Research jobs in United Kingdom

We are seeking an Intelligence Research Officer to join National Environmental Crime Unit NECU in a dynamic part of the business. The Environment Agency’s ambition is to be an intelligence-led organisation so having the ability to manage intelligence professionally and in line with current guidance is essential to ensuring threat, risk and harm is appropriately assessed and managed. Environmental crime is a strategic priority, attracting high profile attention from the public, media, national and international stakeholders. This role provides an exciting opportunity to support investigations and help prioritise and drive forward interventions to remove unlawful operators from the waste regimes. You will help deliver our response to it by pro-actively developing and accessing intelligence from a range of sources to inform decision making and provide actionable intelligence products for our customers. We are fully committed to having an inclusive workforce to reflect the communities we serve. We welcome flexible working patterns for our vacancies, including job share, so please clearly include any information regarding your preferred working arrangements on your application. 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 support you with your incident role.

Any future recruitment will be taken from the reserve list.

NECU supports the Environment Agency’s enforcement community which is spread across 14 geographical areas and a number of national services – tackling around 40,000 suspected and alleged offences each year. We help to protect and improve the environment by regulating industry, ensuring compliance, and eliminating illegal activities including Organised Crime Groups. You will be part of our Intelligence & Partnerships department, working with intelligence professionals, providing intelligence products and assessments to support colleagues.

You’ll need to collect and evaluate data and information from a wide variety of sources to produce or inform intelligence products as well as preparing and delivering research summaries so you must have experience of interrogating IT systems and databases. An enthusiasm and curiosity for finding information is essential.

• Good communication skills with the ability to listen to others and transmit information effectively
• Ability to represent the Environment Agency professionally with a variety of partners
• Ability to use own initiative and identify when a change in approach is needed
• Skills in using standard IT packages. An ability to retrieve information effectively and accurately
• Good team working skills and a supportive approach that is inclusive to everyone you work with
• An ability to flex between tasks and juggle various administrative activities to support your colleagues and customers

• You will need to be comfortable with working in a dispersed team.
• Location is flexible with a mix of home and office working; travel to Birmingham and Sheffield offices may be required occasionally.
• Interviews will be via Microsoft Teams and are expected to be in September 2025.
• We want to reflect the diverse communities that we serve and welcome applications from under-represented groups. We also have flexible working and guaranteed interview policies for disabled applicants.
• Security vetting checks (SC and NPPV3) will be required.
• The Environment Agency is not part of HM Civil Service; see additional notes on eligibility and continuous service in the full description.

For an informal discussion please contact vacancy managers at pete.booth@environment-agency.gov.uk or sam.morrison@environment-agency.gov.uk

1. Achieves Results — Tell us about a time when you undertook work requiring you to alternate between several activities in a short space of time. How did you ensure you delivered everything that was asked of you?
2. Data and Information Management — Tell us about an occasion when you’ve had to gather detailed information from a variety of sources in order to inform a decision. How did you go about it?
3. Builds and Sustains Relationships — Tell us about a time when you had to establish a rapport with an important customer or partner. What did you do to develop your relationship with them?

We are committed to having a diverse and inclusive workforce to reflect the communities we serve. We welcome flexible working patterns for all vacancies, including job share, and have a Guaranteed Interview Policy to support disabled applicants.

• Seniority level: Associate
• Employment type: Full-time
• Job function: Research, Analyst, and Information Technology

Locations mentioned: Leeds, England, United Kingdom; Maidstone, England, United Kingdom. Recruitment information and date are current at posting time and may be subject to change.