EIR & FOI Officer — Hybrid, 12-Month Contract

Southern Water; Worthing; Hybrid; GBP 25,000 - 42,000; Full time

Job summary

Southern Water is seeking an Environmental Information Regulations (EIR) Officer to join our ESG team. You will manage EIR requests from receipt to response, applying legislation and public interest considerations to determine what information to disclose.

You will work with Legal, Information Governance and Corporate Affairs to gather information, advise stakeholders and deliver clear, well-reasoned responses while meeting statutory timescales.

Qualifications

• Demonstrable experience of Environmental Information Regulations or Freedom of Information.
• Strong analytical judgement with evidence-based recommendations on complex information requests.
• Excellent written communication and stakeholder management skills.
• Strong organisation and resilience with the ability to work autonomously across multiple priorities and deadlines.
• Water-sector, regulated-sector, legal or information governance experience is advantageous.

Responsibilities

• Managing EIR requests end to end and ensuring responses meet statutory timescales.
• Interpreting legislation, ICO guidance, case law and regulatory precedent to determine disclosure obligations.
• Assessing disclosure positions, identifying exceptions and supporting public interest tests with Legal Services.
• Advising stakeholders and senior leaders on EIR and FOI requirements.
• Building effective relationships across Legal, Information Governance, Corporate Affairs and operational teams.
• Supporting internal reviews, ICO investigations and regulatory complaints.
• Monitoring regulatory developments and translating them into policy and process improvements.
• Producing clear guidance, training, compliance reporting and management information.
• Helping identify opportunities to improve administration, information gathering and team efficiency.

Skills

EIR/FOI experience

Analytical judgement

Written communication

Stakeholder management

Autonomy

Job description

Southern Water is seeking an Environmental Information Regulations (EIR) Officer to join our ESG team. You will manage EIR requests from receipt to response, applying legislation and public interest considerations to determine what information to disclose.

You will work with Legal, Information Governance and Corporate Affairs to gather information, advise stakeholders and deliver clear, well-reasoned responses while meeting statutory timescales.