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 to it by pro-actively developing and accessing intelligence from a range of sources to inform decision making and provide actionable intelligence products for our customers.

Location is flexible with a mixture of home and office working; travel to our Birmingham and Sheffield offices may be required on occasions. Interviews will be via Microsoft Teams and are expected to be in September 2025.

We are fully committed to having an inclusive workforce to reflect the communities we serve. We welcome flexible working patterns for our vacancies, including job share; please clearly include any information regarding your preferred working arrangements on your application.

Responding to incidents is a central part of what we do. You will be required to have an incident role and make yourself available to respond to incidents or provide business continuity support during an incident (this may attract an additional payment and full training and alternative working arrangements will be available).

Any future recruitment will be taken from the reserve list.

Responsibilities

• Pro-actively develop and access intelligence from a range of sources to inform decision making and provide actionable intelligence products.
• Support investigations and drive interventions to remove unlawful operators from the waste regimes.
• Respond to incidents as part of the role; be available to respond to incidents or provide business continuity support during an incident (may attract additional payment and full training).
• Work within the Intelligence & Partnerships department, providing intelligence products and assessments to support colleagues.

Experience / Skills Required

You’ll need to collect and evaluate data from a wide variety of sources to produce or inform intelligence products, and prepare and deliver research summaries. You must have experience interrogating IT systems and databases, and an 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 adapt approaches as needed
• Skills in using standard IT packages; ability to retrieve information accurately
• Good teamwork and an inclusive approach
• Ability to juggle multiple administrative tasks to support colleagues and customers

Additional Information

• Security vetting checks (SC and NPPV3) will be required.
• Flexible working patterns including job share; please include preferred arrangements on your application.
• The Environment Agency is committed to diversity and inclusion; guaranteed interview policy for applicants with disabilities meeting minimum criteria.
• Note about Civil Service status: the Environment Agency is not part of HM Civil Service and you would not be a Crown Servant upon appointment. Continuous service considerations may apply for local government staff; consult your HR team if unsure.
• Contact: vacancy manager pete.booth@environment-agency.gov.uk or sam.morrison@environment-agency.gov.uk