City/Town
Various
Region
National
Vacancies
2
Salary Minimum
£32,237
Position Type
Permanent
Job ID
32661
Closing date
01 Mar 2026
Published date
18 Dec 2025
Grade
Graduate Training 3
Role type
Environment & Sustainability
Security check
Basic Check
Job description
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.
These graduate posts are an expansion from our successful industrial placement programme to introduce more chemical engineers into our Regulated Industry teams.
During the first year you’ll work within our permitting team to assess permit applications for industrial activities and write environmental permits that require industrial sites to operate at high standards and limit their impact to the environment. Starting with simple applications to gain an understanding of our assessment process, you’ll then move on to more complex applications that will rely on your process engineering knowledge, such as air dispersion modelling.
Second year you’ll work alongside our Regulatory Officers in an Area team. You’ll visit industrial sites to check that the conditions of the environmental permits are being met, provide advice to permit holders looking to change their operations and support investigations where legal obligations are not being met.
You’ll then be deployed into other departments to develop a breadth and depth of understanding of the roles where chemical engineers can help the Environment Agency deliver our objectives.
While you’ll arrive equipped with a knowledge of the industrial processes we regulate, we’ll provide you with further training to enable you to carry out our regulatory duties. You’ll also be assigned a chartered IChemE mentor who will ensure your experience is relevant to your professional development and support your chartership journey.
You may have an incident management objective in your development plan. We’ll support you to find a role to suit your needs and circumstances. Appropriate training will be given. #LI-DNI
See Additional Information Pack for more information.
We promote a positive, inclusive, and supportive culture where everyone feels valued.
Throughout the scheme you’ll work with various colleagues based across the country and you will be encouraged to build a network of contacts ranging from Regulatory Officers who carry out compliance inspections to environmental specialists and Head Office staff that liaise with government.
Please see Additional Information Pack for more information.
When you join us in September 2026 you MUST have achieved MEng on an IChemE accredited course in the last 2 years. You’ll benefit from any environmental modules that were included in your course, but it is not essential for you to have done these.
The ability to drive is desirable but not essential.
In your capability-based answers please demonstrate your:
- ability to work effectively with people from a variety of backgrounds and cultures and actively encourage others to consider diversity issues in their work.
- ability to set and deliver high work standards, demonstrating a drive to meet targets.
- ability to prioritise and organise tasks and resources to ensure timely achievement of results.
- ability to interpret, manage and share data and information appropriately for a variety of purposes.
You will receive a range of development opportunities and appropriate training will be provided.
Please see Additional Information Pack for more information.
You’ll have an EA Office base location with one of our Area teams in England. There is some flexibility over day-to-day work location, including hybrid working arrangements. We use smart tools to stay connected and reduce travel, some travel and overnights may be required.
Read the Candidate / Additional Information Pack for more information, including a candidate information call on 11th February 2026 at 12pm. Any queries, contact [email protected]
Applications are “blind” assessed using your answers to the competency questions.
Interview via MS Teams will be sent within three weeks of the closing date.
If you consent to being held on a reserve list, we’ll hold your details for 6 months and may offer you an alternative post.
Give an example of when you have developed and maintained good working relationships within a team, in particular how you have achieved this and any challenges you had to overcome.
If a large number of applications are received, an initial sift using this lead capability may be conducted. Successful candidates will then proceed to a full sift or directly to assessment/interview. Feedback is generally not available at sift stage.
More information on how to answer competency questions can be found in the candidate pack.
Give an example of a time when you have been set some challenging objectives. How did you prioritise the tasks to make sure you could get everything done to a high standard?
Give an example of when you have had to analyse and interpret data to present your findings to others. Explain how you gathered and checked the information and how you made sure your analysis was robust and well received.
If you are applying from the Civil Service please note that the Environment Agency is not a part of HM Civil Service and you would not be a Crown Servant in the event of being appointed. Therefore, you will not be eligible for continuous service. For applicants who currently work in local government or other bodies listed in the Redundancy Payments (Continuity of Employment in Local Government etc) (Modification) Order 1999, you may be eligible for continuous service for the purpose of calculating any future redundancy payment. If you are unsure of your status then you should contact your own HR Team.
We are fully committed to having a diverse and inclusive workforce to reflect the communities we serve. We welcome flexible working patterns for all our vacancies, including job share, so please include clearly any information regarding your preferred working arrangements on your application.
We also have a Guaranteed Interview Policy to support those with a disability who are seeking employment. We have committed to guaranteeing an interview to anyone with a disability whose application meets the minimum criteria for the post.
The Environment Agency, as a Non-Departmental Public Body, is committed to providing value for money and utilises Central Government frameworks and contracts for all external recruitment needs. For this reason, we are unable to engage with the market directly through post, email or phone calls . Should you wish to become a support supplier on one of these frameworks or contracts please visit https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/become-a-crown-commercial-service-supplier/becoming-a-supplier-through-the-crown-commercial-service-what-you-need-to-know for more information.
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. Although the Environment Agency is a non-departmental public body sponsored by Defra, we subscribe to and align with the candidate guidance on the use of artificial intelligence found on the Civil Service Careers website. Please review for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.