Groundwater and Contaminated Land Technical Specialist

Groundwater and Contaminated Land Technical Specialist

Number of jobs available

1

Region

North West

City/Town

Penrith , Preston

Building/Site

DEFRA GRP EA GHYLL MOUNT, CA11 9BP, DEFRA GRP EA LUTRA HOUSE, PR5 8BX

Grade

Staff Grade 5

Post Type

Permanent

Role Type

Operational Delivery

Working Pattern

Full Time, Part Time/Job Share

Salary Minimum

£43,198

Closing Date:

23/11/2025, 23:55 hours

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Security checks level

Basic Check

Job description

We are fully committed to having an inclusive workforce to reflect the communities we serve. We welcome flexible working patterns for all our vacancies.

This is an exciting opportunity for an experienced geoscientist with skills in technical leadership, groundwater quality and land contamination management in Cumbria and Lancashire.

You will use your technical knowledge and professional judgement to make challenging operational and regulatory decisions and provide risk-based advice.

Customers include internal teams, water companies, industry, developers and local authorities.

In this role you will provide technical leadership and expertise for the work of the team relating to land and water quality; permitting and planning work relating to land contamination; voluntary remediation; mine-waters and ongoing Part 2A work. You will:

• Provide and oversee specialist support to Installations, Land and Water and Waste teams on land quality and groundwater issues at permitted and unpermitted sites.
• Lead and develop work to protect groundwater and surface water from land contamination and provide advice on risk relating to pollution incidents
• Develop the technical capability of the team - ensuring a high standard of work and planning for development and succession.
• Ensure effective work delivery, prioritising workload and innovating to improve efficiency.
• Interpret and translate technical information and guidance to ensure delivery of practical solutions for customers, colleagues and the environment.

The team

The role will sit within the Area Groundwater and Contaminated Land team in Cumbria and Lancashire. The team includes specialists in groundwater resources, groundwater quality, land contamination and surface water protection. We are currently dispersed across the North-West with offices in Preston and Penrith.

This is an experienced and well-connected team, inclusive and supportive of each other and colleagues. The role will contribute to the area team and be part of the national hydrogeology network.

Experience/skills required

We are seeking a hydrogeologist with at least 8 years relevant experience, qualified to at least degree level in a relevant discipline and chartered or working towards chartership. You will be able to demonstrate most of the following experience and skills:

• a relevant geoscience related degree and a relevant postgraduate qualification, or equivalent experience.
• a professional qualification or Chartered status (typically Geological Society, ICE or CIWEM), or a member and working towards this.
• ability to construct conceptual models, understand contaminant transport in the sub-surface and undertake hydrogeological risk assessment.
• strong communication and interpersonal skills and experience of communicating complex hydrogeological results to non-specialist audiences.
• knowledge of Environmental Permitting Regulations
• knowledge of Town and Country Planning

• knowledge and experience of investigation and remediation of land and groundwater contamination.

• A full Driving Licence is required.

Contact and additional information

The interview will be conducted in person and will include a technical assessment focused on multidimensional conceptualisation relating to the subsurface environment and numerical skills.

We would love to inspire you to apply – please get in touch with Kerry Diamond by email at Kerry.-

This role is office based but involves some travel, and therefore a full UK driving licence is required.

Responding to incidents is a central part of what we do. Everyone that joins us is required to undertake training and participate.

We do not assess CVs. Answers to these competency questions will be used for interview selection so ensure you draw out your skills and experience in your responses. We recommend reading our 'How to apply' page ) before you start.

Competence 1

Achieves Results

Description

Achieves Results (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 give an example of when you had to re-evaluate priorities in response to external factors.

Competence 2

Focuses on Customers and Partners

Description

Focuses on customers and partners (Addresses the needs of internal and external customers, provides rapid and effective responses)

Describe a situation where your technical knowledge and wider environmental understanding has allowed you to meet and balance the needs of customers and the environment.

Competence 3

Technical Skills

Description

Please can you identify the skills you possess that you think are most relevant to the role of a hydrogeologist?

Please use this capability to show the breadth of your technical skills that you've not had the opportunity to include in the previous capability answers. These can include the number of years of experience you've had in specific hydrogeological assessment techniques, remediation, data management and visualisation skills/experience.

Role specific license requirements

Full Driving Licence

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.