Overview
Senior Advisor - Future Agriculture - Environmental Land Management - 31666
The Environment Agency is committed to an inclusive workforce that reflects 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, incentivising 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, which aim to achieve clean and plentiful water, 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). You will deliver key CSHT products for the Farming and Countryside Programme, contributing to continuous improvement of the scheme through its design and delivery. You will provide advice in meetings, manage commissions, deliver and oversee programme milestones, and identify future risks and resource requirements. You will work across a variety of teams and organisations, with senior leaders, to articulate a scheme that supports and delivers our outcomes. The team sits within the Nature & Place Directorate, part of the National Agriculture and Land Team, and we work in an agile, fast-paced, flexible and collaborative environment, managing uncertainty to deliver clarity.
We 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.
Responsibilities
* Provide advice in meetings, manage commissions, deliver and oversee programme milestones for the Farming and Countryside Programme and CSHT.
* Identify future risks and resource requirements; work across teams and organisations with senior leaders to articulate a scheme that supports outcomes.
* Influence the design and delivery of incentives within the wider context of government reviews and regulatory reform in the water sector and environment.
Experience/skills Required
The role represents EA expertise to Defra, delivery bodies and the agriculture sector to achieve consistency and improve collaboration between organisations. Essential experience includes:
* Experience of Agriculture and working with Defra and other statutory bodies.
* Politically aware with excellent communication and networking skills.
* Understanding environmental sensitivities associated with significant agriculture sector reform.
* Experience interpreting/evaluating evidence to propose risk-based solutions for challenging problems.
* Ability to prioritise and deliver complex work; self-starter who actively develops and advances ideas.
Ideal candidates will demonstrate they can:
* Get stuff done, including through others
* Embody our culture
* Ensure information is trusted
* Cascade key information
* Build relationships quickly
* Soothe troubled waters
Relevant capabilities: Shapes Organisational Approach & Delivery, Achieves Results, Seeing the Bigger Picture (Business of the EA), Focuses on Customers and Partners, Delivers Results Through Others.
Contact and 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 may be required.
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 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.
Note: The Environment Agency is not part of HM Civil Service and you would not be a Crown Servant if appointed. Flexible working patterns are welcome. We have a Guaranteed Interview Policy to support applicants with a disability.
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