Agriculture Regulatory Inspection Officer - West Midlands - 28767

Do you have a good knowledge of agriculture in England and want to improve our natural environment? Would you like to be at the forefront of agricultural change? This is an exciting opportunity as we are recruiting multiple Officers in our West Midlands Area to undertake regulatory inspections of farms focussing on the River Wye and other Protected Areas.

Agricultural practices can cause significant and chronic pollution to our precious water environment. These can be caused by leaks of slurry and silage effluent, and other materials, stored and spread on farms.

We are looking for dynamic individuals, including new graduates, with experience and understanding of agriculture activity, to work with farmers to increase their levels of compliance with existing environmental regulations. This will help safeguard and improve the future environment.

In this role you will:

• carry out targeted farm inspections
• engage with farmers to influence them to change their practice, which may involve difficult conversations
• collect data and produce reports on findings
• be willing to undertake regulatory enforcement action when needed, including prosecutions and the serving of notices

Many are transferrable skills and training will be provided.

The Environment Agency are fully 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.

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 alternative working arrangements will be available to support you with your incident role.

As a member of the West Midlands Agricultural Regulation Team, you will carry out targeted farm inspections in the catchments such as the River Wye, River Mease, River Clun and others to help improve farmer behaviours with respect to their local environment. You will be part of a dispersed operational team that is integral to delivering real environmental improvements.

The Environment Agency works to create better places for people and wildlife and support sustainable development.

The following skills are desirable:

• experience of working with farmers, on farms, the agriculture sector or other regulation
• an understanding of the complexities and challenges of working UK farms
• excellent communication and influencing skills
• an ability to have challenging conversations

You must have:

• a full UK driving licence
• IT skills (e.g. Microsoft Office, including Word and Excel), be comfortable using an iPad and a laptop on a daily basis, and be able to input inspection findings into systems.
• An understanding and willingness to undertake enforcement action where necessary

These are hybrid roles based at any of our offices across West Midlands: Tewkesbury, Kidderminster, Shrewsbury, Stafford, Lichfield, Birmingham, working at least 40% of the time away from home. You will be required to hold a full driving licence and be willing to travel extensively across the West Midlands Area. Further information can be found in the candidate pack.

Vehicle transport will be provided to allow site inspections.

For enquires please contact Kirsty.gilmour@environment-agency.gov.uk or Karen.Price@environment-agency.gov.uk

Interviews will be hosted week commencing 22nd April.

Giving an example of how you have delivered change on a farm or other site, describe how you prioritised your workload and how you met the final deadline.

• What was the work and timelines you were working to?
• Did you experience any setbacks and if so, what effect did this have?
• What was the outcome?

We recommend the “STAR” approach when assessing these examples (i.e. what was the Situation; what was the Task you were required to do; what Actions did you take; what was the Result). Please refer to the candidate pack attached to read the capability dictionary and further information.

Give an example of a time when you have had to bring a farmer, landowner or other customer around to your way of thinking.

• What was the situation and what did you do?
• What were the main challenges and how did you overcome these?
• What was the outcome?
• What did you learn and is there anything you would do differently if a similar situation arose in the future?

We recommend the “STAR” approach when assessing these examples (i.e. what was the Situation; what was the Task you were required to do; what Actions did you take; what was the Result]. Please refer to the candidate pack attached to read the capability diction and further information.

The Farming Rules for Water (2018) are regulations about the prevention of diffuse pollution from farms.

Describe the key challenges farmers have with complying with these regulations.

• What do you know about the farming rules for water?
• Why are they important?
• What challenges to farmers face that mean compliance is difficult?
• What would you do to help improve farm compliance with these regulations?

We recommend the “STAR” approach when assessing these examples (i.e. what was the Situation; what was the Task you were required to do; what Actions did you take; what was the Result). Please refer to the candidate pack attached to read the capability dictionary and further information.

Driving licence