Environmental Permitting Specialist

Thames Water; England; Hybrid; GBP 46,000 - 55,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading water company in the UK is seeking an Environmental Permitting Specialist to manage and advise on regulatory compliance and permitting processes. The role involves collaborating with operational teams, supporting projects, and negotiating with agencies to ensure environmental standards are met. The ideal candidate will have a degree in Environmental Science and strong analytical skills. This position offers a competitive salary, flexible working arrangements, and a range of benefits.

Benefits

26 days holiday per year

Performance-related pay

Generous Pension Scheme

Health and wellbeing support

Qualifications

• Proven ability to develop an understanding of a technical discipline and a keenness to develop expertise in Environmental Permitting.
• Excellent planning, organisation, and verbal/written communication skills.
• Strong communication and relationship-building skills, with the ability to negotiate and liaise with stakeholders.

Responsibilities

• Ensure systems are updated with relevant permit information and regulatory requirements.
• Advise operational teams on regulatory requirements and facilitate business plan roll-out.
• Support Installations team on AMP8 projects, providing technical advice to ensure compliance.

Skills

Excellent planning

Strong analytical background

Communication skills

Negotiation skills

IT literacy

Education

Degree in Environmental Science

Tools

Excel

Power BI

Equis

Job description

At Thames Water, we make a daily difference to our 16 million customers by supplying 2.6 billion litres of water through 32,000 km of pipes, keeping taps flowing and toilets flushing. We deliver life's essential service so our customers, communities and the environment can thrive.

As the UK’s largest water company, we are taking action for a new world of water – fixing the problems of today and building resilience for tomorrow. Our environmental performance is monitored and evaluated by our regulators using a range of measures, such as our compliance with our environmental permits, and the number and severity of pollution incidents that we cause, which in turn informs our Environmental Performance Assessment (EPA).

What you’ll be doing as an Environmental Permitting Specialist

• This role is critical in ensuring our systems are up to date with the relevant and current permit information and regulatory requirements.
• Follow existing permitting processes and methodologies and propose any suggested improvements to the Installations Manager. This role may also support notifications to the business of new permit changes.
• Advise our operational teams and engineering partners on the interpretation of regulatory requirements and outputs to facilitate the roll‑out of the agreed business plan.
• Support the Installations team on AMP8 projects working with Capital Delivery and Engineering, providing technical advice to ensure assets comply with their environmental permits and negotiating with the Environment Agency on technical permitting matters, where necessary. This may include site visits and supporting our Operational teams on
• This role will support the 25 Sludge Treatment Centre permits and compliance with the Industrial Emissions Directive (IED).
• Negotiate with the Environment Agency regarding new permits and changes to existing permits, submitting applications where necessary, related to Capital Schemes. Ensure the interests of the company are protected, that cost implications are minimised and regulatory requirements are appropriate.
• Making informed and timely decisions based on analysis of technical data and interpretation of regulator guidance.
• Contribute to improving compliance with all conditions of environmental permits by supporting other teams within the Environmental Regulation & Quality and the wider business.
• Contribute to production and coordination of monitoring and reporting reports and provide second assurance role.
• Ensure timely responses to regulator requests for information related to permits or applications, working collaboratively across teams to deliver high-quality submissions.

Base Location

Hybrid – Clearwater Court, Reading (Some travel to sites may be required).

Working Pattern

Full-time, Monday–Friday. (36 hours per week)

Salary

Competitive salary up to £55,000 per annum – depending upon experience.

What you should bring to the role

Essential criteria to help you succeed in this role:

• Proven ability to develop an understanding of a technical discipline and a keenness to develop expertise in Environmental Permitting.
• Excellent planning, organisation, and verbal/written communication skills.
• A passion to improve our environmental performance.
• Strong communication and relationship‑building skills, with the ability to negotiate and liaise with stakeholders.
• Strong analytical background, including Excel & Power BI.
• Excellent IT literacy to enable learning of internal data systems, for example Equis.

Additional skills and experiences would be great to have/bring

• Advocate for the environment with demonstrable track record of compliance and environmental excellence.
• An operational background in water, wastewater, air emissions, waste, or similar regulated industries.
• Practical understanding of environmental permitting and the associated Environment Agency guidance.
• Experience working with environmental regulations.
• Evidence of working flexibly across organisations, building and/or improving ways of working and embedding them into organisations.
• Degree in Environmental Science, Environmental Management or Data Management or a related field.

What’s in it for you

• Competitive salary up to £55,000 per annum – depending upon experience.
• 26 days holiday per year, increasing to 30 with the length of service (plus bank holidays).
• Performance‑related pay plan directly linked to company performance measures and targets.
• Generous Pension Scheme through AON.
• Access to a range of benefits to support health, wellbeing and finances – including annual health MOTs, physiotherapy and counselling, Cycle to Work schemes, shopping vouchers and life assurance.

Who are we?

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.

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’re here to help and support.

Disclaimer

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