Job Description

Overview:
Role: LCA Senior Consultant
Location: London, Harwell, Shoreham, Bristol, Manchester, Glasgow - Hybrid
Role ID: 2025-2940
Our vision is to create a safe and sustainable world.
Ricardo plc is a global strategic, environmental, and engineering consulting company. With over 100 years of engineering excellence and employing close to 3,000 employees in more than 20 countries, we provide exceptional levels of expertise in delivering leading-edge and innovative cross-sector sustainable products and solutions. Every day, we enable our customers to solve the most complex and dynamic challenges to help achieve a safe and sustainable world
As a Senior Consultant - LCA, you will lead and deliver complex sustainability and environmental impact projects for clients across a wide range of sectors. You will provide strategic LCA insights to inform decision-making, support sustainability reporting and guide the development of low-carbon, circular and environmentally responsible products and systems. This role combines technical expertise with strong client engagement and project leadership in a fast-paced, global consulting environment.
Key accountabilities
Project delivery and management

• Lead and manage complex LCA projects from initiation through to completion, ensuring alignment with ISO 14040/14044 standards and Ricardo's quality frameworks.
• Coordinate multi-disciplinary teams to deliver robust technical outputs across a portfolio of LCA assignments.
• Oversee project performance including timelines, budgets, deliverables and profitability.
• Maintain strong client engagement to shape project direction and deliver actionable insights.
• Ensure compliance with Ricardo's project governance and quality assurance processes.

Technical delivery and leadership

• Perform advanced LCA modelling using tools such as Excel, SimaPro, GaBi, or OpenLCA and develop supporting data systems and frameworks.
• Lead the development and refinement of LCA methodologies, tools and databases for internal and client applications.
• Produce high-quality technical reports, presentations and publications tailored to diverse audiences.
• Conduct and review research, analysis and modelling to inform client recommendations.
• Provide technical leadership through peer review, quality assurance and oversight of analytical work.
• Guide and mentor junior staff, fostering technical development and upholding delivery standards.

Client relationships and thought leadership

• Cultivate long-term client partnerships through proactive communication, credibility and high-quality delivery.
• Represent Ricardo as a thought leader at industry events, workshops and conferences.
• Monitor emerging trends and policy developments to inform strategic guidance and innovation in LCA practice.

Business development

• Lead or contribute to business development activities, including proposal writing and client engagement.
• Identify and manage commercial risks and opportunities within project delivery.
• Support Ricardo's broader business objectives by ensuring technical excellence and client satisfaction.

Essential technical and professional skills, knowledge and qualification

• Degree-qualified (or equivalent) in a relevant technical discipline aligned to the business area's focus.
• Significant professional experience in delivering LCA projects, ideally within a consultancy or client-facing environment.
• Deep knowledge of LCA standards and methodologies, including ISO 14040/44, EN 15804 and PAS 2050.
• Proficiency in leading LCA software tools such as SimaPro, GaBi, or OpenLCA.
• Advanced Excel skills for data management, analysis and LCA modelling.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving abilities, with the capacity to interpret complex datasets and generate practical insights.
• Up-to-date understanding of evolving LCA methods and their application to real-world challenges.
• Proven track record of contributing to or managing large and/or complex, multi-disciplinary projects.
• Strong project delivery skills, with a clear understanding of project budgeting, scheduling and commercial risk.
• Familiarity with quality assurance processes and performance tracking in project environments.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to produce concise, high-quality technical reports and client-facing outputs.
• Strong client and stakeholder engagement abilities, including influencing, negotiation, presentation and relationship management skills.
• Experience working in or leading geographically distributed and cross-functional teams.
• Awareness of current and emerging policy and regulatory frameworks related to sustainability and LCA (e.g. EU Green Deal, CSRD).

Desirable technical and professional skills, knowledge and qualification

• Working knowledge of regulatory and voluntary frameworks governing fuel sustainability (e.g. RED II/III, CORSIA, LCFS).
• Ability to develop client propositions (e.g. understanding of client challenges and develop and propose suitable solutions).
• Familiarity with automation, scripting, or data handling languages (e.g. Python, R, Excel VBA) to streamline LCA processes.
• Proficiency in data visualization and storytelling tools (e.g., Power BI, Tableau).
• Experience mentoring junior team members or contributing to capability-building within teams.

Working here
You will be warmly welcomed into our workplace where every voice matters. We are diverse thinkers and doers, coming together to create a culture of inclusion. We will support you to find your place.
We will encourage you to use your passion and expertise to make a positive impact through the projects you work on. Your knowledge and desire to bring about change will be invaluable in helping deliver innovative solutions that support communities across the globe in becoming safer and more sustainable.
Work life balance
We offer flexible approaches to work, whether that is working from home, being in the office, or as a hybrid worker. We're happy to discuss flexible working arrangements. Wellbeing is at the core to our culture, allowing employees to flourish and to achieve their full potential.
Benefits
We want you to know how much you are valued. Your remuneration and benefits package will reflect that. You will receive a range of benefits which include support for your physical and mental health.
Diversity, Equality, and Inclusion statement
We are an Equal Opportunity Employer, we believe in each person's potential, and we'll help you reach yours. We have an ambitious diversity, equality, and inclusion approach as explained here. We value diversity; recognising that a more diverse workforce creates a richer and more varied working environment. Diversity also drives innovation, by allowing us to offer our clients the best consultancy service that we can. As part of our commitment to engage positively and pro-actively with all our employees and to ensure an inclusive culture, we are a recognised as a 'disability confident' employer.
Next steps
Once you have submitted your application a member of our Recruitment Team will be in touch. Please be aware that the timing can vary dependent on the volume of applications that we receive for each role and in some cases, we may start to review applications prior to the closing date.
Ricardo is a Disability confident employer please advise the recruitment team via if you require any adjustments to support you throughout the recruitment process.
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