Overview

Do you want to work for an organisation that values difference and includes everyone? The Environment Agency is committed to being an inclusive employer and ensuring equal opportunities for everyone. We welcome flexible working patterns for all vacancies, including job share.

This vacancy is for a Manager to lead our Economic Crime Unit (ECU), which is part of the National Environmental Crime Unit (NECU). The successful candidate will lead a specialist team dedicated to removing the financial benefit from criminals. As ECU Manager you will lead the strategic approach to financial investigations and ensure we fulfil our obligations under the Proceeds of Crime Act (POCA). You will be proactive with a strong focus on continually improving and enhancing the way we work.

Responsibilities

• Provide strong leadership and manage two Team Leaders (Asset Denial Team and Money Laundering Investigation Team) and a Senior Financial Intelligence Officer; motivate and develop the team and manage performance and work delivery.
• Set the strategic direction for how financial investigations are conducted and ensure compliance with POCA.
• Collaborate with internal teams (Investigatory Teams, Intelligence & Partnerships, Legal) and external partners (Police, National Crime Agency, HMRC); influence senior stakeholders to recognise EA priorities.
• Support the wider organisation in improving practices and increasing understanding of POCA; share lessons learned and contribute to technical documentation; advise enforcement officers nationwide.
• Contribute to the operation of the ECU and the wider EA through leadership of casework and development of team capabilities.

Team and structure

The Economic Crime Unit comprises two teams – the Asset Denial Team and the Money Laundering Investigations Team – consisting of Financial Investigators, Financial Intelligence Officers and Crime Analysts. The ECU is nationally dispersed and works with enforcement staff and partners across the country to tackle serious and complex criminality involving organised crime networks.

Experience and skills

• Exceptional leadership skills, ideally with experience in leading a dispersed team.
• Good understanding of financial investigations and the Proceeds of Crime Act (POCA).
• Experience of working in the law enforcement sector with an understanding of the National Intelligence Model.
• Effective communication including delivering feedback, managing performance and building relationships with external stakeholders.
• Ability to work under pressure, prioritise a varied workload, identify areas for improvement, and lead changes to working practices.
• Experience developing and enhancing the capability of a team and the individuals within it.

Contact and additional information

This is a hybrid working role with flexible arrangements from home and your nearest office. Travel across the country for meetings and operational duties will be required. Incident response is a central part of our work; you may be required to have an incident role and be available to respond to incidents or provide business continuity support during an incident (may attract additional payment). Training and workplace adjustments are available to support you. Interviews will take place w/c 3 November 2025. For further information, please contact: Emma Viner, Enforcement & Investigations Manager – emma.viner@environment-agency.gov.uk

Competences

• Leads People: Please provide an example of where you have had to lead and inspire your team to perform in the face of changes to priorities or ways of working.
• Develops People: Please provide an example of dealing with a complex staff issue to improve performance or team performance.
• Takes Decisions and Solves Problems: Please provide an example of leading a piece of work where you overcame challenges to achieve an outcome with support from partner agencies.

Notes

If you are applying from the Civil Service please note that the Environment Agency is not part of HM Civil Service and you would not be a Crown Servant upon appointment. We are committed to diversity and an inclusive workforce. We welcome flexible working patterns for all vacancies and encourage applicants to specify preferred working arrangements. We also offer a Guaranteed Interview Policy to support those with a disability, ensuring an interview is guaranteed if the minimum criteria are met. For more information about recruitment practices, see government guidance on supplier engagement. Artificial intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application, but all content must be truthful and taken from your own experience; plagiarism may lead to withdrawal of applications. Environment Agency aligns with Civil Service guidance on AI usage.