Ben Gillespie

Experience

• 

  APEM Ltd

  Nov 2007 - Apr 2011

  Project management, tender writing, client liaison, team management & fieldwork. Team leader on freshwater and estuarine fieldwork; GIS; remote sensing; laboratory based water quality. Varied freshwater, estuarine & marine surveys: electric fishing, trawling, protected species, fisheries habitat, intertidal fisheries.

  • Senior Aquatic Scientist

    Nov 2010 - Apr 2011

  • Aquatic Scientist

    Nov 2008 - Oct 2010

  • Apprentice

    Nov 2007 - Oct 2008
• 

  University of Leeds

  Apr 2011 - Mar 2014

  PhD Student

  Assessed impacts of reservoirs and environmental flows (artificial floods) on downstream hydrology, water quality, sediment movement and benthic macroinvertebrates.

• 

  Cascade Consulting

  Apr 2014 - Mar 2015

  Senior Environmental Consultant

  Provided technical expertise for hydroecological projects including proposals for compensation flow and abstraction modification and water transfer schemes.

• 

  Yorkshire Water

  Mar 2015 - now

  Accountable for a £10m+ programme of river restoration projects across Yorkshire. Developing, growing and sustaining river improvement Partnerships to deliver our shared goals. Board member and co-creator of Great Yorkshire Rivers I was responsible for successful delivery of a programme of environmental schemes (mainly fish passage), including partnership schemes across the Yorkshire region. In this role I oversaw and delivered fish passage and intake screening projects. I also successsfully sponsored and delivered procurement of two OJEU Frameworks, with support from Legal and Procurement experts.

  • River Resilience Manager

    Dec 2023 - now

  • Technical Specialist (River Resilience)

    Dec 2019 - Dec 2023

  • Lead Environmental Advisor for Hydroecology

    Mar 2015 - Dec 2019