Environmental consultant : Employers and vacancy sources

There are a large number of companies offering environmental consultancy services in the UK, and many of the smaller ones concentrate their work in particular industries. Others specialise in particular work across all industries, in areas such as environmental impact assessment or audit. The larger consultancies have generally grown out of companies that originally made their names in areas such as waste management, civil engineering or water and sewage. The client bases of consultancies include all sectors of commerce and industry, as well as local and central government, in the UK and internationally. Other employers of environmental consultants include local authorities, central government organisations, non-governmental and wildlife organisations, and, less commonly, pressure and conservation groups.

Consultancy forms the single largest recruiting sector for environmental specialists. Legislation remains the major driving force for growth in the UK environmental sector, closely followed by new development and infrastructure/regeneration. The strongest growth areas in consultancy are predicted to be climate change/emissions management and waste management and sustainability, followed closely by environmental impact assessment and contaminated land.

Sources of vacancies

• Search graduate jobs on this site.
• Earthworks Jobs  
• The Environment Post  
• ENDS Environmental Job Search  
• Institute of Environmental Management and Assessment (IEMA)  
• Countryside Jobs Service (CJS)  
• Environmental Data Interactive Exchange (EDIE)  
• Environmental Careers  
• GreenRoles  
• Ecological Recruitment  
• New Scientist Jobs  
• Nature Jobs  
• For roles in local government, see jobsgopublic  
• Opportunities: The Public Sector Media  
• National and local press, e.g. Guardian Jobs  (Wednesdays).

Recruitment agencies handle a large proportion of vacancies in this sector. Many have links advertised on some of the recruitment websites listed above. Alternatively, you can find agencies online through the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) .

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