Environmental consultant job profile

Environmental consultants provide expert advisory and assessment services to their clients with the aim of minimising or eliminating environmental damage

You'll usually be employed by a consultancy firm and will work on a range of commercial or government contracts, addressing a variety of environmental issues. You may also be responsible for ensuring that your client complies with environmental regulations.

You may work on a range of environmental projects or specialise in one area, such as:

air, land and water contamination
environmental impact assessment and flood risk
waste management and recycling
emissions and climate change
development and infrastructure projects
land remediation, redevelopment and restoration
renewable energy
environmental management systems.

Responsibilities

Activities vary depending on the area of environmental consultancy you work in. However, you'll typically need to:

conduct field surveys, environmental impact assessments and inspections to collect data about, for example, levels of pollution or contamination on a site or area of consideration
carry out onsite sampling to enable accurate environmental assessments
conduct desk-based research, such as looking at archive records and maps, to support other findings
use specialist environmental software and other GIS tools to analyse findings and interpret the data from surveys to assess any potential negative environmental impacts or constraints on proposed development projects
write reports and impact assessments and share findings with multidisciplinary colleagues, clients, sub-contractors (such as analytical laboratories) and regulators
develop conceptual models, which include the identification and consideration of potential environmental impacts and how to minimise them
advise on the best course of action based on research findings that mitigate environmental risk, while at the same time complying with environmental regulations
research previous investigations of a site to provide information to clients considering purchase
look at the suitability of new developments, like housing, power stations, wind farms or other large sites that may impact the environment
provide advice on policy to clients, who can include landowners, developers and government
advise clients on environmental regulations and regulatory compliance, and maintain an awareness of how legislation impacts projects
work with clients to complete projects on time and to budget
develop good working relationships with clients, regulatory bodies and other stakeholders
guide and mentor junior members of staff
(with experience) generate new business opportunities and contribute to preparing bids for new work.

Salary

Graduate starting salaries typically range from £23,000 to £25,000, depending on your experience.
Salaries for consultant grade positions, for those with an average of two to five years' experience, typically range from £22,000 to £35,000.
As a senior consultant with five to ten years' experience, you could expect to earn up to £45,000, potentially rising up to around £65,000 in a principal consultant position and more as a director.

Salaries vary depending on a range of factors such as your location, the sector you work in and your specialist area. For example, salaries may be higher in in-demand areas such as environmental impact assessment, contaminated land and waste management.

You salary will also depend on your skills, experience and qualifications. Higher salaries may be possible with postgraduate and/or professional qualifications such as chartership.

Additional benefits may include a pension, private medical insurance, a mobile phone, laptop and car allowance or company car.

Income figures are intended as a guide only.

Working hours

You'll typically work normal office hours (37.5 hours per week), with some extra hours at busy times to meet client deadlines or to carry out survey work that is dependent on good weather.

There may be a lot of travel in your local area, region or UK-wide to visit sites and clients, which may add to the length of your working day.

There are some opportunities for hybrid working.

What to expect

Work is office based with time spent outdoors on site visits and to visit clients. This varies depending on the project, and there may be periods when you're in the office for several weeks, and others you spend on site.
Jobs are available with large and small consultancies throughout the UK.
There are opportunities for contract work, but self-employment or freelance work is rare without considerable experience.
Increasing awareness of environmental issues and increased environmental regulation mean that there is a good demand for consultancy services.
Site-based work requires travel and sometimes absence from home overnight. There may be some opportunities to work overseas with international multidisciplinary consultancy firms.

Qualifications

A good honours degree is usually the minimum entry qualification. The following degree subjects may increase your chances of employment in this sector:

earth sciences
ecology/ecology and conservation
environment and sustainability
environmental science
environmental engineering
environmental management
geology
geophysics
geoscience
hydrogeology.

Degrees in biology, chemistry and agricultural science may also be useful.

If you're studying for a relevant degree, choosing a dissertation title in your field of interest can be helpful.

It's also possible to do a Level 6 Environmental Practitioner degree apprenticeship, which combines paid work with study for a degree.

In addition to a first degree, applicants often have a relevant postgraduate qualification. Search for postgraduate courses in environmental consultancy.

Skills

You will need to have:

business skills and commercial awareness, as you'll be operating in a commercial environment
excellent communication, interpersonal and presentation skills
the ability to persuade others to adopt your advice
a flexible and collaborative approach to work and problem solving
analytical skills as you will need to collate and interpret date from site surveys
report writing skills
project management skills, as time and resources are allocated to projects and need to be monitored and adhered to
critical thinking skills
IT skills, such as word processing and the use of spreadsheets and presentation packages
attention to detail
good time management and organisational skills, as you'll often need to manage several projects at a time.

You'll also need a driving licence for travel to different sites.

You will also be expected to have an understanding of environmental law and its practical application.

Work experience

Environmental consultants often have experience in areas such as environmental science, engineering, conservation or water treatment management.

It's important to get some relevant work experience during or after your degree. This could be through a summer placement, internship or work-based placement linked to a Masters programme, for example. Local councils or government agencies may provide project placements. Alternatively, you could contact a local environmental consultancy to see if you could help with research or work shadow a consultant.

Volunteering is another good way of gaining experience and practical skills. There may be opportunities with organisations such as:

Work experience is also useful for building a network of contacts that can be helpful when looking for graduate jobs.

Find out more about the different kinds of work experience and internships that are available.

Employers

Most environmental consultants are employed by environmental consultancy firms, who provide consultancy services to a range of public sector and commercial organisations.

It's common for the smaller ones to concentrate their work in particular industries, while others may focus on specific areas, such as environmental impact assessment or audit.

You clients could include:

central government departments and agencies
farmers and other landowners
local authorities
non-departmental public bodies such as the Environment Agency (EA) and the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA)
non-governmental organisations
property developers and redevelopers
waste management companies and contractors
water companies and water management organisations
wildlife and conservation groups.

You may also be employed by companies in the following industries:

energy
environmental law
insurance
nuclear
petrochemical
property acquisition.

There are opportunities for overseas work in environmental consultancy in places such as South America and the Middle East.

Look for job vacancies at:

Specialist recruitment agencies, such as Allen & York, handle a large proportion of vacancies in this sector. Jobs boards such as Green Jobs and professional networking sites such as LinkedIn also list relevant opportunities.

Professional development

You'll typically spend the first two years of consultancy gaining site-based experience in areas such as intrusive ground investigation, ecological surveys, and ground and surface water sampling.

Much of your training will be carried out on the job, where you'll learn from experienced colleagues.

You can gain additional specialist knowledge or qualifications by completing short courses, offered by a range of training organisations. You could also complete a relevant Masters course if you don't already have one.

Membership of chartered institutions and professional societies can provide access to career guidance, networking opportunities, training, conferences, events and webinars, and the latest industry news. Relevant bodies include the:

It's important to keep up to date with the latest industry developments and to use the resources offered by professional bodies for your ongoing CPD and long-term career development.

Experienced environmental consultants can apply for Chartered Environmentalist (CEnv) registration. To apply, you'll need to be a member of a professional body that is licensed by the Society for the Environment (SocEnv). Search the list of licensed bodies.

Career prospects

You'll usually start your career as a junior environmental consultant, learning on the job from more experienced consultants. As you gain experience, you will start to take on more responsibility by managing small projects.

You'll generally progress to the position of senior consultant when you have around five years' experience. At this level, you'll usually be responsible for the management of staff, site investigations, contracts and the allocation of resources. You'll be involved in business development, with responsibility for marketing the business to new clients and developing relationships with existing clients, as well as identifying and submitting tenders for new work.

After working in a senior role for several years, you can move on to become a principal consultant, where you will focus on team management and commercial development.

Further progression to director level may be possible in some cases. Alternatively, you could move into other related areas such as research and consultation or policy and campaigns.

Environmental consultant