Overview

We are seeking an Intelligence Research Officer to join the National Environmental Crime Unit (NECU) in a dynamic part of the Environment Agency. The Environment Agency’s ambition is to be an intelligence-led organisation, so managing intelligence professionally and in line with current guidance is essential to ensuring threat, risk and harm are appropriately assessed and managed. Environmental crime is a strategic priority with high-profile attention from the public, media, and national and international stakeholders. This role supports investigations, helps prioritise and drive interventions to remove unlawful operators from the waste regimes, and involves developing and accessing intelligence from a range of sources to inform decision making and produce actionable intelligence products for customers. The team supports the Environment Agency’s enforcement community across 14 geographical areas and national services, tackling around 40,000 suspected and alleged offences each year.

Location is flexible with a mix of home and office working; travel to Birmingham and Sheffield offices may be required on occasions. Interviews are planned for September 2025. Security vetting checks (SC and NPPV3) will be required. We welcome flexible working patterns, including job share, and we encourage applications from diverse groups across the communities we serve.

Responsibilities

• Pro-actively develop and access intelligence from a range of sources to inform decision making and provide actionable intelligence products for customers.
• Respond to incidents as part of an incident role, with the possibility of additional payment and full training; alternative working arrangements available to support the incident role.
• Support investigations and help prioritise and drive forward interventions to remove unlawful operators from the waste regimes.
• Investigate and coordinate with colleagues in the Intelligence & Partnerships department to provide intelligence products and assessments that support enforcement activities.
• Respond to incidents or provide business continuity support during incidents as required.

Experience/Skills / Qualifications

• Experience collecting and evaluating data from a wide variety of sources and interrogating IT systems and databases to produce or inform intelligence products; ability to prepare and deliver research summaries.
• Enthusiasm and curiosity for finding information; ability to retrieve information effectively and accurately using standard IT packages.
• Good communication skills with the ability to listen and transmit information effectively.
• Ability to represent the Environment Agency professionally with a variety of partners; work well within a dispersed team; use initiative and adapt approaches as needed.
• Flexibility to juggle multiple administrative activities to support colleagues and customers.

Other notes

• Note on Civil Service status: Environment Agency is not part of HM Civil Service; check employment status if relevant.
• We also offer a Guaranteed Interview Policy to support disabled applicants meeting minimum criteria for the post.
• We are committed to a diverse and inclusive workforce and encourage applications from under-represented groups.