Consents Project Manager
This page gives you the real story about what it's like to be a Consents Project Manager (with insights from people actually doing the job).
Your goal: Decide if this sounds interesting enough to explore further, or if it's clearly not for you. Both answers are useful!
It will take about 5 minutes to read through - by the end, you'll know if this is worth exploring or if you should look at something else.
What is this job?
Before anyone can build a major energy project, they need permission. That permission comes from the government, councils, and environmental bodies. A consents project manager is the person who makes that happen.
Think of it like this: engineers design the project, but someone has to prove to the government that building it won't harm the environment, upset local communities, or break any rules. That's what this role is about.
You're essentially the project manager for a massive application. You coordinate consultants who study everything from wildlife to noise levels to visual impact. You make sure all their reports come in on time, get reviewed properly, and end up in one coherent document that gets submitted for approval.
The role exists across the energy sector. You might work on wind farms (onshore or offshore), solar farms, battery storage facilities, hydrogen projects, heat networks, or electricity grid infrastructure. The principles are the same: get the permissions needed to build something.
It's problem-solving work. When deadlines shift, advice changes, or something doesn't fit together properly, you figure out how to make it work.
What do they do day to day?
You work in an office, usually five days a week, with occasional site visits or consultation events (maybe 5 to 10 days a year).
Coordinating and tracking:
Managing when different reports and chapters come in from consultants
Making sure they go to the right person on your team for review
Chasing people up when things are late
Tracking everything in spreadsheets and project plans
Managing consultations:
Recording every conversation with regulatory bodies like NatureScot, the Environment Agency, or local planning authorities
Making sure any actions from those conversations get followed up
Keeping relationships going with the people who ultimately decide if your project gets approved
Document review:
Reading through detailed environmental reports
Checking quality and accuracy
Extracting key points and making sure nothing important is missed
Who you work with:
Your own team of consents managers and environmental specialists
External consultants who write the technical chapters
Engineers and designers working on the actual project
Government and council officials
Where you work:
Mostly office-based with lots of Teams calls and emails
Some companies offer hybrid working
Occasional trips to consultation events or site visits
How much do they earn?
Salaries vary depending on the company, location, and your experience level. Here's a rough guide:
Degree Apprentice £18,000 - £25,000 per year
Earning while you learn, with salary increasing each year of the apprenticeship
Graduate entry £25,000 - £33,000 per year
Starting out after university, learning the ropes through a graduate scheme or entry-level role
With experience £35,000 - £55,000 per year
After a few years, taking on more responsibility and managing projects independently
Senior level / Manager £55,000 - £70,000+ per year
Leading teams, overseeing multiple projects, strategic decision-making
What affects your salary:
Whether you work for a developer or a consultancy
Location matters, though many roles offer hybrid or remote working
The type and complexity of projects you work on
Offshore projects tend to pay more than onshore
Remember: These are approximate figures for the UK. The renewable energy sector is growing fast, and salaries have been rising. Clean energy now generates over half of the UK's electricity, and the sector employs nearly one million people, so demand for these roles is strong.
You'll Be Successful In This Career If...
You're organised and like being on top of things
This job is fundamentally about tracking, scheduling, and making sure things happen when they're supposed to happen. If you're the kind of person who plans their holidays, keeps lists, and gets satisfaction from ticking things off, you've got the right wiring.
You're interested in science but don't want to be a scientist
You'll be working with environmental impact assessments, technical reports on ecology and habitats, detailed data on noise, air quality, or visual impact. You need to find this stuff genuinely interesting because you'll be reading a lot of it. But you won't be doing the science yourself. If you want to be close to cutting-edge environmental research without spending your days in a lab or crunching data, this is a good fit.
You work well with lots of different people
You'll be constantly communicating. Teams calls, emails, meetings with consultants, conversations with government officials. You need to be able to build relationships, chase people politely when they're late, and keep everyone moving in the same direction. If you prefer working completely independently on your own projects, this role involves too much coordination with others.
You can handle unexpected changes without panicking
Things will go wrong. A regulatory body will change their advice halfway through. A consultant will miss a deadline. Something that was supposed to be straightforward turns out to be complicated. If your reaction is "right, how do we fix this?" rather than "this is a disaster," you'll do well. You need to enjoy the puzzle of rearranging the pieces when the board changes.
You're comfortable reading dense documents
These aren't summaries. The chapters you'll be reviewing are detailed technical reports, sometimes hundreds of pages long. You need to extract the key points, spot when something doesn't add up, and make sure nothing important gets missed. If you hated writing essays based on books at school because it meant going back and analysing things carefully, this might not suit you.
The Bottom Line
If you're naturally organised, interested in science and the environment, comfortable reading detailed documents, good at coordinating people, and able to adapt when things change, this could be a strong fit. If the idea of managing complex timelines while staying close to interesting environmental work sounds appealing rather than overwhelming, it's worth exploring further.
The routes to the role:
Degree Apprenticeship (Environmental Practitioner):
- Earn while you learn, no university debt
- Takes 4 to 6 years to complete
- You'll need 3 A-levels (or equivalent) at Grade C or above, plus 5 GCSEs including English and Maths
- Offered by major consultancies like Mott MacDonald, AtkinsRéalis, WSP, AECOM, Arcadis, and Arup
- You end up with a degree and practical experience
Alternative routes:
- Some people move in from related roles in planning, environmental consulting, or project coordination
- Experience in other industries that involves managing complex timelines and stakeholders can transfer
- The sector is growing fast, so employers are open to people with the right skills even if the background isn't perfect
What helps:
- A genuine interest in renewable energy and environmental issues
- Any experience that shows you can manage projects, track deadlines, or coordinate people
- Understanding of how the planning and consenting process works (you can research this)
- Being able to explain why you want this specific role, not just "I want to work in renewables"
University degree:
- Environmental science, geography, planning, or a related subject works well
- Some people come from pure science backgrounds and move into the coordination side
- Apply to graduate schemes at energy developers or environmental consultancies
- Graduate schemes typically last 18 months to 2 years
Insights from people who do the job
Tess Riley
Graduate Developer at
Buchan Offshore Wind