Environment Officer - 22954

We are the Environment Agency. We work with government, local councils, businesses, and communities to make our environment cleaner, safer, and healthier for people and wildlife. We tackle the effects and causes of climate change, perhaps the most serious long-term threat to the environment that we face.

As an environment officer in one of our operational teams, you will make a real difference on issues such as water quality, pollution, water company regulation, and water resources.

Using excellent communication skills, you will influence and persuade people and businesses to take actions to improve and protect the environment. You will make routine site inspections, lead major pollution investigations, and deliver desk-based regulatory work.

A typical week may involve:
• Site visits to conduct audits/inspections; advising how people and businesses can improve the environment and taking enforcement action where environmental regulations have been breached
• Investigating and handling pollution incidents
• Preparing statements and giving evidence in court
• Prioritising and progressing multiple projects and pieces of work
• Participating in out of hours incidents as part of a standby rota responding to environmental emergencies.

We are looking to recruit several Environment Officers to work across our area.

You will be part of our passionate, dedicated, and enthusiastic environment management team.
We have Land &Water teams throughout the Solent and South Downs Area, covering East and West Sussex.

Working both outdoors and indoors in the area, focusing on operators and companies for both industrial and rural areas.

The Environment Agency is passionate about people. You’ll have opportunities for development within the team and wider organisation.

Our office are in Worthing, Pevensy and Chichester,

You'll have the minimum of an A-Level in a relevant discipline, or equivalent work experience. A degree in a scientific or environmental subject is desirable, although not essential. You may be a new graduate or looking for a change of career and looking to protect the environment and make a difference.

Whilst relevant work experience would be an advantage, it’s much less important to us than your ability to demonstrate the key skills/qualities we’re looking for. You'll enjoy working outdoors and from an Office.

You'll possess great communication skills and enjoy working with people from all backgrounds, in sometimes challenging situations. Your passion for the environment will help you work with others to achieve outcomes locally.

You'll be:

•Well-organised, able to prioritise effectively
•A great team worker who works well independently
•Accurate in recording data and managing records
•Keen to learn about environmental regulation and enforcement
•I.T. and computer literate

The Environment Officer role is a career grade position with a starting salary of £23,446 which increases as you move through the training. Please see candidate pack for further information about the role, salary and benefits we offer.
We provide the training you need, so if you have these qualities and would like to have a career working in a role that helps make a difference to our environment, we welcome your application.

A Full UK driving licence is essential.

The Environment Agency are committed to having an inclusive workforce and we welcome applicants from all sections of the community.

If you'd like to find out more about these roles please contact:
shane.harper@environment-agency.gov.uk
(tel:02084747407)

Interviews are scheduled in August 2022. Start dates from September 2022.

Using an example, describe how you have used a range of communication methods to present your views to an audience in a convincing way.

• Tell us about the audience.
• What were the messages?
• How did you communicate the messages?
• What considerations did you make to ensure each message landed well, and
• How did you alter your communication style to suit the audience?

Your examples do not have to be work-related, so please use the best examples from any area of your life.

Describe a time when you persuaded someone to do something that they didn’t initially want to do. 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?
• What happened?
• What did you learn and is there anything you would do differently in a similar situation in the future?

Please provide an example where you have found potential problems and identified effective solutions by analysing all relevant information, seeking to develop alternatives and taking sound and timely decisions.

• What were the problems?
• How did you identify the best solution?
• What was the result?
• Could you have done anything differently?

The answer you give to the question below will be used for interview selection so it is important to demonstrate your skills and experience in your response.

Describe how you have rectified a potentially harmful situation to keep yourself and others safe. What was the situation and how did you correct it? What other options did you consider at the time? Explain your options and thought processes.

Full UK Drivers License