Overview
Join our Natural Capital and Environmental Economics team as an Associate, helping shape and grow AtkinsRéalis' services in this rapidly developing area. You'll work within a highly respected, collaborative team known for innovation and technical excellence, supporting a strong pipeline of projects across our diverse client base.
We are passionate about protecting and enhancing natural capital, and supporting clients as they respond to climate change, biodiversity loss, and sustainability challenges. This is an exciting time to join us, with opportunities to develop specialisms and contribute to impactful, future‑focused projects.
As a senior member of the team, you will mentor early‑career staff, provide technical leadership, and deliver projects across water management, climate adaptation, sustainable finance, nature-based solutions, habitat restoration, environmental planning, and future-ready city design. You'll collaborate with leading experts across our Environment Practice, including biodiversity and air quality specialists.
This Associate role is available in our major offices—Epsom, London, Manchester, Glasgow, Bristol, Peterborough, Oxford, and Birmingham—with flexibility for exceptional candidates elsewhere. We offer a blended working model across office, home, and client locations.
Your role
- The role will sit within our Water Management Consultancy business, with the opportunity to work across multiple sectors and with our other businesses.
- We develop and use state of the art approaches and our innovative in-house tools to assess and quantify the economic impact of environmental changes at various scales, from strategic to scheme level. You can see some examples of our work here Valuing Our Natural Capital: The AtkinsRéalis Approach.
- We work for a broad spectrum of clients across the UK and globally, including central and local government, utilities, regulators, the water industry, private estates, developers and NGOs.
- Many of our clients are highly ambitious about tackling the climate and biodiversity crises, with recent projects focusing on using nature-based solutions to deliver carbon net zero, introducing beavers as part of natural flood management on a rural estate, and integrating the value of natural assets into investment decision making.
- You will have the opportunity to work with and influence our clients directly, supporting them on tackling these challenges.
- Our natural capital team offers a unique blend of skills, comprising experts in environmental economics, environmental science and spatial analysis, with an ambitious strategy for continuous innovation and expanding our capability.
- You will play a central role in developing, contributing to and leading projects with a natural capital and environmental economics focus, as well as the opportunity to support on Biodiversity Net Gain, Net Zero, Nature Positive and Social Value themes on a wide variety of projects across the business.
- You will need to keep up-to-date with the rapidly developing field of natural capital and the application of evolving economic techniques.
- You will also have the opportunity to input to the development and refinement of new and existing digital tools that quantify and illustrate environmental impacts in a clear and visual way.
- You will also contribute to business development and will be responsible for the successful delivery of key tasks on projects or on bids, including managing contributions from junior team members, and will be focused on achieving and delivering technical excellence.
About you
You will be a Scientist or Economist, preferably chartered, who has relevant years of demonstrable experience in natural capital within a commercial consultancy environment. You will have experience in undertaking economic valuation using a variety of valuation methods to support decision-making.
Some experience of multi-disciplinary project delivery is desirable, as environmental economics will often be an input into a wider project. You will be self-motivated, flexible and enthusiastic, as well as having:
- A degree in a relevant discipline (e.g. Environmental Economics or Environmental Science and Policy) and preferably a relevant post-graduate qualification.
- Chartership with a relevant professional body, such as CIWEM, ISEP or CIEEM.
- Technical experience in applications of natural capital assessments, accounts and/or environmental economics techniques.
- Experience with emerging nature markets and green finance would be desirable.
- Experience in project management, winning work and technical leadership of projects.
- Excellent communication skills and the ability to adapt your presentation style to different types of audience, including non-specialists.
- Strong organisational skills, an ability to work on multiple projects simultaneously and to deadlines.
- Excellent collaborative working skills to ensure we get the best from our working relationships with internal and external client teams.
- Attention to detail and desire to work to high standards consistently.
- Mentorship and leadership qualities.
Rewards & benefits
Explore the rewards and benefits that help you thrive – at every stage of your life and your career. Enjoy competitive salaries, employee rewards and a brilliant range of benefits you can tailor to suit your own health, wellbeing, financial and lifestyle choices. Make the most of a myriad of opportunities for training and professional development to grow your skills and expertise. And combine our hybrid working culture and flexible holiday allowances to balance a great job and fulfilling personal life.
Be rewarded. Find out more.
About AtkinsRéalis
We're AtkinsRéalis, a world-class engineering services and nuclear organization. We connect people, data and technology to transform the world's'infrastructure and energy systems. Together, with our industry partners and clients, and our global team of consultants, designers, engineers and project managers, we can change the world. We're committed to leading our clients across our various end markets to engineer a better future for our planet and its people.
Find out more.
Additional information
Security clearance
This role may require security clearance and offers of employment will be dependent on obtaining the relevant level of clearance. If this is necessary, it will be discussed with you at interview. The vetting process is delivered by United Kingdom Security Vetting (UKSV) and may require candidates to provide proof of residency in the UK of 5 years or longer. If applying to this role please do not make reference to (in conversation) or include in your application or CV, details of any current or previously held security clearance.
We are committed to creating a culture where everyone feels that they belong - a place where we can all be ourselves, thrive and develop to be the best we can be. So, we offer a range of family friendly, inclusive employment policies, flexible working arrangements and employee resource groups to support all employees. As an Equal Opportunities Employer, we value applications from all backgrounds, cultures and ability.
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