Senior Engineer (Restoration)

Job Description

About the Trust 

We're one of the UK’s biggest charities and we care for 2,000 miles of canals, rivers, docks and reservoirs because we believe life is better by water. We're looking for people who support our cause and want to make a difference for future generations. Could this be you?  

Along with our waterways we also manage museums, archives and the country's third largest collection of historic buildings, as well as the nature and wildlife that calls our canals home. All of this enables us to provide wellbeing opportunities for millions of people each year.

*** Contract: Initial 12-month fixed term or secondment contract ***

Location & coverage: The role will be based working from home, with the allocation of a nearby Hub for collaborative working. This is a national role and there will be an expectation that the successful candidate will be able travel to attend meetings or fieldwork throughout the waterway network of England and Wales. The concentration of works means our relevant regional hubs include: Leeds, Newark, Milton Keynes. See our network here (https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/enjoy-the-waterways/canal-and-river-network). 

Our team and opportunity

The Trust owns and manages 2000 miles of waterway, and the vast majority of this is open to navigation and used and enjoyed by many thousands of people on boats every day. A small part of the network is not currently open to navigation and these sections are generally classed as unrestored. The financial position of the Trust is such that it is not in a position to restore these sections back to a full navigable standard, although their towpaths remain open to walkers and the canals in general provide a habitat for wildlife.

Most unrestored sections of canal have a restoration society associated with them and these societies aspire to restore their section of canal back to a full navigable standard. These societies generally comprise a good number of volunteers, who between them have much knowledge and experience in a wide variety of roles, from engineering to fundraising and ecology to construction. From time to time they approach the Trust with their restoration plans and in partnership, over the past few decades, a number of sections of canal have been restored back to a full navigable standard.

Such works vary in terms of their scale and scope and some can be quite significant civil engineering projects which require a significant amount of time for the Trust. The challenge of maintaining our already open network means that we do not have the spare resource to provide this support from our existing team and are proposing an alternative way of working. Going forward restoration societies wanting to deliver restoration on Trust property, which is often undertaken using volunteers, will need to cover the cost of our time. The majority of the support required by restoration groups will require an engineer, with their associated costs being recoverable; this is the role that we are now recruiting for.

About the role

This Senior Engineer (Restoration) will act as the Trust point of contact for restorations and will specifically:

• Carry out the role of Client under CDM regulations.
• Assess the resources needed to deliver the tasks the Trust needs to deliver.
• Assess the appointment of designers, contractors and other specialists as needed.
• Issue design standards, pre-design information and environmental constraints.
• Advise on design development and construction plans.

• Accept designs put forward.
• Review Construction Phase Plans.
• Hand over the site, carry out site audits and accept the sites back.

About you

The Senior Engineer (Restoration), in addition to the technical parts of the role described above, will need to be a great communicator and able to establish and maintain relationships with both external parties to help them fulfil their visions, guiding them to deliver achievable plans, and also internal teams to gather support all whilst protecting the interests of the Trust and promoting our position.

This is a full-time role however if the works associated with restoration dwindles then there will be a need to support wider engineering colleagues at the Trust delivering other projects.

Technical:

• Chartered Engineer or equivalent professional qualification (ICE).
• Membership of relevant professional body at an appropriate level e.g. MICE.
• Professional qualification in a relevant technical discipline, i.e., Degree in Civil Engineering
• Demonstrable experience of the Construction Design & Management Regulations
• Extensive experience of civil engineering design, and construction preferably in the water environment.
• Relevant experience of concept and feasibility design, together with diagnostic (root cause) analysis and problem solving
• Substantial relevant experience of delivering complex engineering or concepts.
• Collaborative working with the ability to proactively engage and reach agreement with stakeholders including Asset Managers, Sponsors, Operations, Heritage & Environment, Water Management, Contractors and supply chain and where necessary external parties.
• Knowledge and understanding of historic infrastructure and the natural environment.
• Demonstrable experience in cross-functional working delivering performance across range of functions.
• Able to negotiate with internal and external contacts and support other areas of the business in an appropriate manner, taking account of overall business priorities and resources as appropriate.
• Able to review conflicting (and cross-functional) risks making appropriate judgements to establish and communicate appropriate order.
• Evidence of Continuous Professional Development.

General:

• Experience or working within a diverse and multi-disciplined project team.
• Able to negotiate with internal and external contacts and support other areas of the business in an appropriate manner, taking account of overall business priorities and resources as appropriate.
• Able to review conflicting (and cross-functional) risks making appropriate judgements to establish and communicate appropriate order.
• Able to effectively communicate with internal and external contacts.
• Good standard of written and verbal communication and proven ability to present technical data to non-technical audiences.
• Proficient in the use of a personal computer and business applications software e.g. MS Office. Experience of GIS or mapping systems.
• Valid driving licence as your work will require you to reach locations not easily reached by public transport. Access to a vehicle is needed.
• Experience of working with volunteers / as a volunteer / with charities

If you have any questions about the role please contact CRT.recruitment@canalrivertrust.org.uk

We reserve the right to close this vacancy early if we receive sufficient suitable applications for the role. Therefore, if you are interested, please submit your application as early as possible.

What we offer

In addition to your annual base salary of £44,750 - £47,000 (depending on experience), we also offer Car Cash Allowance (£425 per month), a competitive contributory DC Pension scheme arrangement, and numerous other employee benefits, including several salary sacrifice benefits we are also open to flexible working arrangements. These include:

• Competitive contributory DC Pension scheme arrangement, where we will double your contribution to a maximum of 10%.
• 25 days paid holiday (plus paid Bank Holidays), increasing to 30 days after 5 years.
• Home working status with ‘hub’ facilities available should you need the flexibility to work outside of home.
• Annual £200 personal learning & growth award to spend on any learning related activity.
• Free access to specialist counselling on a range of issues, e.g. health, financial, well-being and domestic matters.
• Access to a range of employee benefits including store discounts, boating holiday discounts and holiday purchase scheme.
• 2 days paid volunteering leave per annum, allowing you to volunteer for a local community project etc.
• Free fishing facilities across our canal network.

Our values

We care passionately for our waterways, and as importantly, for those who look after and use them. We are committed to building a diverse and inclusive workforce where everyone can thrive. We are striving to represent the diverse communities that we are a part of and welcome applicants from across all sectors of the community.

We want everyone to have the opportunity to perform at their best during our recruitment process. If you require any reasonable adjustments - whether for a disability, neurodiversity, or health condition - please let us know what you need and how we can support you. We’ll work with you to make any necessary changes.

All of our jobs can be considered on a part time flexible or job share basis.

We operate a Guaranteed Interview Scheme for disabled applicants who meet the minimum criteria for the role. You are considered disabled under the Equality Act 2010 if you have a physical or mental impairment that has a substantial and long-term negative effect on your ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities. We recognise not everyone who is classified as disabled under the Equality Act personally identifies this way, or with this definition of disability. Please do not let this discourage you from applying under the scheme.

Navigate your future and lock in your career as we keep our canals open and alive.

Find out more about us on our website: https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/about-us

Job Details

• Pay Type
• Salary

• Hiring Min Rate
• 44,750 GBP

• Hiring Max Rate
• 47,000 GBP