Senior Environmental Scientist

Adult Learning; England; Hybrid; GBP 38,000 - 41,000; Full time

Job summary

A local authority in the UK seeks a Senior Environmental Scientist to manage and assess closed landfill sites. You will be responsible for environmental modelling, compliance, and monitoring activities in a collaborative environment. Candidates should have a degree in a relevant field and be adept at handling stakeholders and data analysis. Flexible working conditions are provided, promoting life-work balance.

Benefits

Competitive salary

Generous holiday entitlement

Health and Wellbeing services

Flexible working opportunities

Local Government Pension Scheme

Qualifications

• Experience in the waste or contaminated land industry preferred.
• Ability to build strong working relationships with stakeholders.
• Capacity to manage leachate sources and monitor groundwater.

Responsibilities

• Lead groundwater and surface water assessments.
• Monitor leachate impacts and provide management strategies.
• Update GIS database of landfill infrastructure.

Skills

Excellent communication and interpersonal skills

IT literacy

Education

Degree in Environmental Science, Earth Science, or Geology

Job description

Job Description

Senior Environmental Scientist | 8589 | Permanent Contract | 37 hours per week | £38,626 to £40,476 per annum (Scale J) | County Hall, Norwich

Join Norfolk County Council as a Senior Environmental Scientist. Play a vital role in protecting Norfolk’s environment by helping manage closed landfill sites. You’ll lead groundwater and surface water assessments, monitor leachate impacts, and support permit compliance and restoration strategies. This is a hands-on role combining fieldwork, environmental modelling, and GIS analysis, working alongside engineering and gas specialists in a close-knit, multi-disciplinary team.

Norfolk County Council is looking to appoint a Senior Environmental Scientist to join its Closed Landfill Team. This team is responsible for the management of up to 152 closed landfill sites of which 30 are currently monitored and 7 have Environmental Permits.

In this varied role you will be responsible for monitoring and assessing the effects on groundwater, surface water, and managing the leachate source of the closed landfill sites for which the County Council has responsibility, ensuring compliance with environmental permits and management strategies. You will additionally provide wider support within the Closed Landfill Team and will be working alongside those responsible for the engineering, leachate and gas aspects of landfill management.

You will collate, interpret and distribute monitoring data. Duties also include undertaking environmental assessments and groundwater modelling, site investigation, groundwater remediation and groundwater analysis. You will be responsible for updating the GIS database of landfill infrastructure and providing GIS support to the team.

To be considered for the role you will possess an Environmental Science, Earth Science, or Geology degree at a minimum, ideally with experience in the waste or contaminated land industry. You will be IT literate with excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to build strong working relationships with stakeholders and team members.

The working environment at Norfolk County Council is flexible, with a focus on life-work balance and smarter working arrangements tailored to the role and individual needs. The role involves travel to closed landfill sites, working in all weather conditions, and participating in an on-call rota for out-of-hours emergency response.

For an informal discussion please contact Victoria Gibson, Landfill Strategy Manager on 01603 222699 or e‑mail [e-mail]

These are some benefits you can enjoy by working for Norfolk County Council:

• Competitive salary
• Generous holiday entitlement
• Health and Wellbeing services including fast-track physiotherapy and a free counselling service
• Flexible working opportunities including flexi-time, part time, remote and hybrid working – dependent on your job role and business need.
• Financial benefits such as:
• ‘ Norfolk Rewards’ our employee discounts programme which helps you save money on almost anything, from everyday groceries and clothes, to holidays, new technology, gym membership, trips to the cinema and days out.
• A Blue Light card for Fire Service and Social Care Workers
• Relocation expenses (where applicable)
• An advance of your expenses if you travel for work
• Local Government Pension Scheme with generous employer contribution, life assurance, death in service payments and dependants’ pensions
• Tax efficient ways of getting extra pension and new bikes
• Access to our tax efficient car lease scheme for greener travel enabling you to lease a brand new, ultra-low emission vehicle (subject to eligibility)
• A payment if you refer someone you know to a hard to fill job
  

We want our people to be inspired and motivated to work well together, make the most of our workspaces, enjoy a healthy work-life balance, and deliver excellent services to Norfolk and its people. Flexibility is built into the way we work, with hybrid working a key feature for many roles. Our technology platform and equipment are first class, enabling you to connect and collaborate remotely. We ask that you have in place good Broadband connectivity.

Before you apply, we recommend reading the full Job description and person specification to help you demonstrate how you meet the criteria. You can also find information on our Terms and Conditions here.

Already a Norfolk County Council employee? See and apply for all internal and external vacancies via myOracle using your @norfolk.gov.uk or @nccal.ac.uk email.

Redeployment closing date: 6 August 2025 23:59

All other applicants closing date: 13 August 2025 23:59

About Us

We have miles of beautiful coastline and our unique Broads, thriving market towns and a city with a proud cultural heritage. Our economy is growing and driven by innovation in a number of sectors, including energy and food. We also have ambitious plans for new housing and a building programme for schools across Norfolk. Our county a great place to live, work and visit, and is an excellent environment for businesses to start, grow and innovate.

We are the main local authority for Norfolk providing services countywide to more than 850,000 Norfolk residents. We take the lead in critical policy areas, working with 84 elected Members responsible for the strategic local government services in the county.

We provide a high quality service through involving people who use our services to shape and comment on them and by promoting efficiency and innovation.

We work in partnership with local businesses, voluntary organisations and other local authorities such as District and Parish Councils to provide the people of Norfolk with excellent services.