JOB SUMMARY

Are you an experienced investigations professional looking for your next challenge?
Do you have experience and knowledge of environmental regulations and of UK environmental law?
Do you want to play a role in helping the OEP achieve its mission to protect and improve the environment?
We are excited to be looking for a Principal Complaints and Investigations Manager to join the OEP’s Regulatory Directorate to jointly manage the team responsible for investigation and resolving serious failures to comply with environmental law. We are looking for a motivated and professional individual to fulfil a key role in our team, and the organisation as a whole.
The Office for Environmental Protection (the OEP) mission is to protect and recover the environment. Created by the Environment Act 2021, our role is to hold Government and public bodies to account. The OEP do this in several ways including reporting on progress against environmental targets, advising on changes to environmental laws and receiving complaints from the public which can lead to us taking enforcement action.
This role sits within the Regulatory Directorate, which is responsible for delivery of key functions as set out in the Environment Act. These are monitoring, investigating, and enforcing the implementation of environmental Law, and advising the government on the development of Law and other matters relating to the natural environment. The investigation team leads on those matters where there is evidence that government or public authorities may have failed to comply with environmental law.
With a total staff of just over 80, we are a dynamic, friendly and flexible organisation covering both England, Northern Ireland, and environmental matters reserved to the UK government. We offer flexible working arrangements, high profile, dynamic work and the chance to have an impact on improving the state of the environment.
To find out more about the OEP, what we do, who we are and our current work, visit the OEP website .
The OEP is a non-departmental public body sponsored by Defra in England and DAERA in Northern Ireland which means it operates independently from Defra. Our employees are public servants and as part of the benefits package, employees have the opportunity to enrol in the Civil Service Pension Scheme.

JOB DESCRIPTION

The OEP Complaints and Investigations team prioritises, manages, and investigates complaints about alleged breaches of environmental law by public authorities.
The advertised role sits within the Investigations function, which oversees the development, maintenance and application of the OEP’s approach to investigating potential breaches of environmental law, and takes the lead on progressing investigations that have been prioritised through our assessment process. The Complaints and Investigations teams work closely, cooperatively and flexibly, agreeing priorities and resource allocations across all of their areas.
The role holder will be responsible for managing the progress of multiple cases and complaints, and will lead on high risk and complex investigations. We are a strategic organisation, looking for a candidate with experience in analysing large amounts of information, identifying solutions and achieving tangible outcomes. The successful applicant will be expected to build collaborative relationships with public authorities and senior officials, in order to negotiate and agree suitable remedies to identified non-compliances. Where a suitable solution cannot be found, they may also need to support the OEP legal team with further enforcement action. This role also requires effective management of stakeholder relationships, and the ability to work across directorates within the OEP to build a holistic view of relevant issues.

The role holder will;

• Hold joint responsibility for managing the Complaints and Investigations team and supporting team members as they progress complaints, enquiries and investigations through to satisfactory resolution.
• Assess allegations of non-compliance and consider cases strategically, deciding where to allocate resource to investigations and support the team as required.
• Lead complex and high risk investigations, managing multi-disciplinary teams to ensure cases are progressed efficiently.
• Develop and maintain collaborative working practices with other OEP departments such as our EIP reporting team, to identify possible cases for enforcement or refer unsuitable cases to relevant teams.
• Produce final investigation reports on completed investigations and report on investigation activity.
• Maintain oversight of records management and continual improvement of the C&I team Case Management System.
• Collaborate with other C&I Managers to manage resources flexibly across the joint functions and reprioritise where necessary to meet changing demands.
• Manage relationships with Public Authorities and Stakeholders, negotiation and resolving instances of non-compliance directly with relevant organisations.
• The role may involve line management of a Senior Investigations Officer.

The above list of job duties is not exclusive or exhaustive and the post holder will be required to undertake such tasks as may reasonably be expected within the scope and grading of the post.

TECHNICAL SKILLS

We’ll assess you against these technical skills during the selection process:

• Knowledge of environmental regulations and of UK environmental law

APPLICATION PROCESS

The OEP uses the Civil Service Success Profile framework which is made up of five elements: Behaviours, Strengths, Ability, Experience and Technical. It is strongly recommend you have a look at the Success Profiles to enable you to make the best application possible.
When writing at application or presenting behaviours at interview, the OEP recommends you use the STAR format to present your answers (Situation, Task, Action, Result).
For application, you will be asked to complete a CV detailing qualifications and work history and a 750 word statement of suitability answering a specific question.
The personal statement is a very important part of your application. Review the person specification and essential experience and skills criteria on the job description and outline how you meet it providing specific and relevant examples. These could be from work, volunteering, training or education.
Further details are provided on the application form.

INTERVIEW AND ID VERIFICATION

If successful at application stage, you will be invited to interview where you will be assessed on experience, behaviours and technical criteria outlined in the job description.
Interviews will be held online using MS Teams.

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)
• 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

The role holder will;

• Hold joint responsibility for managing the Complaints and Investigations team and supporting team members as they progress complaints, enquiries and investigations through to satisfactory resolution.
• Assess allegations of non-compliance and consider cases strategically, deciding where to allocate resource to investigations and support the team as required.
• Lead complex and high risk investigations, managing multi-disciplinary teams to ensure cases are progressed efficiently.
• Develop and maintain collaborative working practices with other OEP departments such as our EIP reporting team, to identify possible cases for enforcement or refer unsuitable cases to relevant teams.
• Produce final investigation reports on completed investigations and report on investigation activity.
• Maintain oversight of records management and continual improvement of the C&I team Case Management System.
• Collaborate with other C&I Managers to manage resources flexibly across the joint functions and reprioritise where necessary to meet changing demands.
• Manage relationships with Public Authorities and Stakeholders, negotiation and resolving instances of non-compliance directly with relevant organisations.
• The role may involve line management of a Senior Investigations Officer