Team Leader (Water Industry) - Thames - 34295

Are you ready to take on a leadership role that delivers real environmental impact? Join the Environment Agency’s Water Industry Enforcement teams and play a key role in tackling increasingly complex environmental crime.  

We are transforming how we regulate water companies to drive improved performance, accountability and compliance with environmental law. While water companies play a vital role in managing the water cycle, they must do so without causing harm to people or the environment. Our teams work to hold underperforming operators to account and raise standards across the industry.  

As a Team Leader, you will lead a team of officers dedicated to regulating water company activities, working closely with national and local colleagues. Your team will have a critical operational role in protecting the environment and helping to create a cleaner, safer and healthier environment for people and wildlife.  

You will manage a diverse, multi-skilled team dealing with incidents and compliance issues, including those posing significant environmental and reputational risk. You will motivate and support both experienced officers and those new to the organisation, ensuring effective performance, delivery and professional development.  

Working with compliance, enforcement and legal teams, you will help establish and embed new ways of working. You will prioritise and balance workloads to focus effort where it delivers the greatest environmental benefit, while maintaining high standards of health, safety and wellbeing.  

The role is primarily office-based, with occasional site visits. You will be based from either our Farnham, Wallingford or Abbey Wood offices, but flexibility is essential to respond to changing priorities and support teams across the area. 

Our water industry enforcement team focuses on improving regulation and environmental performance across the water sector. Based in Farnham, Wallingford or Abbey Wood, the team works closely with water companies and Environment Agency colleagues to ensure enforcement requirements are met and environmental risks are effectively managed.  

The role offers hybrid working, combining office-based days with travel for site visits, meetings and training to support effective collaboration and consistent regulatory outcomes.  

We’re looking for an experienced and motivated leader who can inspire and develop others, manage operational demands and support regulatory outcomes.   

Essential:   

• Strong leadership experience, with a proven ability to lead and motivate teams to deliver shared goals.   

• A track record of working collaboratively across teams or organisations.   

• Working knowledge of health, safety and wellbeing best practices.   

• Experience in identifying, addressing and resolving performance challenges constructively, fostering a culture of continuous improvement and accountability.   

• A full UK driving licence.

Desirable   

• It would be advantageous if you bring a coaching and mentoring approach to developing people, along with the ability to prioritise effectively and balance team needs with wider organisational goals.    

• Excellent communication and engagement skills, combined with a flexible, problem-solving mindset and evidence-based decision-making capability. 

• An understanding of the water industry, including our regulatory powers and how they can be applied effectively.   

If you have any questions, please contact regulationresourcing@environment-agency.gov.uk  

Interviews are expected to take place across the fortnight commencing Monday 1st June.

You’ll be required to undertake an incident role to support effective incident response or business continuity. These roles may attract additional pay, with full training and flexible working arrangements provided. We offer a range of incident roles and will work with you to identify the most suitable option.  

A reserve list will be held for six months and may be used to offer similar roles, including fixed-term opportunities.  

Artificial Intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application, however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience.