Environmental Permitting Specialist - Water Quality

Thames Water; Reading; Hybrid; GBP 47,000 - 58,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Annual leave

Pension scheme

Health assessments

Job summary

Thames Water is seeking an Environmental Permitting Specialist to provide expert permitting and regulatory advice, ensuring compliance and supporting business objectives. The role involves securing and maintaining environmental permits, leading permit applications, and managing complex permitting projects across wastewater and water treatment assets.

You will work with internal teams, regulators, and subject matter experts to deliver high-quality permit submissions on time, while developing

Qualifications

• Experience in environmental permitting, ideally within wastewater.
• Academic background in environmental/regulatory/water industry.
• Strong planning, organisational, and communication skills.
• Excellent technical writing and IT literacy.
• Analytical and problem-solving abilities.

Responsibilities

• Secure and maintain permits to support activities.
• Lead permit applications and variations.
• Manage complex permitting projects with timely submissions.
• Collaborate with internal teams, regulators, and stakeholders.

Skills

Permitting experience

Regulatory knowledge

Planning & organisation

Stakeholder management

Technical writing

Analytical thinking

IT literacy

Education

Environmental/regulatory/water discipline degree

Job description

Environmental permits sit at the heart of Thames Water's operations. They set the requirements our assets must comply with and provide the legal framework that enables us to deliver essential water and wastewater services to millions of customers while protecting the environment.

We are looking for experienced Environmental Permitting Specialists to provide expert permitting and regulatory advice, ensuring compliance, supporting business objectives, and fostering constructive relationships with regulators through the effective management of environmental permits.

This is primarily a highly technical role requiring specialist environmental, regulatory and permitting expertise, with administrative activities forming only a small part of the overall responsibilities.

Location: Hybrid, based in Reading or in any other Thames Water site. At the moment, the role predominantly involves working from home, with occasional travel to Reading and operational sites as required.

What you will be doing as an Environmental Permitting Specialist / Water Quality

You will develop a detailed understanding of our assets and operations, the applicable regulatory requirements, and the wider environmental risks associated with our activities. Working closely with internal teams, technical specialists and regulators, you will ensure compliance with environmental legislation, primarily the Environmental Permitting Regulations, Water Industry Act and Urban Wastewater Treatment Regulations.

You will be responsible for securing and maintaining the permits needed to support our activities, leading permit applications and variations, managing complex permitting projects, and ensuring submissions are delivered to a consistently high standard and within agreed timescales.

This is an excellent opportunity to join an experienced technical team delivering high-impact permitting projects across a diverse portfolio of wastewater and water treatment assets.

• Contribute to complex projects in AMP8 and beyond by providing specialist permitting and regulatory expertise that influences asset design, operational delivery and regulatory outcomes.
• Gain exposure to a broad range of environmental permitting challenges, helping to develop your expertise across multiple regulatory regimes.
• Work collaboratively with regulators, operational teams and subject matter experts across the business.
• Make a visible and lasting impact through the delivery of environmentally responsible and compliant solutions.

If you're looking to further develop your expertise in environmental permitting while working on meaningful projects that deliver real-world environmental outcomes, this could be the perfect next step in your career.

What you should bring to the role

• Experience working in environmental permitting, ideally within the wastewater sector.
• Relevant experience or an academic background in an environmental, regulatory or water industry-related discipline.
• Excellent planning, organisational and communication skills, with the ability to influence, negotiate and build effective relationships with a wide range of stakeholders.
• Strong attention to detail and a commitment to delivering high-quality outputs.
• Strong technical writing skills, with the ability to prepare clear, concise and well-structured permit applications and technical documentation.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, supported by excellent IT literacy.

What’s in it for you?

• Competitive salary of £46,565 - £58,000 per annum, depending on experience
• Annual Leave - 26 days holiday per year, increasing to 30 with the length of service. (Plus bank holidays)
• Performance-related pay is directly linked to company performance measures and targets
• Generous Pension Scheme through AON
• Personal Medical Assessments – Open to all once a year
• Access to lots of benefits to help you take care of your and your family’s health and well-being, and your finances – from annual health MOTs and access to physiotherapy and counselling, to Cycle to Work schemes, shopping vouchers and life assurance

Find out more about our benefits and perks (Please note different T&Cs apply if on secondment)

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. 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.

Learn more about our purpose and values.

Working at Thames Water

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’re here 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.