Environmental Advisor

The core mission is to keep a greenfield Battery Energy Storage System construction site compliant with its environmental obligations while construction is running. Day to day that means site inspections, environmental monitoring, audits, and making sure environmental management plans and procedures are not just filed but actually applied by the crews and subcontractors on the ground. Reporting to the Site HSE Manager, you would be the person who notices a control gap before it becomes an incident. A second strand is incident handling: supporting investigations, tracking corrective actions to closure, and preparing compliance reporting for the project and regulators. This is not a desk role, and the weighting toward field presence is deliberate given the posting emphasises a hands-on advisor profile. Longer term, the objective is continuous improvement across the construction phase, meaning you would help raise environmental awareness across project teams, embed lessons from audits into procedures, and support the project from commencement through to completion. Because BESS work is expected to grow in UGL's energy portfolio, the compliance routines you build on this site could become a template for later projects.

The clearest learning is deep exposure to environmental compliance on a grid-scale battery storage build, a project type that is still relatively new in Australia. Working alongside HSE and project leaders on a greenfield site from start to finish is uncommon; many advisors join mid-delivery. You would see how environmental management plans are set up, applied and closed out across an entire construction lifecycle. You would also develop subcontractor management skills, since influencing trade crews and subcontractors on environmental controls is a large part of the job. That is a transferable capability across renewables, transmission, substations and utilities, all sectors the posting names explicitly. Because UGL is part of CIMIC Group and lists ongoing learning and career development among its offerings, there could be access to internal training, and the growing energy and infrastructure pipeline suggests future postings you would be positioned for. Any formal certification support would depend on internal policy, so treat that as something to confirm in interviews.

The posting points to a candidate who has already worked as an onsite Environmental Advisor in renewable energy, power, utilities, infrastructure or another major project setting. A qualification in environmental science or a related discipline is expected, along with working knowledge of environmental legislation and compliance requirements as they apply to construction. Specific experience with large-scale renewable energy, transmission, substation or BESS construction is listed, including site inspections and reporting. That suggests the ideal hire can read an environmental management plan, run a monitoring program and produce compliance documentation without heavy onboarding. Soft skills matter here. The role requires strong communication and stakeholder engagement, with the ability to influence project teams and subcontractors who do not report to you. A solutions-focused attitude and willingness to work a DIDO roster are both stated requirements, so comfort with remote site rotations is effectively part of the profile.

Lead with site time. UGL's requirements list onsite advisory experience on major projects, so your resume should quantify site inspections, audits, monitoring programs and incident investigations you have run, ideally on energy or linear infrastructure builds. Naming specific legislation and the environmental management systems you have used will signal regulatory fluency faster than a general summary. Because the role is DIDO and western Queensland based, address roster flexibility directly in your cover letter or application. Mention any prior remote or camp-based work; it answers the practical question a hiring manager will ask first. If you have worked with subcontractors, describe how you got them to change a work practice, since influencing without authority is the quiet core of this job. Finally, connect your motivation to the project type. UGL frames this as a greenfield BESS supporting data centre infrastructure and Australia's energy transition, so a short, concrete line about why battery storage and grid infrastructure interest you will land better than a generic sustainability statement. Prepare for questions on incident investigation and corrective action follow-through, as those sit squarely in the responsibilities.

The environmental angle here is project-level delivery, not corporate strategy. Battery energy storage is core enabling infrastructure for the energy transition, and the role exists to make sure its construction is delivered with environmental controls intact: erosion and sediment management, waste and spoil handling, vegetation and water-related controls, and compliance with project approvals and conditions. The compliance and reporting dimensions carry most of the weight, since the advisor maintains environmental management plans and tracks corrective actions. In an industrial and construction context, governance and assurance at the site level is where the credibility of a company's broader sustainability claims is won or lost. There is also a social dimension in subcontractor and community-adjacent work, given the project's regional western Queensland location and UGL's stated commitment to employing across Australian communities. The posting does not detail a decarbonisation or biodiversity program attached to this role, so expect the emphasis to stay on construction-phase environmental performance and regulatory compliance.

The main challenge is influence without authority. You would need project managers, supervisors and subcontractors to adopt environmental controls when they are juggling schedule and cost pressure, and the posting names this influencing ability as a requirement for good reason. Construction sites tend to reward speed, and an advisor who cannot make the environmental case pragmatically will struggle. Remote rotational work is a real factor. The role is DIDO on a project in regional western Queensland, so the personal and logistical strain of roster life is part of the job, not a footnote. Candidates who have not done FIFO or DIDO before should weigh this honestly. Third, the compliance load on a large greenfield site is continuous: inspections, monitoring, incident investigations and reporting all compete for time, and incidents rarely arrive at convenient moments. Balancing field presence with documentation discipline is the ongoing tension of the role.

A typical day would likely start early on site, often with a pre-start or toolbox meeting where you reinforce environmental controls relevant to the day's tasks. From there you would walk the active work fronts, checking sediment controls, waste segregation, chemical storage and water management, and logging observations for follow-up. Much of the middle of the day involves people: talking with supervisors and subcontractors about specific control measures, sitting in on project coordination meetings, and working through corrective actions from previous inspections or incidents. Monitoring and sampling activities, when scheduled, would slot into the same rhythm. Later hours are typically documentation: updating environmental management plan records, drafting inspection reports, or supporting an incident investigation. The mix shifts with project phase; early construction brings more planning and procedure setup, while peak construction leans toward inspection volume and subcontractor engagement.

The posting frames this as a permanent role with the chance to build a career across UGL's growing energy and infrastructure portfolio, which is the most concrete growth signal available. An advisor who performs well on a flagship BESS build is well placed for senior environmental or HSE roles on subsequent projects, particularly as battery storage and transmission work expand. Skill-wise, completing a full project lifecycle from greenfield commencement to closeout is a strong credential. It supports later moves into environmental management systems, audit and assurance roles, or broader HSE leadership, and the CIMIC Group parentage provides a larger internal market of projects across Australia. The role also reports to the Site HSE Manager, so there is a visible internal pathway toward HSE management on major projects. Specific promotion timelines are not stated, so growth here depends on performance and project pipeline rather than a defined ladder.

The primary relationship is with the Site HSE Manager, who line-manages the role and sets the safety and environmental priorities on site. You would also work closely with project managers and construction supervisors, since they control the work front where environmental controls must be applied and are the people you need to bring along on corrective actions. Subcontractors are a major stakeholder group. The posting is explicit that the role involves promoting environmental awareness and influencing their practices, so expect a lot of day-to-day interaction across trade and civil crews, often where your recommendations are unwelcome or need negotiation. Externally, the role touches regulators and client-side parties through compliance reporting and approvals obligations, though the posting does not detail these interfaces. Internally, UGL's broader HSE and environment function would be a reference point for standards and reporting formats, and regional community considerations could surface given the project's western Queensland setting.