Graduate Climate Change/Sustainability Consultant 2021

AECOM’s Environment business line's 4,400 talented environmental professionals provide environmental solutions for private and public clients around the world. We offer environmental management services that meet client needs for feasibility, impact analysis, and operational compliance as well as remediation, restoration and reuse of impacted property.

We are currently recruiting for an enthusiastic graduate Climate Change and Sustainability consultant to join our well-established UK-wide Climate Change, Sustainability and Resilience practice. We work with our clients to make their businesses and projects more resilient whilst making a positive contribution to sustainable development, with net zero carbon, sustainable production and consumption being areas of focus. Our projects span a range of businesses and infrastructure projects, translating sustainable development into the relevant and material issues and help clients to integrate the management of these into day to day systems and decision making.

We have a well-deserved reputation for working with clients to produce robust climate assessments and carbon footprints that can be used with confidence in decision making. The team is currently working on a wide range of climate related projects for UK and multi-national businesses. Examples include carbon and resilience assessments as part of major infrastructure developments in sectors including highways, rail, aviation, power and urban regeneration; developing and reviewing carbon calculation tools; and advising on ambitions and targets for low carbon strategies including applying the science-based approach and developing associated mitigation plans.

AECOM is built to deliver a better world. We design, build, finance and operate infrastructure assets for governments, businesses and organizations in more than 150 countries. As a fully integrated firm, we connect knowledge and experience across our global network of experts to help clients solve their most complex challenges. From high-performance buildings and infrastructure, to resilient communities and environments, to stable and secure nations, our work is transformative, 2 differentiated and vital. A Fortune 500 firm, see how we deliver what others can only imagine at aecom.com and @AECOM.

Responsibilities

When a graduate starts with AECOM, we pair them with a senior member of the team who will guide and mentor them through their initial period working on live projects and business development proposals. Their initial role will be to support and assist the completion of design and assessment tasks. Responsibilities will include: As a climate change/sustainability consultant your main responsibilities will include:

• Providing technical assistance and desk-based support to consultants in carbon foot printing and management projects including for environmental impact assessment projects;
• Conducting climate change risk assessments and developing adaptation plans and strategies;
• Providing support on wider sustainability and resource efficiency projects conducted by the team to include desk-based research, qualitative and quantitative assessment, data analysis and report writing;
• To interact with the team and Project Managers/Project Directors to ensure the smooth running of projects.
• To participate in team meetings, client briefs and other meetings as and when required.
• To prioritise project actions and meet commitments on an on-going basis while taking ownership and responsibility for the quality and completion of work.
• To understand and implement project management principles and appreciate the need to work within project budgets. •
• To understand and implement the AECOM Integrated Management System.
• To keep up to date with relevant climate change/sustainability legislation/policy/guidance.
• To ensure health and safety issues are addressed throughout a project.
• To provide input to business development proposals (expression of interest and tender responses) and to continuously improve our service offering for our clients. This is a fantastic opportunity to establish and further your career, gaining valuable work experience, within the largest Environmental consultancy in the UK and Ireland working on some of the most challenging and high-profile projects our clients are developing.

Requirements

The ideal candidate will have a science-based background i.e. relevant MSc or equivalent qualification in Sustainability, Carbon, Climate Change, Environmental Science, Energy or similar, and a strong undergraduate degree in a STEM based subject.

Knowledge

• Understanding of carbon accounting (covering Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions) and some familiarity/experience working with GHG reporting standards, guidance and regulatory regimes for example PAS 2080; PAS2050; EU ETS; ESOS etc.
• Understanding of climate risk drivers including physical and transition risks and opportunities and familiarity with UK climate projections (experience of using UKCP18 projections within research is desirable);
• An understanding of other aspects of sustainability, including circular economy, sustainable consumption and production, sustainable design, designing out waste;
• A strong attention to detail with an emphasis on delivering technically excellent outputs
• Commercial awareness for business development, marketing, and proposal preparation;
• Great communication skills in English, fluency in other languages an advantage; • Solid numeracy skills, confidence in working with large data sets and competent user of Excel;
• Problem solving abilities. Self-starter, who can design and deliver work under their own initiative; and
• Awareness of project management principles and project finances.

Skills

• Self-motivation, enthusiasm and excellent research skills.
• Ability to work as part of a team, collaborating with colleagues, client and stakeholders as appropriate.
• Ability to work flexibly under pressure, responding to changing project and programme demands.
• Strong numeracy, written and verbal communication skills and the aptitude to rationally explain, explore and discuss environmental issues and capture feedback.
• Strong skills in Microsoft Office.
• Strong organisational skills and attention to detail.

Desired

• Previous experience of working in a consultancy environment would be beneficial, including work placements or relevant voluntary experience.
• Full Clean Driving licence beneficial.
• Basic experience of carbon foot printing and use of the UK climate projections would be advantageous. Qualifications: Affiliate, Graduate or Associate membership of Institute for Environmental Management & Assessment (IEMA), Institute of Environmental Science (IES) or an equivalent professional organisation would be beneficial.

Training

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 programmes form 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 over 1,000 graduates on our programmes across the UK & Europe, from over 30 different disciplines, and each and every one of them makes a tangible difference to the environment we all live and work in.

We will provide you with all the tools and support you need to achieve your professional development ambitions, including chartership with the relevant international professional institution – where we have graduates working towards over 30 professional institutions in the UK. We demand 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 undertake regular training modules throughout the programme. There will be on-the-job and classroom training where required, and the opportunity to work on live client projects with significant multi-disciplinary exposure.

Professional institute qualifications you may be able to work towards include the Institute for Environmental Management & Assessment (IEMA) and Institute of Environmental Science (IES).