Water Resources Permitting Officer - Ipswich

About this role

City/Town - Ipswich

Post Type - Permanent

Working Pattern - Full time, part time/job share

Salary Minimum - £28,607 pro-rata

Join the Environment Agency and be part of the solution! Together, we drive sustainable growth, tackle climate change, and work for a greener, safer future for all.

The Role

We are looking for eight enthusiastic and highly motivated individuals, four based in Nottingham and four in Ipswich, who will join our Water Resources Permitting teams.  The successful candidates will help create a cleaner, safer, and healthier environment by assessing and determining applications for environmental licences, as well:

• Managing a busy caseload, assessing multiple applications simultaneously
• Delivering high-quality, risk-based permitting decisions to deadlines
• Proactively manage your workload, escalating issues and seeking support when needed
• Developing and maintaining excellent working relationships with customers

Training and Development

You will receive full training, mentoring, and coaching to help you develop your technical skills and knowledge in:

• Assessing applications for water abstraction licences
• Understanding environmental sensitivities (hydropower sites, irrigation, navigation, wetlands)
• Making sound technical decisions within tight timeframes
• Building effective relationships with customers and partners
• Understanding environmental permitting legislation and policies

About the Team

Our Permitting Teams play a vital role in protecting the environment and supporting sustainable economic growth. We assess and determine environmental permit applications, provide expert advice and guidance to both internal and external customers, and support wider Environment Agency functions such as flood response and environmental incident management.

You'll be part of a dedicated team of permitting officers based in either Nottingham or Ipswich, working within a supportive, hybrid working model, spending at least 20% of your time in the office. Occasional national travel may also be required.

Incident response is a core part of life at the Environment Agency. Everyone is expected to undertake relevant training and contribute to incident response duties when required. This is a key way we protect communities and prevent environmental harm, and it's an essential part of your role.

Further information on incident response can be found in the candidate pack.

What We're Looking For

We're looking for people who are passionate about protecting the environment and who are comfortable at making risk-based decisions.  The Water Resources Permitting Officers would also demonstrate: 

• Experience dealing with customers
• Strong written and verbal communication skills
• Good organisational skills – able to manage your own caseload and meet deadlines
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office (Outlook, Teams, Word, Excel, SharePoint) and the ability to learn bespoke systems
• Attention to detail and ability to produce high-quality, accurate work
• Self-directed learning alongside provided training
• Able to work under pressure and meet performance targets
• Confident working both independently and within a virtual or hybrid team

We welcome applications from candidates with transferable skills. You don't need a degree or direct experience in water permitting — your potential matters!

What We Offer

At the Environment Agency, we support your career and wellbeing. Our benefits include:

• Hybrid and flexible working options (minimum 1 day in the office)
• 25 days annual leave (plus public holidays), increasing with service
• Flexi-time to support work-life balance
• Excellent training and career development
• A generous 19% employer pension contribution
• Supportive, inclusive teams and active staff networks
• Two additional paid volunteering days for environmental work

Contact and Additional Information:

Should you wish to understand more about the role, please contact James Hines or Louise Sydney, Water Resources Team Leaders: James.hines@environment-agency.gov.uk or Louise.sydney@environment-agency.gov.uk.

• All assessments and interviews will be conducted via Microsoft Teams
• Successful candidates may be placed on a reserve list for future vacancies (up to 12 months)

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. Please see our candidate guidance for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.

Closing Date: 18th August 2025

Interview dates: w/c 8th and 15th September 2025