Catchment Land Use Specialist

Catchment Land Use Specialist
Permanent, Full Time - 37 hours per week
Salary – £34,595 to £40,700 depending on experience
Location – Suffolk

Are you passionate about improving river health, protecting water resources and working to drive sustainable land management?

We are looking for an enthusiastic and knowledgeable land management professional to join our Environment & Sustainability Team as a Catchment Land Use Specialist. Working across our Suffolk operating area, you’ll play a key role in delivering on‑the‑ground improvements that enhance water quality and support healthier catchments.

About the role

In this varied and rewarding role, you’ll be a trusted point of contact for farmers, land managers, partner organisations, and internal teams. Your work will help identify land‑based risks to water quality and environmental resilience — and support land users to take meaningful, practical action.

You’ll undertake on‑farm assessments to identify potential sources of land‑based pollution, developing tailored recommendations that improve river water quality, reduce risks, and support sustainable land management. With a strong background in the agricultural sector, you’ll build working relationships with land managers, agronomists, Farm Clusters, and environmental partners to ensure high‑impact solutions are delivered on the ground.

A key part of your role involves delivering engagement programmes, hosting workshops and farmer events, and supporting the effective management of grants under our Field to Tap scheme.

You’ll also collaborate with our Catchment Data & Evidence Team to interpret catchment monitoring results and identify priority areas for action, translating technical insights into clear, practical advice for land managers.

No two days will be the same: you might be analysing land use data or preparing reports one day, then out meeting farmers, supporting partners, or advising on land management solutions the next.

This is a great opportunity for someone with strong communication skills who thrives on building partnerships and working collaboratively. You’ll engage with agronomists, regulators, local authorities, and NGOs, representing Essex & Suffolk Water at meetings and events while leading initiatives that make a real difference to the environment.

About you

We’re looking for someone who is engaging, proactive, and passionate about landscape‑scale environmental improvement.

You’ll bring:

• Technical experience in agriculture, land management, catchment management, nature‑based solutions, or similar fields.
• Practical experience delivering farm advice or working directly with land managers, with a strong understanding of the environmental and agricultural challenges facing catchments.
• Excellent communication skills, with confidence facilitating workshops, delivering presentations, and engaging effectively with a wide range of stakeholders.
• Strong organisational and project‑management skills, with the ability to prioritise a varied workload and coordinate engagement activities.
• Competence in Microsoft Office and ideally experience working with GIS tools.

You’ll be self‑motivated and able to work independently while being a proactive and supportive team member.

As you’ll be traveling across Essex & Suffolk Water’s operating area, a full driving licence is essential.

Qualifications

You’ll ideally hold an HNC/D, BTEC Higher National Diploma, or degree in agricultural science, agronomy, environmental science, or a related subject — or have equivalent relevant experience. FACTS and BASIS qualifications are beneficial, or you may be working towards them.

If you’re driven by environmental improvement and thrive in a role that blends fieldwork, partnership‑building, and technical expertise — we’d love to hear from you.

About us

Here at Essex & Suffolk Water, we embrace and value Diversity, Inclusion and Equity, and encourage all colleagues to bring their most authentic self to work.

Our colleague network groups include our Rainbow Support Network (LGBTQIA+), REACH (Race, Ethnicity, and Cultural Heritage), WiSTEM (Women in STEM) and Thisability (disability and neurodiversity) networks. They provide a safe space for colleagues from diverse backgrounds, welcoming all colleagues regardless of their personal characteristics to participate in valuable conversation that improves our organisational awareness, understanding and inclusivity.

We encourage and welcome all applications, as we strive to be an equal opportunity employer, committed to having diverse communities represented within all our teams, structures, and organisation.

Essex & Suffolk Water / NWG are an inclusive employer who support the rehabilitation of offenders, we will not, however consider candidates who have certain unspent convictions to ensure our commitment to fostering a safe and secure working environment for all OR colleagues, suppliers, customers and third parties.

We’re aware that not everyone will have every skill listed in the job description, however if you have some of the skills listed, we'd encourage you to apply

Essex & Suffolk Water / NWG at a glance:

Our purpose at NWG is caring for the essential needs of our communities and environment, now and for generations to come.

We do this by providing reliable and affordable water and wastewater services for our customers.

We make a positive difference by operating efficiently and investing prudently, to maintain a sustainable and resilient business.

Our vision is to be the national leader in the provision of sustainable water and wastewater services. To support us in achieving our vision, we have five core values which are the guiding principles, defining who we are, what we do and how we do it.

Our benefits

We’re a Great Place to Work because of the amazing people who work for us, and to say thank you we offer a range of benefits to colleagues. Our ‘Tap Into’ benefits include:

• Generous holiday entitlement starting 23 days, plus bank holidays and additional time off on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve. There’s also the option to buy or sell holidays.
• Company pension scheme, where we’ll double match your contributions up to an employer contribution of 10%.
• Free access to local attractions.
• A fantastic discount scheme, with savings on days out, shopping, travel and more.
• Award winning ‘Living Well’ wellbeing support, including access to a digital GP service for you and your family members.
• Support with sustainable travel – through salary sacrifice cars and a cycle to work scheme.
• Financial wellbeing support – access our community savings scheme, financial education and low cost loans through Salary Finance. We also provide 4 x Life Assurance and an Income Protection Scheme.
• Support with your development – we offer a range of development opportunities, can support you through an interest free qualification loan and we’ll even pay for any relevant professional body subscription.