that create lasting environmental outcomes.
You will be offered the chance to work on a variety of projects, many of our employees have worked on projects that have been of personal interest to them. We match this with a commitment to continuous development and learning to support your career. We also offer benefits to look after you, from private medical insurance for all employees, access to mental health first aiders and comprehensive income protection if you cannot work. We also offer superb flexible working options, balancing work with your life.
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 applications.