Environmental Manager – Compliance Lead

Slaughter and May; Greater London; On-site; GBP 85,000 - 115,000; Full time

Job summary

Slaughter and May seeks a senior Environmental Compliance Manager to own and maintain the firm’s En/EMS, ISO 14001/50001, and ESOS compliance. You will lead external audits, manage regulatory relations, and drive non-conformance remediation across governance, energy, and waste practices.

You will engage senior stakeholders, provide expert guidance on UK environmental legislation, and build training materials to embed compliance culture across the firm.

Qualifications

• 7+ years in environmental compliance management systems roles.
• Proven experience maintaining ISO 14001 and ISO 50001 certification.
• Experience preparing for and managing external certification audits and closing audit findings.
• Experience with ESOS compliance and engagement with the Environment Agency.
• In-depth knowledge of UK environmental and energy legislation.
• Experience investigating environmental incidents and driving corrective action to closure.
• Ability to engage diverse stakeholders and senior internal leadership.

Responsibilities

• Lead and maintain the firm’s ISO 14001 and ISO 50001 En/EMS.
• Maintain the environmental legal register and horizon scan for upcoming regulations.
• Implement compliance programmes with functional leads and on-site contractors.
• Provide expert advice on environmental legislation and ensure procedures and training are in place.
• Own and maintain environmental compliance risk register and governance escalation.
• Develop and administer non-conformance tracking and corrective action closure.
• Engage with regulators (Environment Agency) and certification bodies on compliance and audits.
• Oversee internal audit programme and coordinate external surveillance audits.
• Lead AMR and prepare compliance reports for management.
• Support supplier reviews and information requests as required.
• Develop ISO-related training and induction content and awareness materials.
• Promote environmental policies and foster a culture of responsibility.

Skills

Environmental compliance

ISO 14001

ISO 50001

Auditing

Stakeholder engagement

Regulatory knowledge

Non-conformance management

Education

Degree in sustainability or environmental management

Tools

MS Office

Job description

This role owns the firm’s environmental compliance programme, including ISO 14001/50001 system maintenance, legal register, audit readiness, ESOS regulatory compliance, and non-conformance management. The postholder will take direct ownership of compliance responsibilities across the Environmental and Energy Management System (En/EMS), driving closure of compliance items spanning governance, leadership, waste management, energy management, documentation, and training. They will lead preparation for external surveillance audits, manage the internal audit programme, develop and administer the non-conformance platform module, and act as the primary interface with external auditors, regulators (including the Environment Agency), and certification bodies. Strong regulatory knowledge, ISO auditing experience, ESOS familiarity, and confident stakeholder engagement at senior levels are essential.

Key responsibilities

The key responsibilities of this role are set out below and there may be others which are not listed. You may be required on occasion to work outside our normal working hours of 9:30am to 5:30pm

Compliance Management

• Lead and maintain the firm’s ISO 14001 and ISO 50001 certified Environmental and Energy Management System (En/EMS)
• Maintain the environmental legal register, horizon scanning to ensure all upcoming regulatory requirements are highlighted early.
• Implement compliance programmes in collaboration with functional leads and on-site contractors.
• Provide expert advice on current and emerging environmental legislation and ensure appropriate procedures and training are in place.
• Own and maintain the environmental compliance risk register; identify systemic weaknesses, track compliance status against environmental laws, regulations, and internal policies, and elevate issues through the appropriate governance pathway.
• Develop and administer consistent non-conformance tracking, evidence capture, and corrective action close-out across the EMS/EnMS, alongside trend analysis.
• Engage directly with regulators (including the Environment Agency) and external certification bodies on compliance, enforcement, and audit matters.

Auditing, Monitoring, and Reporting

• Manage the internal audit programme, including coordination with super-contractors, scheduling, evidence preparation, and finding closure.
• Lead the preparation and coordination of external surveillance audits (ISO 14001 and ISO 50001); act as the primary interface with the certification body during audit execution.
• Oversee audit action tracking and closure timelines; prepare and present audit findings, compliance status, and risk reporting to management.
• Lead the Annual Management Review (AMR) as required under ISO 14001/50001; prepare compliance reports and management review documentation.
• Support supplier reviews and respond to client and stakeholder information requests as required.

Training and Communication

• Develop and deliver ISO-related compliance training programmes, including environmental awareness and waste training for staff, service providers, and contractors.
• Develop ISO induction content and collaborate on wider awareness materials.
• Promote environmental policies and foster a culture of responsibility and awareness.

Incident Management and Remediation

• Manage environmental incidents from identification through investigation, reporting, corrective action, and close-out, including reporting to management and, if required, to regulators.
• Work collaboratively with the strategic and operational incident management process owners to ensure environmental incidents are appropriately escalated and integrated into firm-wide processes.
• Anticipate potential compliance risks, identify root causes of non-compliance, and implement preventative measures and corrective actions.

Planning and Organisation

• Continually drive change by identifying and implementing improvements to compliance processes, systems, and ways of working across the EMS/EnMS.
• Develop and maintain the environmental compliance work programme, sequenced by regulatory and audit risk, and deliver initiatives within agreed timelines.
• Support the development of environmental targets and KPIs.
• Ensure effective prioritisation and escalation of issues when necessary.

Teamwork and Collaboration

• Work closely with the Senior Environmental Sustainability Manager (governance escalation), the Carbon and Reporting Lead (shared data/systems dependencies), and the wider Facilities and Operations team.
• Provide cover during team absences, assist with cross-functional projects, and coordinate with Procurement and Legal and Compliance Teams on environmental compliance matters.

Governance and General Duties

• Support the Environmental Steering Group, Responsible Business Committee, and internal networks.
• Manage supplier contracts and procurement processes in line with firm policies.
• Participate in ad hoc projects and continuous improvement initiatives.
• Embody the Business Services’ Key Behaviours and promote sustainability across the firm.

Candidate profile

Candidates for this position must have:

Experience

• 7+ years in environmental compliance management systems roles, including direct responsibility for maintaining ISO 14001 and/or ISO 50001 certification.
• Proven experience preparing for and managing external certification audits, including coordination with certification bodies and management of audit findings to closure.
• Strong experience in developing compliance procedures, driving performance improvement, and managing non-conformance remediation programmes.
• Experience with ESOS compliance and engagement with the Environment Agency or equivalent regulators.
• In-depth knowledge of UK environmental and energy legislation, including climate change and sustainability frameworks.
• Experience investigating environmental incidents and driving corrective action to closure.
• Experience advising diverse stakeholders, managing supplier relationships, and engaging confidently with senior internal leadership.

Skills

• Strong working knowledge of UK environmental and energy regulations, ISO management system standards, and compliance frameworks.
• Audit management and non-conformance tracking expertise, including the ability to manage multiple regulatory deadlines concurrently.
• Excellent analytical, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills.
• Effective communicator with the confidence to engage external auditors, regulators, and senior internal stakeholders; strong interpersonal and presentation skills.
• Ability to manage change and work under pressure with resilience.
• Strong organisational and project management capabilities.
• Proficient in MS Office (Excel, Word, PowerPoint).
• Collaborative team player with the ability to work independently.
• Ability to foresee emerging risks, problem-solve effectively, and proactively take action to mitigate issues before they crystallise.

Qualifications

• Degree (or equivalent) in sustainability, environmental management, or a related field.
• ISO 14001 and ISO 50001 Environmental Management Systems Training.
• Membership of a relevant professional body (e.g. ISEP) - desirable.

We are committed to ensuring that our recruitment processes are barrier-free and as inclusive as possible for everyone. This includes making adjustments for people who have a disability or long-term condition. If you have any questions or require any adjustments to be made to one or both of the application or interview processes, please contact the Recruitment Team.

We are a Disability Confident Committed employer and will offer an interview to applicants with a disability or long-term condition who best meet the minimum or essential criteria for our Business Services roles. You are disabled under the Equality Act 2010 if you have a physical or mental impairment that has a 'substantial' and 'long-term' negative effect on your ability to do normal daily activities. For more information about the Disability Confident scheme, please see the government website here.

We welcome applications irrespective of race, colour, ethnic or national origin, disability, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, religion, belief or marital status.