Senior Regulatory Officer (High Hazard)

£43,198 - £50,022 (plus additional £4,750 for specialist COMAH expertise, subject to eligibility)

Warrington, Newcastle, Darlington, Leeds, York, Lincoln, Nottingham, Sutton Coldfield, Tewkesbury, Bridgewater, Romsey, Welwyn Garden City, Farnham, Ipswich

Full time, flexible working available

Staff Grade: 5

Are you ready to make a real difference? Join our High Hazard specialist team as a Senior Regulatory Officer.

We are committed to enhancing our regulatory practices and building an effective regulatory framework. To achieve this, we are looking for Senior Regulatory Officers (SRO) to work alongside Team Leaders and Principal Regulatory Officers (PRO) to ensure the compliance of COMAH (Control of Major Accident Hazards Regulations 2015) sites across England.

You will be a locally recognised expert who will be called upon to deliver complex compliance issues.

You will deliver a programme of work and be competent in the delivery of regulatory compliance and preferably in the COMAH regime. You will provide technical leadership across your local network to ensure consistency of our regulation. You will be responsible for building technical resilience across your team, and sometimes wider, mentoring, training and guiding less experienced Regulatory Officers to support regulatory delivery and ensure the delivery of our work plan.

What is 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 of £43,198 - £50,022 per annum.
• This role attracts an additional allowance of £4,750 for specialist expertise in COMAH regulation. It is payable after appointment, provided you meet eligibility criteria. To qualify, you’ll need significant COMAH or high-hazard industry experience and a relevant degree or equivalent technical expertise.
• A generous pension scheme of 19%.
• Overtime opportunities through standby and incident pay.
• 25 days holiday (increasing at 3, 6, and 10 years of service up to a maximum of 30) + 8 bank holidays for full-time employees.
• Two additional days for paid environmental outcomes giving you the opportunity to take part in community activities.
• Training and professional development time.
• Maternity, paternity, and adoption leave scheme.

We have a flexible working policy for all employees, to support a healthy work-life balance within your working day. We will also consider flexibility in working patterns across the working week on a case-by-case basis.

What will you do?

In this role you will:

• Ensure sites comply with regulatory requirements of the COMAH Regulations, to prevent and limit the consequence of major accidents, specifically for the more complex sites, assessing operator ability to protect the environment.
• Conduct site inspections and respond to, investigate, and undertake appropriate enforcement action to a range of complex environmental incidents.
• Work with partner organisations addressing joint initiatives and regulatory duties.
• Be responsible for the planning and delivery of regulatory activity for the COMAH regime locally.
• Ensure delivery in line with KPIs and provide assurance to your Team Leader.
• Support officers as a coach/mentor and assess technical capabilities of the Regulatory Officers within your team to support your line manager.
• Lead on complex investigations.
• Plan your own work within a framework provided by the Team Leader or Principal Regulatory Officer.

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 to support you with your incident role. 

The team 

You’ll be part of a newly formed team reporting to a COMAH Team Leader, working with Principal Regulatory Officers and Regulatory Officers.

The team will work directly with site operators, while collaborating with national and local colleagues to improve COMAH delivery and assurance. Your team will be responsible for delivering their regulatory plan by delivering robust inspections, audits and investigating incidents.

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

You’ll have an EA Office base location. Your team will be dispersed, and the role requires site visits and fieldwork and so regular travel will be required. We welcome flexible working.

What do I need? 

Essential Criteria

• Knowledge of the COMAH regime and/or industrial experience across a range of chemical and/or energy industries.
• Practical application of regulatory compliance.
• Influencing skills and success in developing good relations in complex environments
• Ability to work independently to deliver a programme of work in line with relevant. work plan, providing assurance to your line manager.
• Work with partner organisations to address joint initiatives and regulatory duties.
• Taking initiative and using a continuous improvement approach.
• Degree (or equivalent) ideally in a science or engineering subject or comparable. external industrial experience.
• Full UK driving licence.

Desirable Criteria

• People development experience through coaching and mentoring.
• Membership of a relevant professional institution or working towards membership.
• Be familiar with environmental management systems, auditing and root cause analysis.
• Experience of interpreting environmental monitoring and performance data.

Contact & additional information

Don't miss this opportunity to be part of the UK's biggest environmental organisation. 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. 

We would love to inspire you to apply.

Please note that a reserve list will be held, and you may be offered other roles, including temporary roles, in other locations that may be similarly aligned to this role.

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.

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.

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check.

Closing date for applications: 10th November 2025
Interview Dates: Week commencing 1st and 8th December 2025

The interviews will include both competency based questions and a technical assessment.