Overview

The National Operations Manager (NOM) is a newly created, high-profile leadership role within the Environment Agency (EA). They will lead our National Operations Centre (NOC) and the nationwide incident response staff as they anticipate, assess, mitigate and respond to varied and complex incidents and risks, carrying out our statutory duties under the Civil Contingency Act 2004, adhering to Cabinet Office best practice.

Responsibilities

• Hold the responsibility for the Command, Control and Communications of our multi-disciplined incident response and the effective deployment of our mobile response assets. Translate strategic and tactical priorities into clear, outcome-focused objectives and provide briefings for senior leaders, including Government partners, to fulfil public and environmental protective duties.
• Gather intelligence and develop situational awareness to provide deep understanding of threat, capability, strategy and political nuance. Direct investigative work, information analysis and intelligence development; oversee production of intelligence products, technical papers and risk assessments for diverse audiences (Executive Directors, partner organisations, Government/Ministers).
• Support the Executive Director of Operations with management of operational risk, ensuring a comprehensive understanding of technical and political issues and cross-government coordination. Act as a single point of contact for high-security classification engagement and be suitably vetted to represent the EA at COBR meetings.
• Support the evolution of National Operations Centre capabilities and embed them in the business. Deliver senior Incident Management & Resilience portfolios of work as directed.

We are fully committed to having an inclusive workforce to reflect the communities we serve.

Team and Purpose

You’ll be part of a team of six NOMs, reporting to an accountable Deputy Director within the Incident Management & Resilience Directorate alongside 400 colleagues.

• Plan for changing risk: Make the biggest impact by being ready for the greatest risks
• Collaborate to inspire action through partnership: People take action to reduce the impact of incidents
• Respond to the climate emergency: Deal effectively with frequent and complex incidents

Experience / Skills

Essential Criteria

• Experience of incident management, leading/improving a fast-paced operational delivery service, managing competing priorities, high user expectations, and resource constraints.
• Analytical skills to evaluate data from various sources and identify benefits/risks to support well-considered judgements and decisions.
• Ability to communicate and influence effectively at all levels, translating strategic and tactical priorities into clear, outcome-focused objectives; influence culture and ways of working.
• Ability to represent the function in internal and external forums, including meetings, committees, and panels.
• Practised inclusive leadership, modelling values to drive a high-performing culture with governance, risk management, productivity and positive people outcomes.
• Experience delivering successful change and continuous improvements; able to collaborate with stakeholders and build strong relationships.

Desirable Criteria

• Experience operating in confidential environments, handling sensitive intelligence.

Contact and Additional Information

Flexible hours are available through blended home/office working. Travel is required with occasional overnight stays, and attendance at our Bristol office. Shift working is required, including earlies/lates/weekends/on-call.

How to Apply

Please provide the following:

• An anonymised CV containing your job history and key achievements – maximum 3 pages.
• A Personal Statement explaining your motivation for applying and how you meet the Essential Criteria and competencies: Leads People, Takes Decisions & Solves Problems, Influences & Persuades Others, Focuses on Efficiencies/Innovation & Quality – maximum 2 pages.

We will hold a briefing call on 15/09/2025. Interviews are in person in Bristol week commencing 13/10/2025. Further details are in the NOM Information Pack. Any questions contact IMX@environment-agency.gov.uk.

Role-specific Requirements

• Recognised professional tactical or strategic incident management command training (e.g., JESIP Mult i-Agency Gold Command, MAGIC) or equivalent.
• Membership of a relevant professional institution, such as UK Resilience Academy, Emergency Planning College, CIWEM, ICE, Royal Geographical Society, etc.

Equality & Inclusion If you are applying from the Civil Service, please note that the Environment Agency is not part of HM Civil Service. We welcome flexible working patterns, including job shares. We guarantee an interview to any disabled applicant meeting the minimum criteria.

The Environment Agency is a Non-Departmental Public Body and uses Central Government frameworks for external recruitment. For information on becoming a Crown Commercial Service supplier, please visit GOV.UK.