Senior Environmental Sustainability Manager

Balfour; Elgin; Hybrid; GBP 50,000 - 70,000; Full time

Job summary

A regional construction firm is seeking a Senior Environmental Sustainability Manager for the Beauly Blackhillock Peterhead project in Elgin. This role combines strategic input and operational leadership, overseeing a team to ensure compliance with environmental objectives. Candidates must have strong environmental management expertise and interpersonal skills to drive sustainability across complex projects. The position offers flexible working arrangements, including up to 40% remote working, along with comprehensive benefits to support a healthy work-life balance.

Benefits

Smart working flexibility

25 days paid annual leave

Family-friendly policies

Pension plans and share incentives

Qualifications

• Full driving licence and flexibility to travel.
• Strong knowledge of environment management with relevant experience in construction.
• Practical experience of environmental legislation and regulations.

Responsibilities

• Lead implementation of environmental sustainability strategy across projects.
• Provide strategic input and oversight on environmental compliance.
• Line-manage and develop ES Managers and Advisors.

Skills

Environmental Management

Leadership

Communication

Data Management

Team Development

Education

Registered Environmental Professional

Tools

MS Office

Job description

About The Role

Our work matters to millions. It’ll matter to you too. Join our Power T&D team as a Senior Environmental Sustainability Manager on the Beauly Blackhillock Peterhead project in Elgin and you’ll be a big part of fascinating, complex, varied and meaningful work.

Reporting to the Regional Head of Environmental Sustainability and working closely with Project Directors, this role provides both strategic input at the project level and operational leadership to ensure the successful delivery of environmental objectives. The role combines technical expertise with team leadership, overseeing ES Managers and driving performance, compliance, and innovation across their projects.

The Senior Environmental Sustainability Manager plays a key role in shaping project‑specific sustainability strategies, advising senior project stakeholders, and mitigating environmental risks. They are responsible for building a high‑performing team and fostering a culture of environmental leadership and continuous improvement within their portfolio.

What you’ll be doing

• Lead the implementation of the environmental sustainability strategy across a defined portfolio of projects, ensuring alignment with the regional ES agenda and business priorities.
• Provide strategic input at the project level, shaping sustainability approaches that support long‑term outcomes and mitigate environmental risk.
• Oversee the delivery of environmental performance, compliance, and innovation across multiple complex or high‑value projects.
• Line‑manage and develop ES Managers and Advisors, ensuring capability, performance, and succession planning within the team.
• Act as a key advisor to Project Directors and senior stakeholders, influencing decision‑making and promoting a culture of environmental leadership.
• Ensure environmental compliance across the portfolio, including regular site inspections, audits, and engagement with clients and regulators.
• Support the development and review of environmental documentation, including project‑specific plans, permits, and risk assessments.
• Contribute to the development of regional ES strategy and documentation, providing feedback from project‑level delivery.
• Represent the ES function in project‑level work‑winning activities, including planning and permitting requirements.
• Drive the identification and sharing of best‑practice, lessons learned, and innovative solutions across the portfolio.
• Deliver and support environmental and sustainability training and awareness activities within the project teams.
• Ensure timely and accurate reporting of environmental performance, incidents, and KPIs, both internally and to clients.
• Support the Head of ES in regional initiatives, governance activities, and continuous improvement of systems and processes.
• Demonstrate visible sustainability leadership through regular engagement with project teams, promoting accountability and collaboration.

Who we’re looking for

• Full driving licence and flexibility to travel.
• Registered Environmental Professional.
• Strong knowledge of environment management with relevant experience working in a construction environment.
• Practical experience and sound knowledge of environmental statutory requirements, including environmental legislation, ecology mitigation, environmental licensing and consent applications and regulation.
• Achieves results through managing others. Builds and manages an inclusive, high‑performing team, valuing the development and success of the team. Empowers or enables others to achieve their potential. Values the gathering of a variety of complex information and seeing situations from multiple perspectives. Balances short‑term functional objectives with longer‑term strategic goals.
• Understanding of the benefits of working collaboratively to obtain the best outcome.
• Good interpersonal, communication and influencing skills.
• Determination to see tasks through to completion, with excellent planning and organisation skills.
• Interpreting and managing data via databases, consistent record keeping and writing detailed reports.
• Be required to visit worksites and offices across Scotland and attend occasional ES meetings across the UK.
• Literate in MS Office – Word, Excel, Outlook.

Why work for us

Day in, day out, our teams deliver some of the UK’s most ambitious, exciting and meaningful projects; developing, building and maintaining the vital infrastructure that supports national economies and strengthens communities.

Benefits

As if contributing to and supporting work that makes life better for millions wasn’t rewarding enough, we offer a full range of benefits too. You’ll have the freedom to shape the package that’s right for you and your life. Here are some of our key benefits:

• Smart working, giving you more flexibility such as staggered start and finish times, with up to 40% remote working, where roles allow.
• 25 days paid annual leave (pro rata).
• Family friendly policies which include 28 weeks full pay for maternity/adoption leave and four weeks full pay for paternity/partners leave.
• Pension, share incentive plan, volunteering leave, recognition schemes and much more.

About Us

Balfour Beatty’s Power Transmission & Distribution teams work with regional, national and international electricity network owners and operators to provide technical engineering solutions across the full spectrum of the electricity grid, including overhead lines, cabling, substations and distribution networks.

From scoping and feasibility, to design, construction and on‑going maintenance, our in‑house experts, flexible resources and industry‑leading innovations support customers in the development of some of the UK’s most ambitious power transmission and distribution projects.

Diversity and inclusion

At Balfour Beatty we believe that diversity and inclusion are essential components of any successful, happy workplace. Through our Value Everyone Diversity and Inclusion Strategy and Action Plan, we are growing our diverse workforce and developing our inclusive culture where everyone is able to thrive and reach their full potential, regardless of their identity or background. To find out how we are making this a reality, visit www.balfourbeatty.com/diversityandinclusion.

To help and support us with our desired commitment to create an inclusive culture we are members of WISE, ENEI, Business Disability Forum and the Association for Black and Minority Ethnic Engineers (AFBE). In 2020, we signed the Audeliss and Involve Open Letter to demonstrate our commitment to taking key long‑term and sustainable actions on Black Inclusion. Balfour Beatty is also a Gold Award holder in the Ministry of Defence ‘Employer Recognition Scheme’ and actively encourage applications from Armed Forces personnel, veterans and reservists.

As a Disability Confident Employer, we are committed to working with people who have disabilities and long‑term health conditions to remove barriers for them in obtaining employment. We are also committed to offering applicants with a disability an interview if they meet the minimum requirements for the role. For more info, visit: https://disabilityconfident.campaign.gov.uk/.

We are looking to continually improve our resourcing process and ensure that it is fair and inclusive for all. If you have any feedback on the process, please share this with us at: [e-mail].