About the job

Job summary

This is a vacancy working forthe Environment Agency, part of Defra Group. EA are not Civil Servants so terms will reflect that. Anyone moving from the Civil Service will lose their CS terms and benefits starting new employment with the EA

We are in search of a dynamic Executive Director of Local Operations to join our esteemed executive team. As a key member of the senior executive committee, you will play a crucial role in leading the delivery of local services across 15 areas, overseeing approximately 8,000 staff. This includes managing regulation, enforcement, and incident response.

As an effective and inclusive collaborator, you will engage with the Met Office, public services, and government bodies to lead our incident response protocol. Additionally, you will collaborate with local and regional leaders to share best practices across the Agency. Your responsibilities will also involve managing operational incidents and actively participating in emergency response efforts.

Job description

The Executive Director Regional Operations will:

• Contribute as a member of the Executive Team to the strategic leadership and direction of the Agency.
• Lead the planning of the Directorate’s operations and services and monitor progress against plan, to ensure targets and expectations can be met.
• Maintain an in-depth knowledge of agency-wide priorities, challenges, and performance metrics to ensure resilience at the top of the organisation
• Lead a team of Directors across the role’s scope to maintain and, if necessary, build a high performing diverse and resilient workforce to ensure the Environment Agency has the internal capability to achieve its strategic vision. Able to challenge, motivate, develop, and empower senior leaders.
• Lead the Agency’s local operational delivery across 14 geographies through local and regional management teams. The workforce is incredibly diverse and will monitor, map, navigate, enforce, and engage across the UK and report outputs and metrics.
• Lead the Agency’s incident response protocol. Partnering with the Met Office, operational teams, public services, and government bodies through a phased incident response process. Oversees the full process from initial risk, response and resource mobilisation, and recovery and engagement.
• Lead through visibility and transparency, the role is held to account for a number of the Agency’s key metrics and the 8,000 FTEs in the Local Delivery directorate.
• Foster collaboration between local and regional leaders to promote best practice and share knowledge, ensuring the Agency delivers a consistent and efficient service to customers and clients.
• Engage with the most senior internal and external stakeholders, able to incite behavioural change in others through inspiration, motivation, challenge, mediation, and negotiation.
• Maintain a network of high-profile external relationships, including Chief Executives of central and local government organisations, private organisations, and environmental experts.
• Promote a culture of continuous improvement and self and organisational development  

Person specification

The successful Executive Director, Local Operations will possess:

• Deep leadership experience as an operational executive, with an emphasis on brilliant, inclusive collaboration and team work, to deliver measurable improvements in efficiency and outcomes.
• Demonstrable capability to manage operational incidents or campaigns and deliver best effect in complex large organisations.
• A strong record of enterprise-wide service delivery, with experience navigating complex stakeholder environments and multiple competing priorities
• The ability to manage a diverse team of senior leaders, comfortable challenging existing ways of working

Benefits

• Environment Agency CareerAverage Pension Scheme
• Learning and development tailored to your role
• An environment with flexible working options
• A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity

Things you need to know

Selection process details

Forfurther information regarding this role with the Environment Agency and the selection process please see the
candidate pack attached to this advert.

To apply forthis role please click  here

As this role is employed by the Environment Agency you would be deemed to be a public servant, and not a Civil Servant, however the Environment Agency like to follow these principles in line with Defra and other CS organisations. Please be reassured that this vacancy is a permanent Environment Agency vacancy.

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

Security

People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.

Nationality requirements

This job is broadly open to the following groups:

• UK nationals
• nationals of the Republic of Ireland
• nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (opens in a new window)
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
• individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020
• Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service

Further information on nationality requirements (opens in a new window)

Working for the Civil Service

The Civil Service Code (opens in a new window) sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.

We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles (opens in a new window). The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria. The Civil Service also offers a Redeployment Interview Scheme to civil servants who are at risk of redundancy, and who meet the minimum requirements for the advertised vacancy.