Drainage Engineer

Drainage Engineer The Lead Local Flood Authority (LLFA) at Wokingham Borough Council that incorporates the Highways Drainage Team is looking for a highly experienced drainage engineer to supplement the small reactive drainage team, initially, over the winter months October 26 to end of March 27. The candidate sought should have extensive experience in the sector and an HNC / ONC (or equivalent) Level 5 qualification or above in Civil Engineering or related field.

The role entails: Drainage Engineer

• Leading the reactive drainage workload supported by two experienced and well-motivated officers;
• Responding to enquiries from residents / colleagues etc. relating to either the highways drainage network / land drainage issues and making an initial on-site assessment of the appropriate response;
• Liaison with the Framework Contractor staff / other contractors to investigate both issues on the highways drainage network / land drainage issues;
• Recommending appropriate repairs / replacement / enhancement works to the team manager;
• Drafting of Work Orders on agreed civils works to be undertaken / contractual specifications where external contractors are being engaged.
• Overseeing civils works / surveys to ensure contractors are meeting the specifications for the work and contractual obligations more widely.

As much of the work is reactive to respond to flooding issues on the drainage network / throughout the borough, the candidate should ideally be based locally enough to undertake site visits at short-notice and preferably have access to use their own vehicle for work.

Within these constraints a proportion of home-working can be accommodated.

The Reactive Drainage lead will report to the Manager of the LLFA and work closely alongside the Graduate Engineer whose responsibility will be split between reactive drainage and supervision of the detailed structural surveys of targeted areas of the drainage network and review of deliverables to support development of schemes for the capital program for FY2026/2027. In part, the reactive drainage lead is being taken on to allow capital program development to proceed smoothly notwithstanding the reactive workload that would otherwise distract the Graduate Engineer from progressing it. A further drainage engineer is focussed on both planned and reactive maintenance and will assist the Reactive Drainage lead.

The successful candidate will need to demonstrate:

• A proven track record in complex drainage investigation and resolution; and
• Exceptional interpersonal skills to work effectively alongside colleagues, members of the public, contractors and councillors.

Other essential facets of the job are:

• Flexibility in working hours as occasionally there may be a requirement for work outside of normal working hours e.g. to respond to emergencies;
• Professional commitment to uphold the good reputation of the team and the Lead Local Flood Authority.