Environment Officer (Agriculture) Cumbria & Lancashire - 33296

• assisting Officers with agricultural regulatory and enforcement administration
• acting as a point of contact for the team, ensuring requests are responded to in a timely manner and ensure statutory deadlines are met
• administering team inboxes, ensuring adherence to records management requirements and the retention schedule
• using our systems to generate data reports for use by Team Leaders and national colleagues
  
  
  

The Environment Agency values a diverse workforce and welcomes applications from all sections of the community who wish to join a workforce which embraces difference and welcomes everyone.  

• excellent writing and communication skills with ability to manage and present information in a clear, comprehensible style
• the ability to prioritise tasks and meet deadlines
• the ability to work on their own as well as part of a team
• proficiency in Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, Outlook) and a willingness to learn about our internal IT systems and procedures
• Full UK driving licence
  
  
  

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.

Job Description

Are you ready to take on a role that makes a real difference? This is an exciting opportunity to become part of a programme of advice led regulation working with farmers to create a cleaner, safer and healthier environment.

As an Environment Officer focussing on agriculture, you will provide regulatory and technical support to farmers helping them achieve positive outcomes for the environment. You’ll begin at our EOA grade and follow a structured development programme, typically progressing to EOB grade within 18 months upon demonstrating the required skills.

Initial training includes residential sessions, involving classroom learning on topics like regulatory legislation and environmental science, followed by field visits with experienced officers who will demonstrate the practical aspects of the role. Some travel and overnight stays will be required. All necessary training, equipment, and clothing will be provided to ensure your safety.

During this period, you’ll develop key skills in communication, influencing, and technical understanding of regulatory responsibilities, learning to apply and enforce legislation and determine compliance actions.

As well as investing in your learning and development, you will support the agriculture programme of work by:

• contacting farmers to gather updates on any improvements made on farm to bring them into compliance

assisting Officers with agricultural regulatory and enforcement administration

acting as a point of contact for the team, ensuring requests are responded to in a timely manner and ensure statutory deadlines are met

administering team inboxes, ensuring adherence to records management requirements and the retention schedule

using our systems to generate data reports for use by Team Leaders and national colleagues

The Environment Agency values a diverse workforce and welcomes applications from all sections of the community who wish to join a workforce which embraces difference and welcomes everyone.  

The team

As an Environment Officer focussing on agriculture you will be based in one of our Area offices as part of a frontline team focused on building a cleaner, safer, and healthier environment. You will be welcomed to a lively and dynamic Environment Management department. The team regulate farming activities to ensure compliance with environmental legislation.

Experience/skills Required

We are looking for someone who has:

• a background or education in UK farming would be beneficial, as would experience of regulating

excellent writing and communication skills with ability to manage and present information in a clear, comprehensible style

the ability to prioritise tasks and meet deadlines

the ability to work on their own as well as part of a team

proficiency in Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, Outlook) and a willingness to learn about our internal IT systems and procedures

Full UK driving licence

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.

Contact and additional information

This role will be based in one office, but some travel between offices may be required. We work flexibly with some home working permitted.

We welcome applications for part-time hours to support flexible working.

We offer extensive employee benefits and opportunities for continuous development. Please see the candidate pack for further details.

If you are appointed, you will have to undergo vetting - we will conduct open-source checks including publicly availability barred lists.

For an informal discussion or to find out more about the roles, please contact Natalie.walsh@environment-agency.gov.uk.

This role does NOT

meet the criteria for a UK Skilled Worker visa.

Competence 1

Achieves Results

Description

Please give an example of when you have organised your workload to ensure you meet a deadline.

We recommend the “STAR” approach when summarising 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).

For further information please see the guidance here EA Capability Dictionary (calameo.com) [https://en.calameo.com/read/004433680aab41adf893b]

Competence 2

Communicates Effectively

Description

As an Environment Officer you will be required to communicate with a range of stakeholder both internally and externally. How do you adapt your style to suit the customer, using both written and verbal methods? Please use an example to support your answer.

We recommend the “STAR” approach when summarising 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).

For further information please see the guidance here EA Capability Dictionary (calameo.com) [https://en.calameo.com/read/004433680aab41adf893b]

Competence 3

Manages Self

Description

Please give an example of a time when you have had manage your workload in response to changing priorities and deadlines. How did you go about this and what was the result?

We recommend the “STAR” approach when summarising 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).

For further information please see the guidance here EA Capability Dictionary (calameo.com) [https://en.calameo.com/read/004433680aab41adf893b]

Role specific license requirements

UK Driving licence

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 ap