Senior Consents Consultant

Job Description

To lead and assure consents management activities across complex, multi-disciplinary infrastructure projects, ensuring compliance with DCO and statutory obligations, managing risk, and supporting programme-level governance. The role operates with a high degree of independence and provides leadership, assurance and technical oversight across consents and commitments delivery.

This role is a pipeline vacancy to support new projects which will be commencing shortly.

Key Responsibilities

Strategic Consents Leadership

• Lead the coordination and delivery of consents and commitments across defined programme areas.
• Provide technical advice to Programme and Project Teams on DCO compliance and statutory requirements.
• Assure Delivery Partner consents management using a risk-based approach.
• Lead development and maintenance of Commitments Registers and Registers of Requirements.
• Support certification, discharge of requirements and post-DCO compliance activities.

Change & Compliance Management

• Support change control processes to ensure DCO baseline integrity. 
• Monitor cumulative effects and compliance risks across the programme. 
• Identify potential changes in scope affecting time, cost or compliance and escalate appropriately. 
• Manage project compliance to key legislation independently.

Programme Governance & Assurance

• Support or lead audit and assurance activities relating to consents compliance. 
• Ensure IMS and governance standards are embedded and complied with across teams. 
• Proactively identify risks, opportunities and control mechanisms. 
• Support reporting to senior stakeholders highlighting risk and progress

Leadership & Team Management

• Lead small to medium consents teams delivering medium-to-high complexity outputs. 
• Allocate work, supervise outputs and ensure quality control. 
• Mentor junior consultants and support their professional development. 
• Facilitate technical engagement between internal teams and external stakeholders. 
• Chair meetings and lead presentations confidently.

Commercial & Programme Awareness

• Prepare and review consulting estimates as part of tendering processes. 
• Support project finance and schedule management activities. 
• Ensure risks, programme and cost considerations are integrated into decision-making.

Qualifications

• Typically seven or more years’ experience in consents or planning roles across major infrastructure projects
• Significant experience delivering DCO or equivalent statutory consenting requirements.
• Experience operating within NEC or comparable contractual frameworks.
• Experience working in matrixed, multi-disciplinary environments
• Demonstrated ability to lead complex decision-making across multiple stakeholders.

Qualifications & Professional Membership

• Degree qualified in Town Planning, Environmental Management, Infrastructure Planning, Engineering, Archaeology, Construction Management, Law or related discipline. 
• Evidence of continual professional development. 
• Full membership (or working towards chartered status) with a recognised professional institution (RTPI, IEMA, RICS, CIWEM or similar).

Additional Information

Diversity & Inclusion

We are committed to equal treatment of candidates and foster all forms of diversity within our company. Bringing together people with different backgrounds and perspectives is essential for creating innovative and impactful solutions. Skills, talent, and the ability to dare are what matter most. Bring your unique contributions and help us shape the future.

NOTICE TO CANDIDATES ON RECRUITMENT FRAUD - We are committed to safeguarding candidates from fraudulent activity associated with our recruitment process. Please note that we will never offer specialist CV writing services, request payment or ask for sensitive personal information during the recruitment process.

We are committed to equal treatment of candidates and promote, as well as foster all forms of diversity within our company. We believe that bringing together people with different backgrounds and perspectives is essential for creating innovative and impactful solutions. Skills, talent, and our people’s ability to dare are the only things that matter !. Bring your unique contributions and help us shape the future.