Overview

We are seeking an Intelligence Research Officer to join National Environmental Crime Unit NECU in a dynamic part of the business. The Environment Agency’s ambition is to be an intelligence-led organisation so having the ability to manage intelligence professionally and in line with current guidance is essential to ensuring threat, risk and harm is appropriately assessed and managed. Environmental crime is a strategic priority, attracting high profile attention from the public, media, national and international stakeholders. This role provides an exciting opportunity to support investigations and help prioritise and drive forward interventions to remove unlawful operators from the waste regimes.

You will help deliver our response by pro-actively developing and accessing intelligence from a range of sources to inform decision making and provide actionable intelligence products for our customers. We are committed to an inclusive workforce and welcome flexible working patterns, including job share; please include any information about your preferred working arrangements in your application. Responding to incidents is a central part of our work and you will be required to have an incident role and be available to respond to incidents or provide business continuity support during an incident, which may attract additional payment and full training. Future recruitment will be taken from the reserve list.

Team and context

NECU supports the Environment Agency’s enforcement community, spread across 14 geographical areas and several national services, tackling around 40,000 suspected and alleged offences each year. We help protect and improve the environment by regulating industry, ensuring compliance, and eliminating illegal activities including Organised Crime Groups. You will be part of our Intelligence & Partnerships department, working with intelligence professionals to provide intelligence products and assessments to support colleagues.

Responsibilities

• Pro-actively develop and access intelligence from a range of sources to inform decision making.
• Produce actionable intelligence products for customers and prepare research summaries.
• Support investigations and help prioritise and drive interventions to remove unlawful operators from waste regimes.
• Respond to incidents as part of the incident role and provide business continuity support (training and alternative working arrangements provided).
• Collaborate with partners and internal teams to share intelligence and contribute to ongoing enforcement efforts.

Experience / Skills Required

• Experience of collecting and evaluating data from a wide variety of sources to produce or inform intelligence products; ability to interrogate IT systems and databases; enthusiasm and curiosity for finding information.
• Good communication skills with the ability to listen to others and transmit information effectively.
• Ability to represent the Environment Agency professionally with a variety of partners.
• Ability to use own initiative and identify when a change in approach is needed.
• Skills in using standard IT packages and the ability to retrieve information effectively and accurately.
• Good team working skills and an inclusive approach to colleagues and customers.
• Ability to flex between tasks and juggle various administrative activities.

Additional information

• Location is flexible with a mixture of home and office working; travel to Birmingham and Sheffield offices may be required on occasions.
• Interviews will be via Microsoft Teams in September 2025.
• Security vetting checks (SC and NPPV3) will be required.
• We welcome applications from diverse groups and offer a Guaranteed Interview Policy for applicants with disabilities who meet the minimum criteria.
• Note: Environment Agency is not part of HM Civil Service; if applying from Civil Service, continuous service may not apply. For redundancy calculations, refer to the Redundancy Payments (Continuity of Employment in Local Government etc) Order 1999; contact your HR Team with questions.

Contact

For an informal discussion please contact vacancy managers at pete.booth@environment-agency.gov.uk or sam.morrison@environment-agency.gov.uk

Legal and Compliance

The Environment Agency is an employer committed to equality, diversity and inclusion and to fair recruitment practices as described in our policy statements.