Job Description
As a Senior Permitting Officer within our Water Quality regime, you’ll determine complex applications and deliver pre‑application advice for water quality environmental permits.
In this role you’ll safeguard the environment by proactively managing a wide range of permit applications—including ground and surface water discharges, chemicals (hazardous and sanitary pollutants), sewage connections, and habitats—delivering high‑quality, risk‑based environmental permitting decisions to tight deadlines. You’ll support other Permitting Officers across Permitting, collaborating with professionals from various disciplines and engaging with permit applicants ranging from multinational companies to individual householders. Your work directly contributes to a more sustainable and safer environment, ensuring compliance with EA processes and regulatory obligations.
Essential Experience / Skills
* Strong experience of environmental permitting or demonstrable technical competency in at least one of: Water regulation (Environmental Permitting Regulations, Water Resources Act, Water Industry Act); Modelling of sanitary or hazardous pollutants; Wastewater treatment and/or wastewater engineering.
* Knowledge of water quality issues and relevant policies.
* Experience in coaching/mentoring others in a technical discipline.
* Confidence in challenging, questioning and influencing stakeholders.
Desirable
* Degree or equivalent in a science/environmental subject.
* Knowledge of the Habitats Directive, Habitats Regulations and the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981.
* Regulatory and operational experience of water industry processes.
Additional Requirements
* Confidence in providing direction as a technical leader.
* Ability to work collaboratively across teams, the wider business, stakeholders and partners.
* Excellent communication and influencing skills when conveying technical topics to a non‑technical audience.
* Strong relationship‑building skills, capable of handling challenging conversations and making risk‑based decisions with justifiable reasoning.
* Ability to plan and prioritise work, responding to tight deadlines.
* Proficiency in IT, including data management and tools such as MS Word, MS Excel, GIS and modelling platforms.
Benefits & Working Conditions
All officers are expected to attend the office a minimum of 20% of their time, with occasional national travel for meetings and training. The Environment Agency is fully committed to diversity, inclusion and flexible working patterns, including part‑time and compressed hours.
We welcome applications from all backgrounds and encourage a diverse workforce that reflects the communities we serve.
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