Environment Planning Specialist (Modernising Regulations) - 28806

Do you want to work for an organisation that values difference and includes everyone?

Then the Environment Agency is the organisation for you!

We are fully committed to being an inclusive employer and ensuring equal opportunities for everyone. We welcome flexible working patterns for all our vacancies, including job share.

It’s an exciting time to be working on water resources management. The pressures of climate change and population growth mean that it will become even more challenging to allocate this precious resource between different uses in the future while protecting and enhancing the water environment. 

We are investing in our business now so that we can innovate and transform the way we manage water resources in the future. This includes developing and embedding a new digital Water Resources Licensing Service into our activities and promoting the opportunities to our stakeholders. These roles will play a key part in embedding the Service locally, advocating the Service with staff and customers and maximising the benefits of our significant investment. 
 
You will drive forward improvements in your local area to modernise water resources and will play an effective role with peers in other areas, working together as part of a national network. 
 
Working closely with Environment Agency colleagues, Defra teams and external stakeholders, you will use technology to improve local management of water resources and have excellent Continuous Improvement ethos. 
 
Responding to incidents is a central part of what we do. You will be required to have an incident role and make yourself available to respond to incidents, or provide business continuity support during an incident. This may attract an additional payment and full training and alternative working arrangements will be available to support you with your incident role.

The team is at the centre of local environmental planning and regulation. We use evidence to better understand the pressures on the local environment and focus resources to improve things for wildlife and people. 

Our area is exciting! We have chalk rivers, urban catchments and diverse communities to serve.
 
You will also be part of a national network helping to shape the development of the digital Service, making best use of its features locally.

You will have experience of: 

• managing data systems; 
• working effectively with colleagues and advising stakeholders; 
• communicating complex information so it is easily understood; 
• analysing and securely handling data; 
• continuous improvement. 
 
In addition, you will have an understanding of: 

- water resources regulation;
- agile project management;
- the importance of benefits realisation; 
- the legislative changes in water resources. 

Your day-to-day activities will include: 

- leading the roll out of water abstraction alerts;  
- working with abstraction licence holders to get abstraction data back sooner
- increasing the number of holders registered on the service; 
- ensure they have an overall understanding of licencing in the local area:
- link with the community of other similar specialists in the Environment Agency

This is a local role, flexibility on location is possible within the area. Travel to other Environment Agency offices/overnight stays may be required. This role is being advertised as a permanent position; however we may consider you for other opportunities.

We encourage you to refer to our "EA capability dictionary" which can be viewed by searching online using any web browser.

Face to face interviews will be held at our office in Welwyn Garden City in May.

For further information about this role please contact Harriet Corbett (Harriet.Corbett@environment-agency.gov.uk)

Sets and delivers high work standards, demonstrates the drive to meet targets. Prioritises and organises tasks and resources to ensure timely achievement of results.

Question: In this role you will often have to juggle a number of tasks. Please give an example of where you've had to make a difficult decision to prioritise your workload to meet a deadline.

Listens and questions to understand and engage. Conveys information and ideas clearly, accurately and persuasively through speech and writing.

Question: This role will require you to work with many different people across the business and externally. Please demonstrate how you vary your communication approach according to the audience you’re addressing.

Addresses the needs of internal and external customers, provides rapid and effective responses.

Question: Please explain how you would identify the needs of your customers and ensure that you prioritise them to deliver the most benefits. How would you balance the needs of a range of customers with conflicting priorities?

Collects, analyses, interprets, records, manages, develops and shares data, material or information appropriately for a variety of purposes.

Question: Please give an example of how you have analysed, managed and or reported data.


Please note your answers to these questions will be used for interview selection - please draw out your skills and experience in your responses.

You may find it helpful to research the STAR approach (Situation, Task, Action, Result) when formulating your responses.

A full UK Driving Licence is preferable.