This programme has been designed to support people who have had a career break or are trying to transfer their skills in to a new sector or one they used to work in. We know that any gap in work experience or a move away from a sector or skill set makes it very hard to return or join through standard recruitment channels.

The roles in this programme run on a 6 month work placement with a view to securing a permanent role at the end of that period. Although it’s not guaranteed, 96% of our candidates who join the programme go on to secure permanent roles with their host organisation.

As a candidate working with STEM Returners you have access to free CV writing and Interview coaching and if you are successful in securing the role you’ll get access to a 12 month coaching and mentoring programme to help you thrive in the role. This role is open to anyone with the required skills and training.

If you meet the criteria for this role but are unsure if you are eligible for the programme, we encourage you to make an application.

Skillset and Experience:

• Interested in working within a consultancy.
• Experience in Electrical and/or Control Engineering Design.
• Effective communication skills (Verbal and written).
• Commitment to Health, Safety and Environmental standards.

 Any required qualifications:

• Qualified to HND level or higher in electrical, electronic, or control engineering, or a related discipline

Outline of initial work/role to be undertaken during the 6 months placement:

You will be working on between one and three projects during your six-month placement. For each project, you will be part of a small electrical and control team (typically 2-4 people) within a wider project team, which may consist of around 20 people. Your team members will be spread across multiple offices in the UK, Ireland, Spain, and India.

Your role on each project will be as a supporting originator, lead originator, or checker for the electrical and control design. This will depend on your previous experience and how it aligns with the specific project requirements.

The majority of our projects are in sewage, sludge, and wastewater treatment and networks, including nature-based solutions. However, we also work on clean water, flood defences, and energy generation.

You will be supported by an electrical and control team of more than 20 engineers. This support includes technical mentoring within the context of projects, as well as monthly “lessons learned” workshops, where one or more colleagues present on a topic – technical or otherwise. We also have identified specialists for key topics who can provide additional guidance.

You will have up to eight days of technical training and excellence time per year (up to four during the six-month placement), and your line manager will help you identify the best use of this time.

If you are interested in professional registration, we expect you to become a member of the IET (or your preferred institution) and select a mentor within our team to support you as you begin that process. Toward the end of the placement, you should complete a short report summarising your learning, which can be used in a future chartership application.

Location(s):

Our core offices for the electrical & control team are Cambridge, Bristol, Cardiff, and Edinburgh. Anyone who is in a learning-focussed, time-limited role will need to be in one of these four offices. If you decide to join us in a permanent role, there is scope to move to other offices with an existing water team, including Brighton, London, Inverness, or Reading.

Working hours and pattern:

By default we practice agile working, which means that employees adapt their office working approach on an ad hoc basis to improve their productivity, job satisfaction and work-life balance and support business and client requirements, without changing their employment contract. In practice this means that the standard expectation is to be in an office more often than not (ie average of 3 days a week) and that flexible working times are supported.

Many of our existing colleagues work different or reduced hours, depending on their circumstances. We welcome applications from candidates who would prefer to work a three- or four-day week or who need a different working pattern. Please let us know during your application or interview what your preferences would be.

If you wish to speak to one of our Returner Specialists about this role in more detail, please call us on 01329 623 246 (option 1)