Senior Strategy & Government Relations Advisor - 32601

ENVIRONMENT AGENCY; Greater London; On-site; GBP 60,000 - 80,000; Full time

Job summary

A governmental agency in the UK is seeking a Senior Strategy & Government Relations Advisor to shape strategic thinking and strengthen collaboration with Government and key stakeholders. The successful candidate will manage important relationships, provide expert advice on various environmental issues, and support the Agency’s corporate strategy. Requirements include strong analytical and communication skills, with a focus on political judgment and relationship-building. The role allows for flexible working arrangements and is based in London.

Benefits

Flexible working patterns

Inner London weighting of £4,406 per annum

Qualifications

• Self-motivated individuals who can manage a busy portfolio of work.
• Experienced advisors with a customer-focused mindset.
• Excellent understanding of Government and Parliamentary processes.

Responsibilities

• Shape the Agency’s strategic thinking and work with Government.
• Manage relationships with Government departments.
• Provide expert advice on reputational, political, and strategic issues.

Skills

Political judgment

Agile thinking

Analytical skills

Relationship-building

Communication skills

Job description

Senior Strategy & Government Relations Advisor – 32601

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Job Details

Number of jobs available: 4

Region: London, National

City/Town: London, All

Building/Site: DEFRA GRP MARSHAM STREET, SW1P 4DF

Grade: Staff Grade 6

Post Type: Permanent

Role Type: Business Management & Improvement

Working Pattern: Full Time, Part Time

Salary Minimum: £54,940

Closing Date: 04/01/2026, 23:55 hours

Security checks level: Basic Check

Job Description

We are looking for four enthusiastic and experienced individuals to join the Environment Agency’s Strategy Directorate. Successful candidates will either join the Government Relations or the Strategy teams within the Directorate. In this role, you’ll shape the Agency’s strategic thinking and strengthen its work with Government, Parliament, and key stakeholders. Critical work may include managing relationships with Government departments, producing strategic insights on future environmental challenges, leading analytical sprints, responding to Select Committee inquiries, devising political engagement strategies, and supporting the design and delivery of the Agency’s corporate strategy EA2030.

You will provide expert advice to the Chair, Chief Executive, Executive Directors, and senior managers on reputational, political, and strategic issues, working across multiple teams and cross‑cutting projects. Your work will span issues such as flood risk, climate change, environmental protection, circular economy, planning, and water resources. The role requires agile and creative thinking, political nous, strong relationship‑building and communication, and solid analytical skills. It also involves supporting the Agency’s emergency response during major flood incidents and may include line management. Working flexibly within the Directorate, you will protect and enhance the Agency’s strategy and reputation across Whitehall, Westminster, and beyond.

The Team

These roles sit within the Environment Agency’s Strategy Directorate, working across two fast‑paced teams: Government Relations – which leads parliamentary engagement, ministerial briefing, and stakeholder relationships – and Strategy – which drives corporate strategy, future thinking, and mission‑focused delivery.

Working at the heart of the organisation, you will lead high‑profile work, from managing relationships with government departments to driving the vision set out in our EA2030 corporate strategy.

Experience / Skills Required

We are looking for self‑motivated individuals who can manage a busy portfolio of work and deliver results through others from across the organisation on time, to a high standard. You will be an experienced advisor, customer‑focused, with great communication skills and an excellent understanding of Government and Parliamentary processes.

• Sound political judgment and awareness
• Agile, curious thinking and strong analytical skills, with the ability to solve problems
• Ability to work closely with senior managers and build networks quickly
• Flexibility to deliver high‑quality work under pressure to tight deadlines
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills
• Strong attention to detail, and the ability to present information clearly
• Experience in organisation‑wide strategies and/or engagement, including stakeholder mapping
• Knowledge of environmental issues and/or sustainable growth (desirable)

This role requires influencing skills and the ability to collaborate effectively to shape outcomes that protect and enhance the Environment Agency’s reputation.

Contact and Additional Information

The successful candidates will preferably be based at our Marsham Street office in London or may travel there frequently. London‑based roles require an enhanced security check, including at least three years’ UK residency. This post is eligible for inner London weighting (£4,406 per annum).

We welcome flexible working patterns, including hybrid arrangements, and will consider civil service secondments.

For queries, contact .

Applications are “blind” assessed using competency question responses.

Interviews will be held via MS Teams from mid‑January.

This role includes incident response duties; please see the Candidate Information Pack for details.

Competence 1 – Builds and Sustains Relationships

Definition: Develops and maintains effective working relationships

Building effective relationships with people inside and outside the organisation is critical in this role.

Question: Tell us about a time you had to build and sustain effective relationships with senior colleagues inside your organisation and external stakeholders (e.g., Government departments, Parliament, partners) to deliver a key outcome. What did you do, and what was the result?

Competence 2 – Manages Self

Definition: Has full awareness of own strengths, weaknesses, impact and approach. Effectively organises self and takes personal responsibility for own role in the Environment Agency.

The work of the team can sometimes be highly reactive and variable, often with urgent deadlines.

Question: Tell us about a time when you had to manage yourself effectively under pressure to meet critical deadlines, manage conflicting priorities, and support your team. How did you organise your work, maintain focus, and ensure you delivered high‑quality results?

Competence 3 – Influences and Persuades Others

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.

In this role you will frequently need to convince colleagues that a particular course of action is right. Often they will be very senior colleagues.

Question: Tell us about a time when you had to persuade senior colleagues or stakeholders to support a course of action that was critical to delivering results across multiple teams. How did you present your case convincingly, overcome resistance, and ensure they willingly followed the plan?

Competence 4 – Delivers Results Through Others

Definition: Harnesses the team to deliver results on time, to required standards and in line with organisational processes and procedures.

This is a busy role with multiple portfolios, and you will need to deliver results for senior customers through your team and through colleagues across the organisation.

Question: Describe a time when you had to deliver a high‑profile project, working across various teams and colleagues at pace. How did you organise the work, motivate others, and ensure delivery on time and to the required standard?

Additional Information

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.

Artificial intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application; however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action. Although the Environment Agency is a non‑departmental public body sponsored by Defra, we subscribe to and align with the candidate guidance on the use of artificial intelligence found on the . Please review for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.