36504 - Flood & Planning Senior Managing Lawyer - Leeds

Environment Agency; Leeds; On-site; GBP 90,000 - 110,000; Full time

Job summary

Environment Agency seeks a Flood & Planning Senior Managing Lawyer in Leeds to lead the legal team supporting flood and coastal erosion risk management and planning functions. You will deliver high-quality, efficient legal services aligned with the EA Corporate Strategy and Legal Strategy, advising on statutes, policy, litigation, and enforcement.

As a senior leader, you will recruit and develop colleagues, foster inclusion, and drive cross-cutting portfolios that improve Legal Services,

Qualifications

• Qualified lawyer with expertise in flood and planning law.
• Experience leading a legal team and delivering complex, high-profile matters.
• Ability to provide risk-based, pragmatic legal advice to senior clients.

Responsibilities

• Lead the Flood & Planning legal team and set strategic direction.
• Provide timely, pragmatic, risk-based legal support on flood risk management, planning, and related public law matters.
• Advise and influence senior clients, including Executives, on legal strategy and decision-making.
• Manage people, budgets and cross-team collaboration to meet time, cost and quality targets.

Skills

Leadership

Legal strategy

Stakeholder management

Public law

Job description

36504 - Flood & Planning Senior Managing Lawyer - Leeds

Please note: Vacancy information displayed on Find a Job may be subject to system limitations. The Environment Agency vacancy page contains the most accurate and up-to-date information for this role. Applicants should refer to the Environment Agency vacancy page for the full job details, including working arrangements, location requirements, and role-specific information.

We are looking for an outstanding lawyer and leader to become our Flood & Planning Senior Managing Lawyer. You will lead the Environment Agency’s Flood & Planning legal team, delivering high-quality, highly efficient legal services that support the EA Corporate Strategy, EA Business Plan and Legal Strategy. You will provide timely, pragmatic and risk-based legal support on flood and coastal erosion risk management, planning and related public law matters. The team’s work includes legal advice on statutory powers and duties, policy and legislation, projects and operational delivery, regulation, enforcement, appeals, litigation and flood incidents.

You will set the team’s strategic direction, plan and prioritise its work, and manage people and financial resources to meet time, cost and quality targets. Working largely autonomously, you will lead on the most complex, sensitive and high-profile legal matters, drawing on your specialist expertise and that of the wider team. You will advise and influence senior clients, including Executive Managers and the Executive Directors Team, supporting sound, lawful and risk-based decision-making. You will lead client care as a trusted partner, build clients’ legal capability and maintain effective relationships with government lawyers, partner organisations, counsel and other external providers.

As a senior leader in Legal and Audit Services, you will role model EA guiding principles and leadership behaviours, recruit, develop and motivate colleagues, promote wellbeing and inclusion, and lead performance management and organisational change. You will lead agreed cross-cutting portfolios that contribute to the Legal Strategy and improve services across Legal Services, adapting the team’s work and supporting collaboration across teams as organisational needs change.

We are fully committed to having an inclusive workforce that reflects the communities we serve. We welcome flexible working patterns for all our vacancies, including job share, so please clearly state any preferences regarding your working arrangements in your application.

The team

The Flood & Planning team sits within Flood and Corporate Legal Services and supports the Environment Agency’s flood and coastal erosion risk management and planning functions. It is a nationally dispersed team delivering strategic and operational advice, including support for flood incidents. We value inclusive leadership, professional excellence, collaboration and practical, solution-focused advice.