Location: London, UK

Working hours: Full-time

Salary and terms: Salary will be competitive, reflect our London base, and commensurate with the level of experience of the candidate appointed. Benefits include a contributory pension scheme, life assurance and Paycare medical benefits.

MRAG Limited is a leading environmental consultancy dedicated to the sustainable management of natural resources. We specialise in aquatic resources, in particular fisheries and aquaculture.

Your Role at MRAG

We are currently seeking a Principal Consultant or Technical Director, to take responsibility for significant areas of the business, and for the full project cycle. A Principal Consultant should have a minimum of 8 years’ experience in consultancy, with a wide geographical experience in fisheries and aquaculture with an established network of contacts.

The role requires the ability to work autonomously where needed but with an awareness of and to be integrated into the business. You will have a proven track record in managing complex, multi-country projects and delivering high-quality technical outputs. Experience working with international donors, governments, or NGOs is highly desirable.

You should bring deep technical expertise in areas such as stock assessment, aquaculture systems, marine resource management, or fisheries policy. Further to this, strong analytical and problem-solving skills are essential, along with the ability to lead multidisciplinary teams, oversee project delivery, and ensure technical, financial, and timeline compliance. Experience in mentoring junior staff, producing high-quality technical reports, and presenting findings to clients or stakeholders is expected.

Excellent communication, leadership, and client engagement skills are vital. You should have experience in business development, including preparing successful funding proposals and identifying new project opportunities. A proactive and strategic mindset, along with the willingness to travel internationally, is essential for the role.

In addition, as a Technical Director, new business development is a central responsibility, including leading business development themes, producing high-quality tender submissions, and identifying strategic opportunities for growth. The role demands active participation in project meetings and awareness of key company projects, while ensuring technical excellence, quality management, and delivery to tight deadlines across multiple concurrent projects. Beyond project delivery, the role plays a key part in strategic company leadership. This includes implementing company policy as directed by the Board, contributing to strategic planning, and ensuring adherence to project systems, tools, and ISO standards. The position also includes line management and mentoring responsibilities, helping to identify training needs, support staff development, and assist with recruitment to build an effective, skilled team.

Qualifications and Experience

Post-graduate degree in marine biology, fisheries science or another relevant subject.
Minimum of 8 years’ professional experience in fisheries and aquaculture sector.
Experience managing the full project cycle, including contractual and budgeting aspects.
Proven experience in new business development and a network of relevant contacts.
Experience leading and managing project teams.
Excellent written, presentation and quantitative analytic skills, with a track record of producing high quality outputs.
Broad geographically experience in projects related to fisheries and aquaculture.
Strong communication skills, both within teams and with client and project partners. Additional languages are desirable but not essential.
Ability to multitask across several projects, often to tight deadlines.
Knowledge of fisheries and climate change, ecosystem approach to fisheries management, the blue economy or marine spatial planning would be desirable, but not essential.

Application closing date

The position will remain open until filled.

If you are interested, please submit the following to [email protected], marked for the attention of Dr Robert Wakeford.

A cover letter outlining how your skills, experience and knowledge directly address the responsibilities and requirements. Please include your current salary and notice period.
Your CV, including full contact details.
Referees whom we may contact at a later stage.
Examples of your writing skills (e.g. published papers, publicly available project outputs).

At a later stage we may also seek from you:

Copies of certificates for academic and other qualifications

Please submit all documents as Word or PDF files with titles like: “Your Name Cover Letter”, “Your Name CV”, “Your Name Writing Skills Example 1,” etc. The subject of the email should read: Application for Principal Consultant.

Principal Consultant / Technical Director - Fisheries & Aquaculture

MRAG Limited

How to apply