FOUNDER OF SHEARWATER
Josh Francis
MSc Environmental Consultancy · MRes Applied Marine Science · BSc (Hons) Marine Biology and Coastal Ecology
Former Senior Marine Environmental Consultant helping environmental graduates and professionals make their technical experience clearer to employers.
I founded Shearwater after seeing the same problem repeatedly across the UK environmental sector: capable people were being overlooked because their experience was difficult for employers to interpret quickly.
Environmental consultancy experience across EIA, marine licensing, offshore wind, regulatory assessment and environmental compliance.
Why I founded Shearwater
I came into the environmental sector through marine biology and applied marine science before building a career in environmental consultancy.
Over time, I worked across technical assessment, environmental consenting, project delivery and regulatory engagement. I also saw how differently the same experience could be interpreted depending on how it was presented.
A dissertation could demonstrate applied research capability but be written as an academic exercise. Fieldwork could support a major environmental assessment but appear as a list of survey activities. An experienced professional could hold substantial responsibility while their CV still read as though they had merely assisted.
The capability was often there. The professional evidence was not visible.
I founded Shearwater to close that gap. The work helps environmental graduates and professionals make their technical identity, project contribution and professional level easier for employers to recognise.
“The capability was often there. The professional evidence was not visible.”
EXPERIENCE BEHIND THE WORK
Shearwater is built from direct environmental consultancy experience.
My background spans environmental assessment, consenting, regulatory engagement, project delivery and technical review across major infrastructure and marine development work.
That experience matters because environmental evidence is not judged in isolation. Employers need to understand what was delivered, where it sat within a project, what level of responsibility was held and why the work was relevant.
Environmental assessment and consenting
Experience across EIA, Habitats Regulations Assessment, Water Framework Directive assessment, marine licensing and environmental compliance.
Technical project delivery
Work across offshore wind, marine and coastal assessment, protected species, regulatory submissions and live project delivery.
Employer-readable evidence
Direct understanding of how technical outputs, project contribution and professional responsibility need to be communicated clearly.
What I look for in an environmental profile
A credible environmental profile must do more than list qualifications, duties and technical interests.
It must allow the reader to establish:
What is this person’s technical identity?
What projects, assessments or outputs have they contributed to?
What level of responsibility have they held?
Which regulatory or professional contexts have they worked within?
What role are they credibly positioned to perform next?
These are the questions I use when reviewing a CV or LinkedIn profile.
The purpose is not to inflate the evidence. It is to make the real level, relevance and context of the work easier to identify.
Every paid client output is reviewed by me
The free Environmental CV Assessment is an automated starting point. It identifies likely visibility problems and helps candidates understand where to focus.
Paid work receives a detailed review.
I assess the material personally, interpret the evidence against the agreed role and target market, and review every final deliverable before it is issued.
The work is not produced from a generic CV template. Structure, terminology and emphasis are determined by the client’s actual evidence, career stage and intended direction.
A sector practitioner’s perspective
My experience comes from delivering environmental work, working within professional project teams and understanding how technical evidence is interpreted across the sector.
Shearwater is not a recruitment agency and does not guarantee interviews or employment. It improves the clarity, relevance and professional positioning of the material used to pursue those opportunities.
CLIENT EXPERIENCE
Clearer documents. A clearer professional direction.
“Josh, thank you so much for everything. Trying to position my UK environmental experience for the Australian market felt genuinely daunting at times, and I wasn't sure how best to present my background to employers on the other side of the world.
The work you've done through Shearwater has given me a huge amount of clarity and confidence. You took a complex brief and turned it into something practical, detailed and easy to act on. The way you rebuilt my CV and LinkedIn profile has completely changed how I present myself professionally, and the accompanying strategy and action plan gave me a clear direction for my job search.
Most importantly, I now feel confident applying for roles in the Australian environmental sector. Thank you for the care, expertise and attention to detail you brought throughout the process.”
— Environmental Adviser and Contaminated Land Specialist; Professional Positioning Package clientFind out how clearly your experience is reading.
The free Environmental CV Assessment reviews your CV across four areas: Technical Visibility, Commercial Visibility, Regulatory Fluency and Market Positioning.
You will receive an immediate score and a clear indication of where the main problem may sit.
Free to use. PDF, Word and pasted text accepted.
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