Principal Consultant – Post Consent Compliance Manager (Mid-Senior Level)

Overview

As a Principal Consultant, you will lead post-consent environmental compliance for major infrastructure projects across sectors like energy and transport. You’ll shape consent management strategies, coordinate multi-disciplinary delivery, and act as the client’s trusted advisor to navigate regulatory obligations. The role blends technical oversight with stakeholder engagement to ensure environmental commitments are discharged from consent through construction. Your leadership will support ERM’s growth in post-consent services and help clients deliver sustainable outcomes.

Responsibilities

• Lead Environmental Consents Manager and Post-Consent Compliance Manager roles on major infrastructure projects from consent through construction
• Develop and implement consent management and compliance strategies to reduce environmental and regulatory risk
• Establish and maintain comprehensive consents, commitments, and obligations registers
• Provide oversight of consent compliance processes and ensure project teams fulfil environmental commitments
• Coordinate preparation and submission of discharge of requirements, planning conditions, and other consent-related obligations
• Act as primary point of contact for consent and compliance queries from project teams, clients, regulators, and stakeholders
• Liaise with regulatory bodies including the Planning Inspectorate, Local Planning Authorities, Environment Agency, Natural England, and other statutory consultees
• Support and lead environmental compliance audits, inspections, and regulatory reviews
• Prepare reports on compliance status, risks, and consent-related matters for clients, regulators, and senior leadership
• Collaborate with engineering, environmental, planning, legal, and construction teams to integrate consent requirements into delivery
• Support business development through proposals, client engagement, and thought leadership
• Mentor and develop junior team members to foster a collaborative culture

Key requirements

• Experience in environmental consent management, post-consent compliance, or environmental project delivery within the UK infrastructure sector
• Proven experience supporting or leading discharge of consent requirements, planning conditions, and environmental commitments on major infrastructure projects
• Strong understanding of UK planning and consenting regimes (DCOs, Town and Country Planning Act, Electricity Act Section 36 Consents, permitting)
• Knowledge of Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and environmental legislation; practical implementation of mitigation and monitoring during construction
• Excellent stakeholder management with regulators, clients, contractors, and multidisciplinary teams
• Strong organisational and analytical skills managing complex regulatory requirements
• Experience preparing compliance reports, consent submissions, and regulatory correspondence
• Excellent communication, project management, and problem-solving skills
• Desirable: construction-phase compliance experience; sectors like transmission, renewable energy, hydrogen, solar, wind; professional membership (IEMA, RTPI, CIWEM, CEnv) and line management experience

• stakeholder management
• leadership
• communication
• Consent management
• Regulatory compliance
• Planning conditions discharge

…