Senior River Health Officer

Yorkshire Water; Leeds; Hybrid; GBP 37,000 - 42,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Company van

Annual bonus

Pension up to 12%

Career progression plan

25 days + 2 wellness days

Life assurance 4× pensionable salary

Health & other benefits package

Retail savings scheme

Online GP service

Cycle to work

Gym discounts

Job summary

Yorkshire Water is seeking a Senior River Health Officer to join the River Health team in the Yorkshire region. You will undertake investigations to improve and monitor river health, collaborate with communities, and support environmental initiatives across watercourses within the region.

The role requires experience in ecological assessment, strong stakeholder engagement, and the ability to manage multiple priorities. Hybrid working is available with two days in the office per week.

Qualifications

• Experience in ecological assessment of watercourses and identification of pollution indicators.
• Ability to manage conflicting priorities and coordinate with multiple stakeholders.
• Experience of embedding change and influencing culture within teams.

Responsibilities

• Delivery of environmental assessments post pollution events to determine impact, including invertebrate sampling.
• Reporting of misconnections and network abuse to help target operational activities.
• Proactive inspections of watercourses in high pollution areas via catchment walkovers and desktop assessments.
• Completing river habitat assessments / MoRPh surveys on stretches of watercourses.
• River water quality sampling / investigation to identify pollution causes.
• Identifying potential invasive species and escalating their removal to partners or biodiversity team.
• Developing reports for regulator submissions demonstrating environmental impact.
• Liaising with external stakeholders to ensure positive outcomes and regulatory targets.
• Deliver basic routine inspection and maintenance of outfalls and river structures.
• Completing outfall assessments, mapping assets and supporting investigations and engagement leads.
• Engage with customers at community events and manage relationships with local groups.

Skills

Environmental assessments

Ecology & watercourses

Stakeholder engagement

Project coordination

Education

Environmental subject degree

Job description

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Hello! Thanks for stopping by. Let us tell you about all the great reasons to join us here at Yorkshire Water:

• We offer a salary from £37,476 - £42,224 per annum, depending on experience
• Company van
• Annual performance related bonus
• Attractive pension scheme (up to 12% company contribution)
• Development opportunities in line with the Senior River Health Officer progression plan
• 25 days annual leave plus bank holidays – plus two extra wellness day!
• Life assurance cover of 4 times pensionable salary
• A great benefits package – choose from health cash plan scheme, critical illness insurance, dental insurance, life assurance flex and partner cover.
• Retail savings scheme
• Online GP service, cycle to work scheme, gym membership discounts and many more!

Location: Leeds Valley Park/ Hybrid Working (a mix of office and home working)

Work type: Permanent. 37 hours per week, Monday – Friday between the working window of 8:00am-6:00pm.

We have an exciting opportunity for a Senior River Health Officer to join the River Health team and be a part of improving the environment in Yorkshire. Could this be you?

What we do:

Everyone has an idea of what a water company does. Here in Yorkshire, we make sure that over 5.4 million people living in the region and the millions of people who visit our region each year, can rely on our services, and have clean and safe drinking water on tap and that their wastewater is taken away. But for us, it’s so much more than this.

We look after communities, protect the environment, and plan to look after Yorkshire’s water, today, tomorrow 24/7, 365 days a year. We provide essential water and wastewater services to every corner of the Yorkshire region, and play a key role in the region’s health, wellbeing, and prosperity.

New environmental legislation, unprecedented levels of investment, and changing expectations from customers means that this is an exciting time to discover opportunities within the water industry.

Where you fit in –

As Senior River Health Officer you will work as part of a team to undertake the company's investigations relating to watercourses with regards to improving and monitoring river health.

This will Include the following aspects:

• Delivery of environmental assessments post pollution events to determine impact, including invertebrate sampling.
• Reporting of misconnections and network abuse to help target operational activities.
• Providing additional proactive Inspections of watercourses in high profile pollution areas through catchment walkovers and desktop assessments.
• Completing river habitat assessments / MoRPh surveys on stretches of watercourses.
• River water quality sampling / investigation to Identify causes of pollution, some of which may not be associated with Yorkshire Water.
• Identifying potential invasive species and escalating their removal to partners or biodiversity team.
• Developing reports suitable for submission to a regulator, which demonstrate environmental impact.
• Liaising with the external stakeholders to ensure positive outcomes for the company and customers, and compliance with regulatory targets
• Deliver basic routine inspection and maintenance of outfalls (e.g. cleaning) and other Yorkshire Water owned river structures (e.g. fish passes)
• Completing outfall assessments, mapping assets and supporting the Investigation & Engagement Leads in investigating issues raised by customers / stakeholders / river water quality data.

You will also engage with Yorkshire Water customers through the attendance at community events, such as volunteer events, community fairs, and river clean-ups, and manage relationships with local interest groups, citizen science and environmental academics concerned about River Health alongside the Investigation & Engagement Leads.

What skills and qualifications you will need:

• While a degree in relevant environmental subject is beneficial, we recognise that potential candidates may have lots of relevant experience without formal education, so applications with a successful track record within an equivalent position/sector are welcome.
• Experience in ecological assessment of watercourses and identification of pollution indicators.
• Experience of supporting and embedding change, able to influence and drive the right culture and behaviours.
• Ability to manage conflicting priorities and balance the needs of multiple stakeholders.
• Ability to work alone on your own initiative while contributing to a joint team purpose.
• Experience of working collaboratively with community groups and/or other external river health stakeholders.
• Good knowledge of wastewater operations and/or river health/ecology

The role will involve travel to different sites across Yorkshire, therefore you will need a UK driving licence with no more than 6 points.

We embrace a flexible working model, where our hybrid setup typically requires an average of two days in the office per week. This could be slightly more when collaborative efforts, training or meeting deadlines demand it. For those who prefer to work on-site, our office is open Monday-Friday during working hours.

Recruitment Process –

We are proud to serve the Yorkshire region and are committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment that is reflective of the communities we serve. We strongly encourage candidates of all different backgrounds to apply.

If successful for the role, you will be required to undergo pre-employment checks that will include a Basic Disclosure Check, carried out through a Third Party Company, prior to commencing employment. Depending on the role, you may also be required to go through the security vetting process for either a Counter Terrorist Check or Security Check clearance.

All our roles are subject to a medical questionnaire, and further medicals when required.