Regulatory Officer 1 – Packaging Waste - 32526

Regulatory Officer 1 – Packaging Waste - 32526
1
South East
Canterbury , Chichester , Farnham , Pevensey, Reading , Romsey , Wallingford , Welwyn Garden City , West Malling , Worthing
Staff Grade 4
Permanent
Operational Delivery
Full Time, Part Time/Job Share, Compressed Hours, Other
£34,320

11/01/2026, 23:55 hours

Basic Check
Are you passionate about the environment? Join us and help create a cleaner, safer and healthier environment for people and wildlife. Our producer responsibility work aims to ensure that waste resulting from packaging is recycled, either here in the UK or exported overseas to facilities where it is safely and effectively recycled – ‘right waste, right place’. You will be key to planning, monitoring and delivering compliance and enforcement activity within your area of waste regulation, to drive a circular economy.

This role will be based in the Packaging South team within Collections & Packaging Regimes, part of Waste Markets and Shipments.

Find out about our wider team here - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zJ7fCgRW5SM.

As a Regulatory Officer, you will:

Undertake audit and enforcement work, both desk-based and in the field

Collate, analyse and use complex data to help make evidence-based decisions on regulation compliance

Answer technical queries; interpret and diagnose problems and develop solutions

Develop further relationships with customers and stakeholders

Deal with confidential and sensitive information whilst keeping in line with data protection guidelines

Contribute to the development and improvement of processes, procedures, and operational instructions

Work with businesses to bring them into compliance and investigate companies suspected of non-compliance. This work can involve conducting interviews under caution and compiling of casefiles for our legal teams.

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.

We welcome flexible working patterns for all our vacancies, including job share, so please clearly include any information regarding your preferred working arrangements on your application.
As part of the Packaging South team, you will be based in or near the South East. The team consists of Regulatory Officers and Senior Technical Officers who specialise in monitoring compliance at regulated sites, assessing processes and data to ensure conditions under the Packaging Waste Regulations are met. The team also undertake enforcement action where offences have occurred. The team is friendly, supportive and dedicated. We encourage our colleagues’ health, safety, wellbeing and development.
We are looking for people with various types of experience who can demonstrate the capabilities and interpersonal skills needed for the role. Waste industry or regulatory experience is not necessary as you will receive full training. We are looking for people who enjoy desk-based working as well as site visits.

You must hold a full valid UK driving licence as you will be required to travel and drive as part of the role.

You should be able to show us you are:

-effective, organised and able to prioritise
-confident/assertive
-IT/computer literate
-comfortable with numbers and handling large data sets
-passionate about the environment and keen to learn

And can:
-handle confrontational situations
-adapt your communication style to suit others to get your message across
-integrate into a team
-record information accurately

Don’t be put off applying if you don’t have a degree or similar - we value life experience.
You will need to be comfortable working in a dispersed team. The Environment Agency utilise a hybrid working approach, including office and home working. Regular travel within the South East and wider travel for training and meetings is expected.

We offer an attractive and competitive benefits package including:

-A fantastic Pension Scheme
-Competitive Salary
-Flexible working hours including flexi leave
-25 annual leave plus bank holidays (pro rata)
-Apprenticeships/opportunities for in-work qualifications

For more information see the Candidate Pack.

Interviews for the Regulatory Officer roles are expected to take place between 3rd – 5th February in central London.

We may use the outcomes from this recruitment for future vacancies within the next 6 months.

For an informal discussion contact sarah.edwards@environment-agency.gov.uk or carol.brockelsby@environment-agency.gov.uk.
Takes Decisions and Solves Problems
Describe an example of where you have solved a problem by using relevant information and exploring options.

What was the problem? • How did you identify the best solution? • What was the result?
Communicates Effectively
Describe a time when you have used a range of communication methods to present your views in a convincing way.

• What messages you were communicating? • How you adapted your communication style or method to suit different audiences and why?
Influences and Persuades Others
Describe a time when you persuaded someone or group to do something that they resisted. Explain the process you went through and how you sought to understand the other person's point of view.

• What was the situation? • What were the challenges you faced? • How did you influence/change their mind?
Full UK driving license
If you are applying from the Civil Service please note that the Environment Agency is not a part of HM Civil Service and you would not be a Crown Servant in the event of being appointed. Therefore, you will not be eligible for continuous service. For applicants who currently work in local government or other bodies listed in the Redundancy Payments (Continuity of Employment in Local Government etc) (Modification) Order 1999, you may be eligible for continuous service for the purpose of calculating any future redundancy payment. If you are unsure of your status then you should contact your own HR Team.

We are fully committed to having a diverse and inclusive workforce to reflect the communities we serve. We welcome flexible working patterns for all our vacancies, including job share, so please include clearly any information regarding your preferred working arrangements on your application.

We also have a Guaranteed Interview Policy to support those with a disability who are seeking employment. We have committed to guaranteeing an interview to anyone with a disability whose application meets the minimum criteria for the post.

The Environment Agency, as a Non-Departmental Public Body, is committed to providing value for money and utilises Central Government frameworks and contracts for all external recruitment needs. For this reason, we are unable to engage with the market directly through post, email or phone calls . Should you wish to become a support supplier on one of these frameworks or contracts please visit https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/become-a-crown-commercial-service-supplier/becoming-a-supplier-through-the-crown-commercial-service-what-you-need-to-know for more information.

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. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action. Although the Environment Agency is a non-departmental public body sponsored by Defra, we subscribe to and align with the candidate guidance on the use of artificial intelligence found on the  Civil Service Careers website. Please review for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.

This Vacancy is closed to applications.