Development, Planning and Permitting Officer

We are the Environment Agency. We protect and improve the environment. Our organisation is diverse, and welcomes applicants from all sections of the community.Reducing the impacts of a changing climate on people and wildlife is at the heart of everything we do. We work with government, local councils, businesses, groups and communities, making our environment a better place. Our work in Flood and Coastal Risk Management is extremely varied. We have a statutory role in the Planning process. We work with internal colleagues and Local Authority Planners to influence and promote sustainable, flood aware development.Our regulatory duties include permitting activity on or near a main river, flood or sea defence structure or in a flood plain, under the Environmental Permitting Regulations, ensuring work does not increase flood risk or damage the environment.You will be involved in the following:•Utilising planning and permitting databases to manage information•Providing flood risk advice on planning applications•Determination of flood risk permits•Strategic work on Local Plans and Flood Risk Assessments•Taking part in incident management when flooding occursDo you want to make a difference to people’s lives and ensure homes and businesses are not at risk from flooding? Through your experience to date you will ideally be able to demonstrate some of the following:• An understanding of the impact of flooding and experience of flood risk assessments• Ability to develop and maintain good relationships with internal and external customers • GIS skills to utilise and manipulate spatial information• Ability to work on your own initiative and as part of a team to make decisions and achieve planned outcomes• Good organisational skills • Strong communication and influencing abilityExcellent communication skills are a must as you’ll be working with a diverse range of people.The key things we are looking for are transferrable skills and capabilities. Do not be put off applying if you don’t have a degree and/or you don’t have direct experience in this sector. We welcome all backgrounds, preferably with an interest in planning, engineering, geography, environmental or science discipline.