Senior Managing Lawyer - Environmental Regulation (Water) - 31850

ENVIRONMENT AGENCY; Birmingham; On-site; GBP 125,000 - 150,000; Full time

Job summary

A governmental environmental body is seeking a Senior Managing Lawyer for Environmental Regulation in Birmingham. The successful candidate will lead a team focused on water resources and water quality legislation, providing expert legal advice. This role emphasizes leadership, strategic direction in legal challenges, and collaboration with senior management. Candidates must be qualified solicitors or barristers with extensive experience in public and environmental law.

Benefits

Inclusive workforce policies

Flexible working patterns

Guaranteed interview policy for disabilities

Qualifications

• Significant experience in legal areas including judicial reviews.
• Thorough knowledge of relevant legislation.
• Confidence to assimilate new legal areas quickly.

Responsibilities

• Lead and manage a team providing legal support.
• Develop relationships with senior management on legal issues.
• Provide high quality legal advice in environmental regulation.

Skills

Managing and leading people

Handling complex technical issues

Advising on judicial review

Public law knowledge

Effective cross-cutting collaboration

Writing detailed legal briefings

Effective oral briefing skills

Education

Qualified solicitor or barrister

Job description

Overview

Senior Managing Lawyer - Environmental Regulation (Water) - 31850

Number of jobs available
1

Region
East of England, North West, South East, South West, West Midlands, Yorkshire and the Humber

City/Town
Birmingham, Bristol, Exeter, Leeds, Peterborough, Reading, Warrington

Grade
Staff Grade 7

Post Type
Permanent

Role Type
Legal Services

Working Pattern
Full Time, Part Time/Job Share, Other

Salary Minimum
£66,301

Closing Date
05/10/2025, 23:55 hours

Job description

We are looking for a strong lawyer and leader for the role of Senior Managing Lawyer Environmental Regulation (Water). This role will lead and manage a team providing legal support covering environmental regulation and civil litigation in relation to water resources and water quality (and related areas). This includes advice on environmental law and regulation including any resulting appeals and civil court challenges, including judicial review and injunction applications. You will be a role model for the Environment Agency's leadership behaviours. You will provide leadership on and will be responsible for your team providing timely, risk-based and high quality legal advice and litigation covering regulation, regulatory appeals and judicial reviews in the field of water and related regulation.

You will lead, plan and monitor the strategic direction of the team's contribution to support the delivery of business plans. You will develop and maintain relationships at management level, providing an intermediate escalation point on legal issues for internal Executive Managers and Managers to anticipate and resolve issues, promoting effective partnership working. As with all Senior Managing Lawyer roles you will be required to own, manage and deliver agreed cross-cutting issues on behalf of Legal and Audit Services.

This role is full time or a job share that overall delivers full time cover. We are fully committed to having an inclusive workforce to reflect the communities we serve. We welcome flexible working patterns for all our vacancies. Please include clearly any information regarding your preferred working arrangements on your application.

The team

You will lead a team of Senior Lawyers working on environmental regulation and litigation relating primarily to water quality and resources regulation. This team is part of the National and Environmental Regulation Legal Team, and advises Area operational staff on site based regulation.

Experience/skills required

• Experience of managing and leading people;
• Experience of handling complex technical issues;
• Significant experience advising on one or more of the relevant legal areas: (1) judicial review (2) regulation, civil penalties and appeals to PINs and or the First and Upper tier Tribunals; (3) public law;
• Thorough and up-to-date knowledge of relevant legislation or ability to get up to speed rapidly;
• Confidence and experience to assimilate a new area of environmental or other law quickly;
• Ability to collaborate with other senior lawyers effectively on cross-cutting issues;
• Ability to write detailed legal briefings for use at senior and government level, and correspondence in response to parliamentary questions;
• Confidence and ability to brief orally at director/board/government level;
• Experience of working effectively at a national level and/or with government.

Contact and additional information

You will be a qualified solicitor or barrister with a current right to practise in England.

Your application should outline how you would lead your team to provide an outstanding legal service, and demonstrate your experience and suitability for the role against each of the top 3 competencies: Leads People; Influences and persuades others; Shapes organisational approach and delivery.

Details of how to apply are included in the additional material attached to the candidate pack. The role can be based at any of our main office locations (Bristol, Exeter, Birmingham, Peterborough, Warrington, Leeds, Reading). Some travel will be required. Interviews to take place in October 2025.

Please contact Estelle Palin if you would like to discuss the role in more detail at [e-mail]

Competence 1

Leads People

Description

Definition: Provides leadership that inspires and motivates others to achieve their personal goals and the goals of the Environment Agency.

Please provide an example of where you have shown leadership that inspired and motivated others to achieve a common goal in challenging circumstances.

Competence 2

Influences and Persuades Others

Description

Definition: Presenting a case in a convincing and attractive way that will win people over, encouraging them to follow plans willingly; often succeeding where logic and reason alone would fail.

Please describe a situation in which you were able to positively influence the actions of others in a desired direction, especially if they were initially resistant to your proposals.

Competence 3

Shapes organisational approach & delivery

Description

Definition: Informs Government Policy and / or designs, implements and supports an approach to translate it into cost-effective operational activity delivering outcomes for people and the environment.

Please tell us about a time you have shaped delivery or approaches to ways of working in an organisation.

Role specific license requirements

Qualified solicitor or barrister with a current right to practise in England.

If you are applying from the Civil Service please note that the Environment Agency is not a part of HM Civil Service and you would not be a Crown Servant in the event of being appointed. Therefore, you will not be eligible for continuous service. For applicants who currently work in local government or other bodies listed in the Redundancy Payments (Continuity of Employment in Local Government etc) (Modification) Order 1999, you may be eligible for continuous service for the purpose of calculating any future redundancy payment. If you are unsure of your status then you should contact your own HR Team.

We are fully committed to having a diverse and inclusive workforce to reflect the communities we serve. We welcome flexible working patterns for all our vacancies, including job share, so please include clearly any information regarding your preferred working arrangements on your application.

We also have a Guaranteed Interview Policy to support those with a disability who are seeking employment. We have committed to guaranteeing an interview to anyone with a disability whose application meets the minimum criteria for the post.

The Environment Agency, as a Non-Departmental Public Body, is committed to providing value for money and utilises Central Government frameworks and contracts for all external recruitment needs. For this reason, we are unable to engage with the market directly through post, email or phone calls. Should you wish to become a support supplier on one of these frameworks or contracts please visit for more information.