My route to Chartership: Joss Moore

Mott Macdonald senior environmental hydrologist Joss Moore MCIWEM C.WEM CEnv shares her route to becoming a Chartered Water and Environmental Manager

I started my career just under a decade ago in land referencing, working on the statutory posting of planning notices for large-scale infrastructure projects, including High Speed 2. This involved a lot of site work. Despite enjoying the time outdoors, I was keen to move into the environment and water sector where I aspired to be after completing an MSc in Environmental Assessment and Management.

In 2016, I started working at Natural England, specialising in catchment management and reducing agricultural diffuse water pollution affecting Natura 2000 sites.

In the role of adviser, I worked with a range of stakeholders, including farmers, catchment partnerships, the Wildlife Trust, water companies and the Environment Agency, to identify and carry out measures to reduce diffuse water pollution.

I largely focused on The Broads Special Area of Conservation (SAC). I was fortunate enough to get out on the water on several occasions and even managed to spot an otter at Ranworth Broad.

After three years in this position, I was keen to expand into other areas of water quality including nature-based solutions (NBS) so I accepted a role as an environmental hydrologist at Mott MacDonald. I’ve been lucky enough to work on a range of projects across the UK and further afield, including developing catchment schemes for water companies, carrying out wetland feasibility studies and working on our global NBS initiative.

CHOOSING A CHARTERSHIP

As someone looking to specialise in water quality, CIWEM's Chartered Water and Environmental Manager registration seemed like the obvious choice for professional registration. My career as a hydrologist strongly aligns with the principles of CIWEM and by joining the institution, has provided networking opportunities within the water sector and enabled me to strengthen my hydrology expertise.

I am also a Chartered Environmentalist which has helped to develop my experience in climate and environmental matters. I am keen to promote the use of NBS where possible, which both the Society for the Environment and CIWEM are championing.

Water has never felt so high on the agenda. The issue of water pollution played an important role in the latest UK election demonstrating just how dire the current situation is and the need for greater regulation and change.

PREPARING MY APPLICATION

I had been thinking about chartership for a while but felt I hadn’t quite addressed all of the competencies. I was then given the opportunity to be Survey Lead on a large and complex water quality monitoring project which involved co-ordinating multiple surveys with different contractors covering a large area of the south east. This provided me with a suite of new skills and experience, offering both opportunities and challenges to overcome. Some of the challenges included obtaining land access for surveys at over 50 locations, working with COVID 19 restrictions, in addition to in-situ monitoring equipment being deliberately damaged or failing.

I found having a mentor throughout the Chartership process really useful. My mentor was also my project manager for my main project at the time. She helped to keep me on track but also understood my current workload which was helpful at times of high pressure.

One aspect which I struggled with during my application was sufficiently promoting myself in some of my competencies. My mentor helped me to see this and I was able to reframe some my responses to ‘big myself up’ more.

PREPARING FOR THE PROFESSIONAL REVIEW

Once again, my mentor and other colleagues helped greatly when it came to preparing for the interview. I was able to practice my presentation and undertake a mock interview which highlighted any gaps in knowledge or understanding.

For my interview, I used the project which I had been the survey lead on and knew back to front. It involved a lot of elements (project management, survey coordination, water quality modelling) and importantly included catchment solutions as part of the options appraisal.

Being able to speak about the innovative solutions we had proposed provided an opportunity to demonstrate my enthusiasm and passion for the subject.

MY TOP TIPS FOR GETTING CHARTERED

1. Set a realistic deadline – this should be close enough that you are incentivised to work on your application but provide sufficient time for completing the competencies and addressing any gaps

2. Have a mentor to hold you to account – regular check-ins provide helpful mini-deadlines to work towards and keep you on track.

3. Put yourself out there to get the experience you need – this can be challenging, but identifying areas where you’re lacking experience and raising this with your line manager can help you obtain the experience needed for chartership much faster.

NEXT STEPS

I’m looking forward to Asset Management Plan (AMP8) and the delivery of some innovative new schemes, particularly related to tackling issues such as combined sewer overflows (CSOs). I’m encouraged by the Government’s recognition of the need to improve water quality and their plans to strengthen water industry regulation.

This demonstrates they’re listening to public demands for environmental improvement. However, to truly make a difference, more ambitious actions are needed on water pollution and tackling the issue at the source of the problem.

As someone who works directly with water companies and the regulator, this is an exciting time and offers the potential for some interesting and challenging projects to deliver significant changes.

Want to become a Chartered member? Find out more here.

This article was first published on Thursday 15 August 2024.