Hydrology Technical Officer, National

About Us:

The Environment Agency has a broad and varied remit to protect and enhance the environment, with a goal to create a cleaner, safer and healthier environment for people and wildlife. Water is at the heart of all we do, including drinking, washing, recreation, industry and health. Our environment and economy depend on this precious resource. Clean and available water is essential and as water becomes an increasingly scarce resource, we need to do more to ensure we protect it.

As a water resources hydrologist, you’ll have the opportunity to monitor and assess the water environment - playing a vital role in helping us achieve our goal working alongside other water resources specialists. To find out more, visit our careers site.

What’s in it for you:

You’ll benefit from a culture that embraces difference and is inclusive where you’ll feel supported and trusted to do the right thing. We’ll invest in you and allow you to grow and shape your career. What’s more, you’ll have access to our great benefits package including:

• A salary up to £34,320 per annum
• A generous pension scheme of 19%
• Overtime opportunities through standby and incident pay.
• 25 days holiday + 8 bank holidays for full-time employees.
• Two additional days for paid environmental outcomes giving you the opportunity to take part in community activities.
• Great career opportunities: you can either progress to grades 5 and 6 in hydrology or use your hydrological knowledge in a wide range of management and related technical roles.
• An established structured training programme and professional development.
• Potential to further enhance your knowledge through an apprenticeship.
• Maternity, paternity, and adoption leave scheme.

Options for flexible and/or part-time working may be considered on a case-by-case basis.

Your role:

We’re looking for a Hydrologist to join our National Water Resources Hydrology team. This is a technical role within the Hydrology profession. In this role you’ll help ensure we apply best practice techniques so that we make the very best use of the available evidence for scientifically sound cost-efficient operational and strategic decisions.

This is an early to mid-career role which will allow you to deepen your understanding of how hydrological data and techniques are used in the Environment Agency as well as develop technical leadership skills.

What will you do:

You will provide hydrological analysis and data, often following established processes.

With assistance where necessary you will provide technical assessments and professional advice on hydrological issues. Through the provision of hydrological expertise, you will support Environment Agency policy and help deliver positive environmental outcomes.

You will support dry weather incident response and assist in the delivery of more complex work or projects.

You may deliver results individually or collaboratively as part of the team. However, the role has an impact beyond our immediate hydrology team through working in particular, with the wider hydrological community.

Your role will be to collate, analyse and interpret hydrological information necessary for effective water resource management. You will work closely with your hydrology team members to provide professional advice and technical assessments on hydrological issues to customers and partners. Your work will inform decision making and contribute to protecting and improving the environment.

You will work closely with other team members to complete the following:

• Weekly and monthly water situation reporting to provide internal and external customers with an overview of recent hydrological conditions.
• Collaborative working with the hydrology community to develop tools and resources, provide advice and support area teams in their work.
• Supporting the team with dry weather incident response and planning.
• Leading on managing and updating national datasets.
• Monitoring our team mailbox and providing responses to customers including requests for information and data.

As a national team, we are a dispersed team with members in different areas across the country, and so you will be able to work flexibly from your nearest office or from home. Occasional travel to other locations or offices is required for team and department meetings.

What you’ll need:

Essential

• Qualification or equivalent experience in a relevant discipline. For example (but not limited to): Geography, Environmental Science, Physics, Maths, Data Science, Geosciences, Engineering, Biology.

Desirable

• Work experience in an operational water resources hydrology role, or an equivalent, hydrology focussed, post-graduate qualification.
• An interest in and an enthusiasm for hydrology, including an awareness of hydrological concepts (such as hydrology processes and catchment behaviour) and the different types of hydrological data (e.g. rainfall, river flow, groundwater level).
• Experience of analysing data and information to solve problems, including good numerical and computer literacy.
• Good written and spoken communication skills to convey information to a variety of audiences, including experience communicating technical information to a non-technical audience.
• Strong organisational skills, including the ability to plan, track and deliver your own work, meeting the required timescales and standards.
• A desire to learn new things and continually develop your skills and knowledge.
• Experience with programming languages (e.g. R or Python) or PowerApps.
• Membership of BHS or CIWEM (or similar), possibly working towards chartership.

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. Full training and alternative working arrangements will be available to support you with your incident role. This may attract an additional payment.

Additional Information

To learn more about these roles from those already in them, gain insight into the recruitment process, and have the chance to ask your questions, join us for our candidate call on:

Wednesday 8th October 2025 at 15.10pm - 16.10pm

This will be held on Microsoft Teams and is open to all applicants. You do not need to have submitted an application to join the call, just click the apply button for further information.

This role must be undertaken from within the UK and does NOT qualify for sponsorship. Visit the Government website and search for visas and immigration to seek professional advice regarding options for obtaining the right to work in the UK.

As an organisation, we strive to reflect the communities we serve, to achieve this we welcome applications from all backgrounds regardless of race, sexual orientation, and religion.

Artificial Intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application, however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action. Please see our candidate guidance on our careers site for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.

Join us, and together, let's tackle the challenges of a changing climate and build a more sustainable future. Apply now and embark on a rewarding and fulfilling career journey with the Environment Agency.

Please note: Candidates selected for interview will be notified by email at least five days in advance. Please check both your inbox and junk mail folders to ensure you don’t miss our message. A reserve list will be held, and you may be offered other roles in other locations including temporary roles, which may be similarly aligned to this role.

Closing date for applications: 20th October 2025
Interview Dates: Week commencing 10th November and week commencing 17th November 2025