Advisor; Chemicals Surveillance and Emerging Risks

Job Description

We are looking for a dynamic thinker who feels passionately about reducing the impacts of chemicals in the environment. You will work with technical specialists to deliver complex and challenging work with a range of duties and be expected to lead your own work and collaborate with others. You do not need to be a chemist, but an awareness of the environmental risks posed by chemicals is essential.

You will play a key role in delivering environmental monitoring projects that provide the evidence needed to support regulatory decisions, policy development, and environmental protection. Working alongside senior specialists and technical leads, you will help plan, coordinate, and deliver monitoring activities, ensuring monitoring data is robust, accessible, and fit for purpose.

This role sits in the Chemicals Surveillance and Emerging Risks Team within the Chemicals Programme, a national team in the Environment and Business Directorate. As a dispersed team you’ll work virtually via MS Teams with travel for face‑to‑face meetings.

• Technical support to the Chemicals Investigation Programme, a long‑running collaboration of research investigations with the water industry to understand and control chemicals in sewage effluents and the environment.
• Technical support to the River Basin Planning lead and PEWS lead.
• Producing technical responses for formal government questions, public enquiries, and information requests.
• Assisting with permitting work across sectors to address complex chemical issues and develop a strategy for the effective regulation of chemicals.
• Oversight of some of our work with the Chief Scientists Group.
• Working with Defra, other UK Regulators, external parties and other parts of the EA such as the National Laboratory Service.

• A strong awareness of ongoing concerns about chemicals in the environment and the ability to work with technical reports.
• Government, regulatory or industrial experience of one or more environmental regimes (e.g. air quality, contaminated land, water quality, waste classification, periodic review etc.) is essential.
• Motivated self‑starter with a can‑do approach.
• Well organised with good attention to detail.
• Comfortable working under your own initiative and as a good team player.
• Ability to work in a virtual team.
• Ability to balance multiple pieces of work in a fast‑paced environment with shifting priorities.
• Flexible and able to respond positively to changing priorities.
• Adapt communication styles to suit your audience and strong written communication skills.
• Proficiency in Word, PowerPoint and Excel and familiarity with MS Teams and SharePoint.

• Experience with Power BI, Python and/or R.

Up to 26 March 2027

The Environment Agency is fully committed to having an inclusive workforce that reflects the communities we serve. We seek, embrace and live diversity for the benefit of our staff, our communities and the environment.