Senior Advisor - Future Agriculture - Environmental Land Management - 31666
2 days ago • Be among the first 25 applicants
The Environment Agency is committed to having an inclusive workforce to reflect the communities we serve. We don’t just talk about diversity; we seek it, embrace it and live it, for the benefit of our staff, our communities and our environment.
England is undertaking the most significant reform of agricultural policy and spending in decades, moving from the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) to the Environmental Land Management (ELM) schemes. ELM schemes support farmers to provide public goods in return for public money. They incentivise farmers and land managers to deliver water, soil and biodiversity outcomes alongside food production. Working with Defra and delivery partner colleagues you will aim to radically improve our services to farmers. These reforms are essential to help grow and maintain a resilient, productive agriculture sector, to realise our EA2030 strategy and government targets for water, the environment and climate. This role will include influencing the design and delivery of incentives within the wider context of shaping our organisational response to recent government reviews. These reviews aim to achieve clean and plentiful water by working with the water sector and delivering greater economic growth and nature recovery through regulation.
The Environment Agency ELM team is seeking dynamic, strategic thinkers to join us at the forefront of informing and shaping the future of ELM, particularly the delivery of Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier (CSHT). Delivering key CSHT products for the Farming and Countryside Programme, your expertise will contribute to continuous improvement of the scheme through its design and delivery. You will provide advice in meetings, manage commissions, deliver and provide oversight of Programme milestones, and identify future risks and resource requirements. You will be working across a variety of teams and organisations, with senior leaders, to articulate a scheme that supports and delivers our outcomes.
Team context The team sits within the Nature & Place Directorate, part of the National Agriculture and Land Team, working alongside colleagues in government, statutory bodies and industry. We operate in an agile, fast-paced, flexible and collaborative environment, managing uncertainty to deliver clarity. We are passionate about our people and foster a welcoming, safe, supportive environment where everyone feels valued. We are a dispersed team and use smart tools to stay connected and reduce travel.
Experience / Skills Required
* Experience of Agriculture and working with Defra and other statutory bodies is essential.
* You are politically aware with excellent communication and networking skills.
* You understand the environmental sensitivities associated with significant agriculture sector reform.
* You have experience of interpreting/evaluating evidence to propose effective risk-based solutions for challenging problems.
* You prioritise and deliver complex work.
* You are a self-starter who actively develops and takes ideas forward.
Ideal candidates will show they can:
* get stuff done, including through others
* embody our culture
* make sure our information is trusted
* cascade key information
* build relationships quickly
* soothe troubled waters
Capabilities: Shapes Organisational Approach & Delivery; Achieves Results; Seeing the Bigger Picture (Business of the EA); Focuses on Customers and Partners; Delivers Results Through Others
Additional information
* You’ll have an incident management objective in your development plan. Appropriate training will be given.
* You’ll have an EA Office base location, however as a national role the working location is flexible/hybrid in England. Some travel/overnights will be required.
* We use smart tools to stay connected and reduce travel.
Please read the Candidate/Additional Information Pack for information. For more information please contact:
* Kate Bayley: kate.bayley@environment-agency.gov.uk
* D-J Gent: dj.gent@environment-agency.gov.uk
Applications are “blind” assessed using your answers to the competency questions. Interviews are expected to be held via MS Teams two weeks after the closing date. If you consent to being held on a reserve list, we’ll hold your details for 6 months and may offer you an alternative post.
Competencies
1. Shapes organisational approach & delivery — Describe how you supported strategic work and aligned priorities, targets and resources. Include an example.
2. Achieves Results — Tell us about prioritising and organising work under uncertainty to deliver timely results.
3. Focuses on Customers and Partners — Provide an example of a rapid, effective response to customer needs and how you managed expectations.
4. Delivers Results Through Others — Describe how you harnessed a team to deliver on time and to standard.
5. Seeing the Big Picture — Explain implications of government reviews on the water sector and regulatory reform for the EA.
We are committed to a diverse and inclusive workforce and welcome flexible working patterns for all vacancies, including job share. We guarantee an interview to anyone with a disability who meets the minimum criteria for the post.
The Environment Agency is a Non-Departmental Public Body and uses government frameworks for external recruitment. For information on becoming a Crown Commercial Service supplier, visit the GOV.UK page linked in the original posting.
Note: This refined description preserves the core information about responsibilities and qualifications while removing extraneous duplicates and restructuring into clearly defined sections with allowed HTML tags.
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