Disclosure Officer - Enforcement and Investigation - 29365 - #1308697

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.

Everyone starting in a new role will be welcomed into the team and given all of the training and support needed. As part of your comprehensive induction, you will be provided with all the equipment required for your role.

The role of a Disclosure Officer is critical to the ability of the Environment Agency to conduct robust investigations into criminal activity associated to environmental offending, which is key to our organisational objectives to protect and improve the environment.

As a Disclosure Officer you will be part of a national team within the National Environmental Crime Unit, and you will perform an imperative role on serious and significant environmental crime cases and water investigations in compliance with the Criminal Procedure and Investigations Act 1996 and related legislation and guidance.

You will be assigned as the principal disclosure officer on specific cases, working with both investigating officers located in area teams and with our legal services department. This will require you to build and maintain strong working relationships over a wide spectrum to provide the best possible service.

You will also be available to provide advice and guidance about disclosure and best practice on less significant investigations.

The role involves working on complex investigations involving significant volumes of evidence and unused material generated during the enquiry and dealing with it in the appropriate way according to the legislation.

The team

The disclosure team is part of the National Environmental Crime Unit who manage major and serious investigations into environmental offending, dealing with waste criminality and water-based investigations.

This is a growing area of criminality, and the disclosure team has been established to specifically manage material generated during such investigations, dealing with it according to the appropriate legislation and promoting best practice across our organisation.

Experience/skills Required

Essential skills and experience:

• Knowledge and experience of performing the role of Principal Disclosure Officer on investigations and preparing accurate unused schedules.
• Detailed knowledge of Criminal Procedure and Investigations Act 1996
• Detailed knowledge of Attorney General’s Guidelines 2020 and 2022
  
  
  

Desirable skills and experience:

• High level of computer literacy – particularly Microsoft Excel and maintenance of large databases
• Knowledge of criminal investigations and legislation governing investigation such as Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984, Regulation of Investigative Powers Act 2000
• Excellent organisational skills with attention to detail and the ability to produce detailed and accurate reports to specific time scales.
• Proven ability to adapt your written and oral communication style to a diverse range of customers and audiences which will maintain relationships over a wide geographical area
• Proven record of managing an extensive and complex workload with a minimum of supervision
  
  
  

Contact and additional information

For further information contact [email protected], martin.compton@environment-agency,gov.uk and [email protected]. It is anticipated that interviews will be in person and will take place at Aqua House, Birmingham end of September.

We are a dispersed national team with accessible offices across England. Flexible working arrangements are in place to support your work/life balance. There will be an expectation to attend face to face meetings.

There is a requirement to undertake an incident role and make yourself available to respond to incidents or provide business continuity support. This may attract an additional payment, training and workplace adjustments will be available to support. Further Information about Incident role can be found in the candidate pack.

When answering the competency questions use the following structure Situation, Task, Action and Result (STAR).

Competence 1

Illegal Activity Detection and Enforcement

Description

Provide an example of when you have undertaken the role of Disclosure Officer on a criminal investigation and detail your methodology in producing unused schedules for the court and any issues that you encountered.

Competence 2

Builds and Sustains Relationships

Description

Provide an example of when you have personally built a working relationship covering a wide geographical area using a range of communication techniques, in particular outlining any challenges you faced.

Competence 3

Takes Decisions and Solves Problems

Description

Provide an example of a difficult situation when you have taken control as the principal decision maker, identified the pertinent issues and achieved a successful resolution.

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.