Reservoir Regulation Leader: Public Safety & Strategy

Environment Agency; Ware; Hybrid; GBP 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

The Environment Agency seeks an experienced leader to head the Reservoir Regulation team and drive safety and compliance with the Reservoirs Act 1975 across England. You will set strategic priorities, lead a dispersed team, foster a high‑performance culture, and influence senior stakeholders and external partners to secure robust public safety outcomes now and into the future.

You will also play a pivotal role in collaborating with Defra and civil colleagues to reform reservoir regulation while

Qualifications

• Significant experience in Regulation, Civil Engineering, Law or similar and relevant subject to Reservoir Regulation.
• Strategic leadership — Proven experience setting and translating strategic intent into confident, high‑quality operational delivery.
• High‑performance culture — A track record of driving high performance, modelling personal accountability, and fostering psychological safety where people feel empowered and supported.
• Innovative thinking - Ability to generate creative ideas, challenge assumptions, and deliver value through new approaches
• Confident decision‑making — Skilled at making proportionate, risk‑based decisions under pressure and at pace while removing barriers to delivery.
• Influential collaboration - Able to build consensus and influence senior internal and external stakeholders to secure the best outcomes for the environment and the business.

Responsibilities

• Lead proactive stakeholder management to build trust and create opportunities for collaboration.
• Set strategic priorities aligned to EA Regulatory strategy and motivate the team to deliver efficiently.
• Develop and embed a culture of continuous improvement to adapt to changing needs.
• Foster a culture of psychological safety enabling confident decision making and innovation.
• Manage complex, fast-paced multi-agency operational risks to uphold public safety.
• Provide input for Reservoir Safety Reform Programme with senior user involvement.
• Drive strategic leadership and translate intent into high-quality operational delivery.
• Model and sustain a high-performance culture with accountability and support.

Skills

Regulation experience

Civil Engineering

Law/regulation

Strategic leadership

High-performance culture

Innovative thinking

Decision making

Stakeholder influence

Job description

The Environment Agency seeks an experienced leader to head the Reservoir Regulation team and drive safety and compliance with the Reservoirs Act 1975 across England. You will set strategic priorities, lead a dispersed team, foster a high‑performance culture, and influence senior stakeholders and external partners to secure robust public safety outcomes now and into the future.

You will also play a pivotal role in collaborating with Defra and civil colleagues to reform reservoir regulation while