Senior Advisor - Future Agriculture - Environmental Land Management - 31666

The Environment Agency are fully committed to having an inclusive workforce to reflect the communities we serve. We don’t just talk about diversity; we seek it, embrace it and live it, for the benefit of our staff, our communities and our environment.

England is reforming agricultural policy and spending, moving from the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) to Environmental Land Management (ELM) schemes. ELM schemes support farmers to provide public goods in return for public money, incentivising water, soil and biodiversity outcomes alongside food production. Working with Defra and delivery partner colleagues, you will aim to improve services to farmers. These reforms are essential to help grow a resilient, productive agriculture sector and to realise EA2030 strategy and government targets for water, the environment and climate. You will influence the design and delivery of incentives within the wider context of shaping our organisational response to government reviews, aiming to deliver clean water, greater economic growth and nature recovery through regulation.

The Environment Agency ELM team is seeking dynamic, strategic thinkers to join us at the forefront of informing and shaping the future of ELM, particularly the delivery of Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier (CSHT). You will contribute to the delivery of key CSHT products for the Farming and Countryside Programme and drive continuous improvement in scheme design and delivery. You will provide advice in meetings, manage commissions, oversee programme milestones, and identify future risks and resource requirements. You will work across a variety of teams and organisations with senior leaders to articulate a scheme that supports and delivers our outcomes.

The team
The team sits within the Nature & Place Directorate, part of the National Agriculture and Land Team. We work in an agile, fast-paced, flexible and collaborative environment, managing uncertainty to deliver clarity. We foster a welcoming, safe, supportive environment where everyone feels valued. We are a dispersed team and use smart tools to stay connected and reduce travel.

Experience/skills Required
The role will represent our expertise to Defra, delivery bodies and the agriculture sector to achieve consistency and improve collaboration. Essential experience includes working in Agriculture and with Defra and other statutory bodies. You are politically aware with excellent communication and networking skills. You understand environmental sensitivities linked to major agriculture sector reform. You have experience interpreting and evaluating evidence to propose risk-based solutions for complex problems. You prioritise and deliver multiple, often complex, tasks. You are a self-starter who actively develops and advances ideas. Ideal candidates will demonstrate:

• get stuff done, including through others
• embody our culture
• ensure information is trusted
• cascade key information
• build relationships quickly
• soothe troubled waters

Relevant capabilities: Shapes Organisational Approach & Delivery; Achieves Results; Seeing the Bigger Picture (Business of the EA); Focuses on Customers and Partners; Delivers Results Through Others

Contact and additional information
You’ll have an incident management objective in your development plan. Appropriate training will be given. The EA base location is flexible/hybrid in England, with some travel/overnights required. Read the Candidate/Additional Information Pack for more information. For contact, please email:

• Kate Bayley: kate.bayley@environment-agency.gov.uk
• D-J Gent: dj.gent@environment-agency.gov.uk

Applications are “blind” and assessed using competency questions. Interviews are expected via MS Teams two weeks after the closing date. If you consent to being held on a reserve list, your details may be kept for 6 months and you may be offered an alternative post.

Competencies

1. Shapes organisational approach & delivery – Informing and influencing Government Policy and Agricultural scheme design and implementation. Provide an example of supporting strategic work and prioritising resources.
2. Achieves Results – Prioritising and organising tasks and resources under uncertainty.
3. Focuses on Customers and Partners – Providing rapid and effective responses to customer groups.
4. Delivers Results Through Others – Harnessing a team to deliver on time and to standard.
5. Seeing the Big Picture – Understanding and adapting to government reviews and changes in the water sector and regulatory reform.

We are committed to a diverse and inclusive workforce and welcome flexible working patterns, including job sharing. We guarantee an interview to applicants with a disability whose application meets the minimum criteria.

The Environment Agency is not part of HM Civil Service and you would not be a Crown Servant if appointed. For redundancy considerations, refer to the Redundancy Payments (Continuity of Employment in Local Government etc) Order. If unsure, contact your HR team.