Senior Water Resources Planner - 36278

Environment Agency; Rotherham; On-site; GBP 42,000 - 66,000; Full time

Job summary

The Environment Agency is seeking a Water Resources Planning Officer to lead regulatory assessments of statutory plans and provide expert guidance to water companies and internal teams. You will evaluate management and drought plans, ensuring alignment with statutory obligations and Defra expectations.

You'll collaborate with national stakeholders, respond to incidents, and support business continuity while maintaining strong relationships with customers and colleagues across EA departments.

Qualifications

• Experience in water resources planning and related regulatory work.
• Ability to understand water company drought plans and resource management plans.
• Strong communication skills for diverse internal and external audiences.
• Ability to influence and persuade and to work well in teams.
• Competence in interpreting large data sets and deriving insights.

Responsibilities

• Lead assessment of Statutory Water Resources Management Plans for water companies.
• Provide timely guidance to colleagues and customers on regulatory planning requirements.
• Support incident management and be available to respond to incidents when required.
• Build and maintain relationships with customers and national stakeholders to inform policy and compliance.

Skills

Water Resources

Water resources planning

Drought plans

Water industry knowledge

Communication skills

Influencing

Interpersonal skills

Data analysis

Problem solving

Job description

Job Description

The Environment Agency are fully committed to having an inclusive workforce to reflect the communities we serve. We don't just talk about diversity; we seek it, embrace it, and live it, for the benefit of our staff, our communities, and our environment.

Job Description

The Environment Agency are fully committed to having an inclusive workforce to reflect the communities we serve. We don't just talk about diversity; we seek it, embrace it, and live it, for the benefit of our staff, our communities, and our environment. The Environment Agency regulates the Water Resources Planning completed by water companies. In Operations Catchment Services we help this happen. We provide a professional water resources regulatory planning service to water companies, assessing resources management & drought plans. Working alongside water companies, accounts & area teams, internal and external stakeholders. Our work helps to inform the publication of water company statutory plans. We provide advice on water resources statutory planning. We assess water company; new and existing statutory plans, longer-term strategic resource options & regular review to provide advice to Defra on water company compliance and deliver against their statutory plans. As a Water Resources Planning officer, you will lead on a water company. You will provide timely assessment of their Statutory Water Resources Management Plans, addressing questions from colleagues and the company, in achieving a publishable plan. In the Water Resources team, our primary focus is water resources planning at company level, where we assess whether their plans attain the regulatory requirements and help identify potential solutions. As a team we share and develop our skills and establish great relationships with our customers to ensure they receive the service they need and understand our expert advice. Responding to incidents is a central part of what we do. You will be required to have an incident role and make yourself available to respond to incidents or provide business continuity support during an incident. This may attract an additional payment and full training, and alternative working arrangements will be available to help you deliver your incident role. The team. You’ll join our Water Resources Planning team which has oversight of the statutory water resources plans of water companies. We assess Water Resources Management Plans & Water Company Drought Plans, supporting policy development for the provision of water. We achieve this by working closely with water companies, national stakeholders, and EA departments ensuring that statutory plans meet key legislation, understanding where to target and prioritise action and provide water resources direction for the business.

Experience/skills Required

• Worked within Water Resources or a relevant field.
• Experience and understanding of key aspects of water resources planning such as water resources management plans, water company drought plans.
• Familiar with the challenges facing water companies with respect to Water Resources.
• Good communication skills as you’ll be working with a variety of internal and external customers and will need to be able to explain and describe sometimes complex technical issues and solutions verbally and in writing through reports, guidance and briefings suitable for the audience.
• Influencing & Persuading skills.
• Good interpersonal skills.
• Experience of working with large data sets and able to interpret the data.
• Experience of solving problems & decision-making through independent and collaborative working.
• Belonging to or working towards a professional body (I.e. CIWEN) would be desirable but not essential.

Contact and additional information

You’ll have an incident management objective in your development plan. We’ll support you to find an incident role to suit your needs and circumstances. Appropriate training will be given.

You’ll have an EA Office base location.

We use smart tools to stay connected and reduce travel; some travel and overnights may be required.

Please see Candidate / Additional Information Pack for more information. Contact Ian Robinson, [e-mail] or Sam Bunce, [e-mail]

Applications are “blind” assessed using your answers to the competency questions.

Interviews will be held via MS Teams within two-three weeks of the closing date.

If you consent to being held on a reserve list, we’ll hold your details for 6 months and may offer you an alternative post.

Competence 1

Achieves Results

Description

Sets and delivers high work standards, demonstrates the drive to meet targets. Prioritises and organises tasks and resources to ensure timely achievement of results. Question: Tell us about a time when you delivered a result under challenging circumstances. When answering please draw upon an experience which is related to water resources planning or a comparable relevant experience. If a large number of applications are received, an initial sift using this lead capability may be conducted. Successful candidates will then proceed to a full sift or directly to assessment/interview. Feedback is generally not available at sift stage. More