Canal & River Trust
Principal Mechanical & Electrical Engineer (MEICA), Infrastructure
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About the Trust
We're one of the UK’s biggest charities and we care for 2,000 miles of canals, rivers, docks and reservoirs because we believe life is better by water. We're looking for people who support our cause and want to make a difference for future generations. Could this be you?
Along with our waterways we also manage museums, archives and the country's third largest collection of historic buildings, as well as the nature and wildlife that calls our canals home. All of this enables us to provide wellbeing opportunities for millions of people each year.
Join Our Team: Principal Mechanical & Electrical Engineer, national role.
Navigate your future and lock in your career as we keep our canals open and alive.
Our Mechanical, Electrical, Instrumentation, Control & Automation (MEICA) function is critical to keeping the canal network safe, compliant, and operational. From locks and bridges to water control systems, our assets underpin the resilience and reliability of the waterways. Through intelligent asset management, data-led decision making, and engineering excellence, we ensure our infrastructure continues to serve communities now and into the future.
We are seeking a Principal M&E Engineer to take a leading role in managing infrastructure risk and helping to shape the strategic direction of MEICA asset management across the Trust.
This is a highly influential role, working in close partnership with senior stakeholders to ensure our assets are resilient, compliant, and fit for the future. As a Principal Engineer, you will:
- Provide strategic technical leadership across mechanical and electrical disciplines, acting as the Trust’s subject matter expert
- Lead the assessment and management of infrastructure risk, ensuring robust, data-driven investment and maintenance decisions.
- Oversee inspection and maintenance strategies, ensuring delivery aligns with national standards, regulatory frameworks, and asset management plans.
- Drive the technical assurance of designs, ensuring safe, efficient, and sustainable engineering outcomes.
- Influence and contribute to long-term asset strategy, capital programmes, and continuous improvement initiatives.
- Partner with our Principal Engineers (ICA/SCADA and Projects) and senior leadership to shape and deliver the Trust’s MEICA engineering vision.
Working Hours & Travel
Although this is a home-based role, it is a national position requiring travel across our waterway network to manage both our M&E assets and teams. Currently this is forecasted to be 1 - 2 days per week for site visits/meetings, with occasional overnight stays. Our hub spaces for collaborative meetings are located at - Birmingham, Burnley, Ellesmere Port, Gloucester, Hatton (Warwick), Leeds, Leighton Buzzard, London (Little Venice) and Newark.
This role is great for someone who enjoys variety, splitting time between home, our Trust Hubs and regular site visits, and who’s happy to work flexibly when needed, including the occasional early start, late finish or weekend.
Core hours: 37 hours, 5 days a week, work pattern.
You should be able to reasonably commute to one of the following hubs: Birmingham, Burnley, Ellesmere Port, Gloucester, Hatton (Warwick) Leeds, Leighton Buzzard, London (Little Venice) and Newark.
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Role Overview
Join us as our Principal M&E Engineer and help shape our strategies, providing definitive expert advice on M&E Engineering risk, maintaining the Trusts M&E standards and regulations, and driving our maintenance and inspections program. You will assess outputs from inspections and make informed recommendations on the prioritisation of work required, taking account of risks, costs, time, resources, heritage, environment, and safety issues. The post holder will set the standards of how we assess, prioritise, and identify engineering solutions to support delivery through our internal M&E delivery teams and national framework contracts. Not only will you be managing work on our diverse portfolio of M&E assets, from our mechanised locks and bridges, pumping stations and water control structures, you would join us at a very exciting time for the team when we are planning future national M&E maintenance delivery contracts and looking to deliver more work internally.
Key Responsibilities
- Lead, develop and inspire a high-performing M&E team, including line management of Senior M&E Engineers. Team headcount of 35 but anticipated to grow over the coming years.
- Act as the Authorising Engineer / Senior Authorised Person, ensuring compliance with electrical and mechanical safety and operational procedures
- Provide expert technical governance and assurance across complex MEICA activities and investment programmes
- Translate inspection and asset data from our CMMS into risk-based prioritisation, informing major renewals, upgrades, and strategic interventions
- Oversee the quality and integrity of asset data across CMMS and associated systems, supporting informed decision-making
- Develop technical standards, specifications, and engineering policies, driving consistency and best practice across the organisation
- Review and approve engineering designs, scope, and contractor outputs to ensure compliance and value for money
- Engage and influence senior stakeholders, providing clear, evidence-based recommendations
- Champion a culture of safety, inclusion, innovation, and continuous improvement
- Lead, motivate and develop our professional M&E Engineering and maintenance teams
About You
A qualified Chartered Electrical or Mechanical Engineer, (or working towards), with a strong technical background and substantial experience delivering complex M&E engineering activities. Brings proven expertise in inspection, maintenance, and infrastructure risk assessment, alongside a solid understanding of health and safety, governance, and compliance frameworks.
Confident communicating technical information to a range of audiences, combining analytical thinking with practical delivery. Also an effective leader with experience managing and developing teams, working collaboratively across functions, and balancing wider business priorities to achieve safe, high-quality outcomes.
Skills & Qualifications
Technical Skills
- Chartered Electrical or Mechanical Engineer (or equivalent), with membership of a relevant professional body (e.g. IET, IMechE)
- Degree or HND in Electrical or Mechanical Engineering (or similar technical discipline).
- Substantial post-incorporation experience delivering complex M&E engineering activities.
- Proven experience inspecting and delivering M&E engineering works.
- Experience assessing M&E infrastructure risk.
- Good understanding of health and safety requirements.
- Awareness of governance, financial controls, and compliance systems.
- Evidence of Continuous Professional Development.
- Ability to communicate technical information clearly, including presenting data to non-technical audiences.
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General Skills
- Experience line managing a range of M&E staff, including Senior M&E Engineers.
- Ability to support wider business priorities, negotiating resources as needed.
- Strong collaboration skills, working across teams effectively.
- Encourages and demonstrates organisational values and behaviours in day-to-day work.
If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to us at CRT.recruitment@canalrivertrust.org.uk. We encourage early applications as we may close the vacancy once we receive enough suitable candidates.
What We Offer
In addition to your annual base salary of £56,000 - £64,000 (depending on experience), we also offer Car Cash Allowance (£425 per month), a competitive pension scheme, increasing holiday entitlement, and a range of employee benefits.
For a full breakdown of our benefits, check out our brochure here: EVP - 1
Learn more: https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/about-us/work-for-us/our-benefits
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Our values
We care passionately for our waterways, and as importantly, for those who look after and use them. We are committed to building a diverse and inclusive workforce where everyone can thrive. We are striving to represent the diverse communities that we are a part of and welcome applicants from across all sectors of the community.
We want everyone to have the opportunity to perform at their best during our recruitment process. If you require any reasonable adjustments - whether for a disability, neurodiversity, or health condition - please let us know what you need and how we can support you. We’ll work with you to make any necessary changes.
All of our jobs can be considered on a part time, flexible or job share basis.
We operate a Guaranteed Interview Scheme for disabled applicants who meet the minimum criteria for the role. You are considered disabled under the Equality Act 2010 if you have a physical or mental impairment that has a substantial and long-term negative effect on your ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities. We recognise not everyone who is classified as disabled under the Equality Act personally identifies this way, or with this definition of disability. Please do not let this discourage you from applying under the scheme.
At Canal & River Trust, we are committed to fair, transparent, and ethical recruitment practices. As part of our hiring process, we may use AI to analyse applications and support us work more efficiently. However, all hiring decisions – without exception - are made by our hiring managers.
Navigate your future and lock in your career as we keep our canals open and alive.
Find out more about us on our website: https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/about-us
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