Regulatory Officer

Regulatory Officer (Process Industry – Installations

Number of jobs available

1

Region

North East

City/Town

Darlington , Newcastle

Building/Site

DEFRA GRP EA TEESDALE HOUSE, DL1 4GQ, DEFRA GRP EA TYNESIDE HOUSE, NE4 7AR

Grade

Staff Grade 4

Post Type

Permanent

Role Type

Operational Delivery

Working Pattern

Full Time, Part Time/Job Share

Salary Minimum

£34,320

Closing Date:

23/11/2025, 23:55 hours

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Security checks level

Basic Check

Job description

We are looking for a professional individual with science or engineering qualifications and/or relevant experience of working in process industry, to regulate sites operating in a range of industrial sectors including Chemicals, Combustion, Waste Incineration, Food and Drink, Paper & Pulp, and Hazardous Waste treatment.

Supporting and regulating industry will place you at the forefront of our aims to enable:

• Healthy air, land, and water,
• Sustainable growth, and
• A nation resilient to climate change.

Your job will require you to work as part of a team and independently to use a wide range of regulatory and enforcement tools:

• leading site-based audits at industrial sites, assessing data and information to produce accurate and timely written assessments of the operator's ability to protect the environment, prevent pollution and optimise use of resources.

• completing desk-top assessments of monitoring data, operational procedures and management systems.

• influencing and negotiating with operators to secure best practice, often dealing with people at senior levels within industry and the local stakeholder communities.

• where necessary setting conditions under which a site may continue to operate and enforcing the law should they fail to comply.

• responding and investigating environmental incidents and regulatory breaches, to ensure that remedial and enforcement actions are implemented.

You will need to be comfortable with a changing work environment and organisation, as we continue to transform the way we work, including our digital services, making our business more efficient and improving our customer service.

At the Environment Agency we aspire for inclusivity to thrive in our workforce. We embrace equal opportunities and flexible work arrangements, ensuring everyone can contribute and succeed.

The team

Our team is part of the Regulated Industry department, based at our Darlington or Newcastle upon Tyne offices. We cover the Tees Valley industry cluster, Cleveland, Northumberland, Durham, and Tyne and Wear.

We regulate industry mainly under the Environmental Permitting Regulations but as part of the Joint Competent Authority, we also regulate sites alongside the Health and Safety Executive under the Control of Major Accident Hazards (COMAH) Regulations.

Experience/skills required

You will be able to demonstrate your relevant scientific/engineering qualifications (degree or equivalent) and/or experience of working in process industry or regulation. You may have, or be working towards, membership of a relevant professional body.

Experience of environmental regulation and/or enforcement is desirable, but you'll need to have excellent communication and interpersonal skills, capable of being a trusted and effective regulator.

You will be able to confidently and quickly deal with complex and fast changing situations by adopting a pragmatic approach, achieving the best outcomes for the environment. We take a "one team" approach, so whilst you'll have good organisational skills, you'll be able to flex and re-prioritise, working across teams to meet our aims.

Experience of incident management is also desirable, we work with emergency responders and other professional partners to prepare and respond to a wide range of environmental incidents including pollution, flooding, drought and animal disease outbreaks.

Contact and additional information

This is a permanent post, based in our Newcastle or Darlington offices and we welcome flexible working patterns for all our vacancies, including job share.

A full UK driving licence will be required for travel around the North East Area and with occasional travel nationally. In line with our travel policy, arrangements can be made for business travel such as the use of pool or hire cars, or personal car, if insured for business use.

For questions relating to this role, please contact Dave Edwardson on or david.-

Interviews will be held in January 2026 face-to-face at our Newcastle office, or by exception on MS Teams.

Competence 1

Takes Decisions and Solves Problems

Description

Finds and delivers optimal solutions by effectively analysing all the information, probing to develop alternatives and taking sound and timely decisions.

Please describe a time when you had to take a difficult decision or solve a complex problem.

Competence 2

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.

Please tell us about a time when you have delivered a project or complex piece of work.

Competence 3

Builds and Sustains Relationships

Description

Develops and maintains effective working relationships.

Please describe a time when you have worked with others to develop an effective working relation in order to achieve your goals.

Competence 4

Influences and Persuades Others

Description

Presenting a case in a convincing and attractive way that will win people over, encouraging them to follow plans willingly; often succeeding where logic and reason alone would fail.

Please describe a time when you had to overcome resistance to influence or persuade others to take a course of action that required a significant change or investment for them.

Role specific license requirements

Full UK driver's license or equivalent

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 for more information.

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. Although the Environment Agency is a non-departmental public body sponsored by Defra, we subscribe to and align with the candidate guidance on the use of artificial intelligence found on the Civil Service Careers website. Please review for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.