Senior Environmental Specialist

The core mission is to make sure every Italian project in UKA's pipeline can clear the environmental approval process with a defensible, well-documented case. Day to day, that means running environmental analyses for wind, solar PV and agrivoltaics projects plus their electrical infrastructure at pre-feasibility or advanced development stage, and preparing or reviewing the EIA reports, environment reports, appropriate assessments and acoustic studies that support Regional or National procedures. Beyond document work, the role carries a coordination mandate: environmental due diligences for potential acquisitions, site visits to spot issues that need mitigation, and review of scopes and monitoring activities handled by third-party consultants. Working alongside development, electrical and civil engineering colleagues, the specialist keeps environmental requirements embedded in project decisions rather than bolted on at the end. Longer term, the position feeds directly into permitting strategy by monitoring regulatory developments that affect environmental aspects, and by representing the company in stakeholder engagement campaigns, public hearings and meetings with authorities. In practice this is a bridge role between technical project delivery and the public/regulatory process that ultimately determines whether a park gets built.

Because UKA operates across Germany, Europe and the Americas, this role offers unusually broad exposure to how environmental approval is handled in different regulatory cultures, with Italy as the immediate focus market. The candidate can expect to deepen expertise in Italian EIA procedure at both Regional and National level, a skill set that is scarce and increasingly valuable as permitting complexity grows across Europe. The technical learning curve is wide: acoustic impact assessment and monitoring, appropriate assessments, environment analysis, agrivoltaics-specific questions, and the environmental due diligence logic used when evaluating project acquisitions. Regular site visits and work with development, electrical and civil engineering teams build fluency in how renewable projects are actually designed and sited. Working with external consultants also builds the reviewer's eye, learning to judge scopes of work and monitoring plans rather than just produce documents. For someone targeting a lead permitting or environmental management position later, this is a strong platform, and UKA's international growth means internal mobility into other markets is plausible over time.

The posting is explicit: an MSc or equivalent in an environmental discipline such as Environmental Sciences, Environmental Engineering, Biology or Geology, plus at least five years of professional experience with a track record in the environmental impact approval process for onshore wind farms and PV plants in Italy. Exposure to acoustics impact assessment and acoustic monitoring would be a clear differentiator among applicants. On the technical side, advanced MS Office skills matter less than solid GIS capability in QGIS and ArcGIS, since spatial analysis underpins siting, constraint mapping and impact studies. Languages are non-negotiable: Italian and English at C1 level, because the role sits between Italian authorities and consultants on one side and an international, German-headquartered organisation on the other. Willingness to travel is expected given site visits and public hearings. The softer profile matters too. UKA describes itself as owner-managed and long-term in orientation, with employees who push projects forward even when external circumstances demand patience. The ideal candidate is therefore organised, proactive and resilient, comfortable managing consultants and deadlines, and able to translate dense regulatory language into clear positions for engineering and management colleagues.

Generic applications will struggle here because the requirement is unusually specific: five years of Italian EIA experience for onshore wind and PV. Build the CV around that. For each relevant project, state the technology, capacity, the procedure used, Regional or National, your precise role in producing or reviewing the EIA, and whether the project reached consent. If you have acoustic study or monitoring experience, surface it prominently rather than burying it under general environmental tasks. Because UKA is expanding in Italy through a new Rome office, the company is likely looking for people who can operate autonomously in a still-forming local setup. A cover letter that shows familiarity with the Italian permitting environment, names the authorities and procedures involved, and explains how you would handle consultant review and stakeholder meetings will read far better than a values-only letter. For interview preparation, expect technical scrutiny of your EIA track record and situational questions on regulatory shifts and authority engagement. Have a view on agrivoltaics, since UKA names it explicitly. Mentioning GIS fluency and being ready to discuss bilingual communication with German or international colleagues reinforces fit with a German-headquartered, internationally growing group.

This role sits squarely on the environmental pillar of UKA's business, specifically biodiversity, environment, acoustics and regulatory compliance as they apply to wind, solar PV and battery storage projects. The company's sustainability case is inherently about decarbonising the power system, so the specialist's contribution is enabling renewable capacity to actually get permitted and built rather than setting corporate emissions targets. Expect the emphasis to fall on Environmental Impact Assessment quality, appropriate assessments linked to protected sites and species, acoustic impact mitigation for nearby communities, and environment integration. Agrivoltaics adds another layer, since dual land use raises distinct questions about soil, agriculture and visual impact that regulators are still refining their approach to. Governance and social dimensions appear through stakeholder engagement, public hearings and authority consultations, which is where local acceptance is negotiated. Since UKA operates in Germany, Europe and the Americas, the Italian work will likely be benchmarked against practices in other markets, giving the role a comparative, best-practice dimension rather than a purely local compliance one.

The most obvious challenge is the permitting environment itself. Italian environmental approval for renewable projects is complex, multi-level and subject to shifting regulation, so timelines are frequently outside the specialist's control. UKA's own description of perseverance and patience is a candid signal: progress often depends on external circumstances and authority schedules rather than internal effort. A second challenge is the matrix of dependencies. Preparation and supervision of EIA reports, environment studies, appropriate assessments and acoustic studies involve multiple external consultants whose quality and deadlines must be managed without direct authority. Meanwhile, development, electrical and civil engineering colleagues need environmental constraints translated into design decisions early, which requires diplomatic pushback and clear prioritisation. Balancing technical depth with pace is a third tension. The role spans early pre-feasibility screening through advanced development, due diligence for acquisitions, and active permitting support, a breadth that demands switching quickly between analysis and coordination. In a growing Rome office, some processes may still be maturing, so comfort with ambiguity and self-direction will likely matter as much as technical expertise.

A day could begin with reviewing a consultant's draft EIA chapter or acoustic study, checking it against the project's constraints and the relevant procedure before returning comments. Between document reviews, there are likely short exchanges with development and engineering colleagues about a site layout issue (a turbine position conflicting with an environment constraint, for instance) and calls with external consultants to align on scopes or timelines. Site visits punctuate the routine, sometimes whole days spent inspecting terrain, verifying environmental features and documenting issues to be mitigated. Around permitting milestones, the calendar shifts toward authority-facing work: preparing materials for a public hearing, attending a meeting with regional officials, or coordinating documentation inputs from several experts at once. Regulatory monitoring runs as a background task, scanning updates that could affect environmental aspects of projects under development and flagging implications to management. Because UKA operates across multiple markets, some interactions will be in English with international colleagues, while Italian dominates work with local authorities and consultants, making the day genuinely bilingual and varied.

With UKA strengthening a new Italian presence, early members of the Rome office often gain visibility disproportionate to their headcount: this specialist will be one of the people defining how environmental work is done locally. Demonstrating reliable delivery across several consents could plausibly lead to a lead or head-of-environment role for Italy, or to broader responsibility across the group's international markets. Skill growth is substantial: deeper mastery of Italian EIA procedure, acoustic assessment, agrivoltaics-specific environmental questions and due diligence methodology. These transfer well beyond one employer, since project developers, utilities, consultancies and investors all need people who can navigate permitting across European markets. The exposure to acquisition due diligence is a particularly valuable lateral pathway, opening doors toward transaction advisory, ESG and environmental risk roles. Given the group's activity in Germany, Europe and the Americas, internal mobility into other markets or into group-level environmental functions seems realistic for a strong performer over time.

Internally, the closest collaborators are the development, electrical and civil engineering teams, whose project designs the specialist must keep aligned with environmental requirements. Management in the Italian office and the German headquarters will look for permitting progress and risk assessments, and the role supports colleagues managing permitting procedures for projects under development. Externally, the role leans heavily on third-party consultants, environmental, acoustic and environment specialists whose scopes, reports and monitoring activities must be reviewed and steered. Authorities at Regional and National level are central stakeholders, engaged through formal procedures, meetings and documentation submissions. The nature of that interaction is partly technical, partly diplomatic. Communities and local interest groups are the third major constituency, reached through stakeholder engagement campaigns and public hearings, where the company's credibility on environmental protection is tested directly. Balancing consultant accountability, authority expectations and community concerns, while keeping internal project teams on schedule, is essentially the heart of the role.