Estates Surveyor - Central - 19828

We are looking for a motivated and enthusiastic individual to provide professional Estates expertise across all aspects of the Environment Agency’s business. You will be involved in a wide variety of surveying work, keeping your days varied and interesting while building your knowledge and experience.

You will be the surveying expert working collaboratively within project teams helping deliver an ambitious programme of capital flood defence works investing £5.2 billion nationwide better protecting 336,000 households from flood risk (2021-27). You’ll be involved at all stages of project delivery from feasibility through to completion.

Your surveying expertise will also be applied to managing a diverse land and property portfolio, including property management, valuation and dealing with landlord and tenant issues. As a confident negotiator, you will also represent our interests externally with a broad customer and client base.

With an up-to-date knowledge of current legislation and best practice, you’ll provide strong technical guidance and support to other members of your team on surveying matters. You will also be supported to develop both personally and professionally.

This role isn’t just about providing professional surveying expertise, it’s about playing an exciting and evolving role in making a long-term difference.

The Central Estates Hub is a team of 18 surveyors of varying levels of experience and support staff offering professional Estates advice for land, compensation and valuation matters across the East and West Midlands and Lincolnshire and Northamptonshire.

We sit within a function 125 strong providing national coverage and offering opportunity to share best practice and specialist knowledge. We will play a key delivery role in enabling us to meet our ambitious Net Zero target.

With experience of working as a Surveyor in a professional estates service, you will hold an appropriate RICS qualification (MRICS preferred, AssocRICS considered with relevant experience) from commercial/rural pathways. You will be able to demonstrate knowledge/experience in one or more of the following areas:

Good understanding of planning, property and compensation legislation and compulsory purchase procedures. Provide advice on land and compensation matters to minimise project risk and compensation liabilities. Negotiating access to land, securing appropriate interests and settling compensation claims. Manage a diverse land and property portfolio including property management, valuation and landlord and tenant issues to ensure sustainable land use. Knowledge of current legislation and best practice to enable you to provide specialist advice as part of integrated teams. Confident communicator, able to engage professionally, efficiently and effectively with both internal and external customers through good networking skills. Well-developed negotiation and dispute resolution skills.

Learn more about the competencies we’ll assess in our capability dictionary: https://tinyurl.com/ycu4cjrg

To find out more you can download the Candidate Information pack, which contains some useful information that may help when applying for this position.

For further information, email the Estates Recruitment Team: RecruitmentEstates@environment-agency.gov.uk.

This role supports a degree of flexible working; we welcome applications from within the Central Hub which includes offices in Birmingham, Shrewsbury, Lincoln and Nottingham. Regular travel including site visits to some remote locations is required and although dependent on how the work is allocated is likely to include caseload in East and West Midlands. You'll be provided with a vehicle to carry out this work if required, therefore a full and valid driving licence is essential.

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

This role will include involvement in delivering our programme of Flood Risk capital projects.

In no more than 250 words, using a specific example, please describe how you have delivered a successful piece of work/project while overcoming challenges or obstacles.

Identifies and addresses the needs of internal and external customers, providing rapid and effective responses.
This role will liaise and collaborate with a diverse range of internal and external customers and partners.
In no more than 250 words, please describe an occasion when you have used your knowledge and understanding of a particular customer/client to improve the service you provided for them.

Listens and questions to understand and engage. Conveys information and ideas clearly, accurately and persuasively through speech and writing.
This role will provide liaison between many different parties and will involve the successful communication of complex information and position.
In no more than 250 words, please describe an occasion where you have had to employ different methods of communication to ensure your client(s) understood the information in the context of the overall desired outcome.

Uses variety of methods, including direct instruction, coaching and feedback skills to help others to develop.
We place huge emphasis on the importance of technical knowledge and value the surveying skills you will bring to the organisation. This role will rely on your ability to impart that surveying knowledge and skillset within multi-disciplinary teams.
In no more than 250 words, tell us about a time when you’ve supported or mentored a colleague to improve their technical knowledge.

Our experienced teams specialise in negotiating access, dealing with compensation claims from land and property owners where they have suffered loss as a consequence of our work. We also manage the Agency's landholdings, which extends to 26,000 hectares.
In no more than 250 words, please summarise your surveying knowledge and experience to date and how that would apply to the work of the Environment Agency.

A valid driving licence is required for this role.

RICS (MRICS or FRICS Preferred, Assoc RICS Considered) - please detail your professional membership(s)/qualifications and which specialism you have experience in e.g. Rural surveyor, in the qualifications section of the application form