Enforcement Team Leader

Environment Agency; Penrith; On-site; GBP 40,000 - 50,000; Full time

Job summary

A national environmental regulatory body in the UK is seeking an Enforcement Team Leader. In this role, you'll lead a team tackling serious environmental offences across Cumbria and Lancashire. Responsibilities include providing leadership, ensuring health and safety compliance, and driving proactive operations to prevent illegal activities. Ideal candidates will possess strong leadership and communication skills, and experience in enforcing regulations is desirable but not essential. The position offers a chance to make a real impact on environmental standards.

Qualifications

• Proven track record of delivering successful outcomes through leadership.
• Ability to adapt communication styles to various audiences.
• Experience in managing priorities and solving problems within governance.

Responsibilities

• Provide leadership to motivate and empower team members.
• Ensure compliance with health, safety, and wellbeing regulations.
• Drive operations to prevent illegal environmental activities.
• Respond to incidents and offer business continuity support.

Skills

Leadership skills

Strong communication

Relationship building

Problem solving

Job description

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.

Are you a motivated leader eager to drive positive change and make a real impact? As an Enforcement Team Leader, you’ll lead a dynamic team tackling the most serious environmental offences across Cumbria and Lancashire Area. Your team will carry out disruption operations, investigate suspected offences, and enforce regulations on high‑risk environmental crimes with a clear focus on risk and safety.

What You’ll Do

• Provide inspiring leadership to empower your team to act decisively and professionally.
• Champion health, safety, and wellbeing as fundamental parts of all activities.
• Ensure your team has the right training, resources, and support to succeed.
• Motivate and develop individuals through effective performance management and ongoing coaching.
• Drive proactive operations to prevent illegal environmental activities, working closely with national teams and external partners to share vital intelligence.
• Contribute to the local Regulated Industry Leadership Team, shaping delivery and supporting the wider department.

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.

The team

Join a committed Enforcement Team tackling serious and organised waste crime through regulatory legislation and innovative disruption techniques. We deliver effective, efficient enforcement actions across the Cumbria & Lancashire Area, providing strong governance and support. Our team collaborates closely with enforcement and intelligence colleagues across the organisation to ensure coordinated, impactful responses. Together, we protect communities and uphold environmental standards.

Experience/skills required

• Demonstrated leadership skills with a proven track record of delivering successful outcomes through others.
• Strong communication and influencing skills, able to adapt to different audiences and motivate stakeholders.
• Ability to build and maintain strong working relationships with a wide range of internal and external customers, often working remotely or across teams.
• Skilled at managing multiple priorities, solving problems, and following governance and procedures—particularly within criminal investigations.

Note: Experience in enforcement, regulation, or criminal proceedings is desirable but not essential. Your leadership ability and capacity to deliver high‑quality outcomes is what matters most.

An extra internal security check will be completed due to specific criteria in the enforcement team. This check is done mitigate risk of insider threat and to manage the importance of integrity with high‑risk roles only.