Environmental Compliance Specialist

Thames Water Utilities Limited; Reading; Hybrid; GBP 49,000 - 58,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading UK water company is seeking an Environmental Compliance Specialist to lead compliance assessments and develop reporting tools. The role involves working with various stakeholders to ensure environmental regulations are met. Candidates should have an environmental background, good communication skills, and the ability to present complex data. This position offers a competitive salary, hybrid working conditions, and several employee benefits.

Benefits

Annual Leave - 26 days holiday, increasing with service

Performance-related pay plan

Generous Pension Scheme

Health and wellbeing benefits

Qualifications

• Experience with front-line wastewater teams is a plus.
• Familiarity with Environment Agency Compliance Assessment Reports (CAR).
• Detailed knowledge of water discharge and waste permits.
• Experience conducting compliance assessments is beneficial.

Responsibilities

• Lead environmental compliance assessments using the CAS tool.
• Develop the CAS tool for tracking environmental compliance.
• Ensure non-conformances are captured in audits.
• Improve the CAS tool with digital teams.
• Provide compliance reporting for stakeholders.
• Present performance metrics in forums.
• Respond to regulatory information requests.

Skills

Experience working in an environmental discipline

Ability to build strong relationships

Experience developing reports

Ability to present large data sets

Understanding of environmental permits

Understanding of wastewater processes

Excellent communication skills

Education

Environmental degree or equivalent

Tools

Power BI

PowerApps

SharePoint

Job description

Job title Environmental Compliance Specialist Ref 41474 Division Asset Operations & Capital Delivery Location Hybrid - Clearwater Court - RG1 8DB Contract type Permanent Full/Part-time Full-time or part-time Salary Competitive starting salary of up to £55,000 per annum depending on experience. Job grade B Closing date 10/10/2025

As part of the Environmental Compliance team, you will help assess compliance against a range of activities such as water discharges, air emissions and waste legislation, and will help to bring an increased focus to our compliance position.

You will be using a variety of sources of information, such as site audit reports, permit assessments, site data and incident reviews, to better understand compliance performance and identify improvement actions.

What you’ll be doing as an Environmental Compliance Specialist

• Lead environmental compliance assessments, via the Compliance Assessment System (CAS) tool, for all our permitted sites/activities.
• Assist in the further development of the CAS tool as the central repository for all environmental compliance actions.
• Ensure all non-conformances highlighted in Environmental Management System (EMS) site compliance audits are captured and logged appropriately within CAS.
• With the support of our Digital Teams, you will be required to maintain and continuously improve our CAS tool through the use of Power BI, PowerApps and SharePoint.
• Build strong working relationships across business units, including operations, asset management, engineering and strategy & regulation to ensure compliance assessments are complete and accurate.
• Provide regular compliance reporting for a variety of stakeholders.
• Present compliance performance at a range of forums, including site managers and Operational/Asset Management Directors.
• Respond to requests for information from regulatory investigations when required.

This position will be working in a Hybrid environment from Clearwater Court in Reading. The salary for this position is up to £58,000, depending on experience.

To thrive in this role, the essential criteria you’ll need are:

• Experience working in an environmental discipline
• Can demonstrate an ability to build strong working relationships across multiple business functions and seniority
• Experience developing reports which can simplify complex information
• The ability to present large data sets concisely in digital meetings and in person
• An understanding of environmental permits and legislation
• An understanding of wastewater processes
• Excellent communication and influencing skills

Additional skills and experiences would be great to have/bring:

• Have worked with front-line wastewater teams
• Experience dealing with and understanding Environment Agency Compliance Assessment Reports (CAR)
• Detailed knowledge of environmental permits with particular focus on water discharge and waste permits
• Development of reports and tools via Power BI/Power Apps
• Experience conducting compliance assessments
• Environmental degree or equivalent

What’s in it for you?

• Competitive salary up to £58,000 per annum
• Annual Leave - 26 days holiday per year, increasing to 30 with the length of service (plus bank holidays)
• Performance-related pay plan directly linked to both company and individual performance measures and targets
• Generous Pension Scheme through AON
• Access to lots of benefits to help you take care of you and your family’s health and wellbeing, and your finances – from annual health MOTs and access to physiotherapy and counselling, to Cycle to Work schemes, shopping vouchers and life assurance.

We’re the UK’s largest water and wastewater company, with more than 16 million customers relying on us every day to supply water for their taps and toilets. We want to build a better future for all, helping our customers, communities, people, and the planet to thrive. It’s a big job and we’ve got a long way to go, so we need help from passionate and skilled people, committed to making a difference and getting us to where we want to be in the years and decades to come.

Thames Water is a unique, rewarding, and diverse place to work, where every day you can make a difference, yet no day is the same. As part of our family, you’ll enjoy meaningful career opportunities, flexible working arrangements and excellent benefits.

If you’re looking for a sustainable and successful career where you can make a daily difference to millions of people’s lives while helping to protect the world of water for future generations, we’ll be here to support you every step of the way. Together, we can build a better future for our customers, our region, and our planet.

Real purpose, real support, real opportunities. Come and join the Thames Water family. Why choose us? Learn more.

We’re committed to being a great, diverse, and inclusive place to work. We welcome applications from everyone and want to ensure you feel supported throughout the recruitment process . If you need any adjustments, whether that’s extra time, accessible formats, or anything else, just let us know. We’rehere to help and support .

When a crisis happens, we all rally around to support our customers. As part of Team Thames, you’ll have the opportunity to sign up to support our customers on the frontline as an ambassador. Full training will be given for what is undoubtedly an incredibly rewarding experience. It’s also a great opportunity to learn more about our business and meet colleagues.

Disclaimer: Due to the high volume of applications we receive, we may close the advert earlier than the advertised date, so we encourage you to apply as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.