Number of jobs available: 1
Region: National
City/Town: All, Various
Building/Site: Various, All
Grade: Staff Grade 5
Post Type: Permanent
Working Pattern: Full Time
Role Type: Operational Delivery
Salary Minimum: £39,635
Job description
The Environment Agency protects and improves water quality in our rivers, lakes, and seas.
In Operations Catchment Services we help make this happen. We provide a professional water quality modelling service to customers such as our environmental planning, water company account and permitting teams. Our work helps identify where improvements in water quality may best be invested to maximum effect.
We provide technical advice on water quality related topics such as water quality modelling, wastewater flow and urban drainage via our five technical teams. We assess new discharge proposals by combining environmental data with discharge data and recommend actions that will focus infrastructure investment.
As a Specialist you will have the responsibility of being a technical leader. You will provide timely answers to technical questions from colleagues, coordinate the response and retain an overview. In the Freshwater team, our primary focus is water quality planning for river catchments and lakes, where we assess the impact of discharges on water quality and help identify potential solutions. Please refer to our candidate pack for more information about our typical work.
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
We are a dispersed team of technical experts that specialize in all aspects of water quality modelling and planning. We use technology to communicate and work virtually, meeting face to face when the need arises. This allows us to be flexible on location for the role. Training and mentoring support will be provided.
Experience/skills required
You need to be experienced in:
manipulating and analysing large data sets
using numerical models to help recommend actions
explaining complex information simply
using GIS and statistical packages
Experience of water quality modelling and of the water industry is desirable.
You will need to have great communication and organisation skills to ensure you provide a quality service.
Contact and additional information
We aim to create and maintain a diverse workforce that reflects the UK’s working population. Therefore, we particularly welcome applications from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME), disabled, female and LGBT+ candidates who are under-represented across our workforce. We welcome applications from candidates seeking flexible working patterns, including part time and job share.
Please read the candidate pack for more information and for more information contact Graham Watt - Graham.Watt@environment-agency.gov.uk or 07827 990579.
Interviews will be held in May/June using MS Teams and will be capability based. For information on these capabilities and the indicators associated with them please see: Environment Agency capability dictionary
For information on what you can expect working for us, please explore: https://environmentagencycareers.co.uk/
Job description attachment 1
Job Profile – 29017.docx – 55KB
Converted File Job Profile – 29017.docx.pdf – 64KB
Job description attachment 2
Additional Information Document_WaterQualitySpecialist.docx – 4909KB
Converted File Additional Information Document_WaterQualitySpecialist.docx.pdf – 396KB
Candidate pack
Candidate Pack – 29017.docx – 2040KB
Converted File Candidate Pack – 29017.docx.pdf – 553KB
Closing Date: 26/05/2024, 23:55 hours
Level of security checks required: Basic Check
Competence 1: Communicates Effectively
Description
PLEASE NOTE: Your answers will be used for interview selection – please draw out your skills and experience in your response.
Description: Listens and questions to understand and engage. Conveys information and ideas clearly, accurately and persuasively through speech and writing.
You will need to communicate technical data to a wide range of people.
Please describe a time when you presented to an audience of varying technical backgrounds.
What communication style did you use?
How was your communication received?
How did you ensure your message had been understood?
What would you change in future?
Please use the STAR approach when formulating your response and consider how it would relate to this role.
Competence 2: Takes Decisions and Solves Problems
Description
Description: Finds and delivers optimal solutions by effectively analysing all the information, probing to develop alternatives and taking sound and timely decisions.
When have you had to solve a complex problem?
What was the issue?
What made it complex?
What information did you need to solve it?
What was the outcome?
Please use the STAR approach when formulating your response and consider how it would relate to this role.
Competence 3: Numerical Modelling and Forecasting
Description
Description: Interprets data and information to forecast the state of the environment, including large-scale trends such as climate change, and more localised forecasting such as water quality.
Describe a time when you have either produced or audited a numerical model, or analysed data, to forecast the state of the environment.
What were the questions you needed to answer?
What was the model / data source?
How did you approach the problem?
Please use the STAR approach when formulating your response and consider how it would relate to this role.
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 https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/become-a-crown-commercial-service-supplier/becoming-a-supplier-through-the-crown-commercial-service-what-you-need-to-know for more information.
