Apply for the Civil Engineering Graduate Programme with the Environment Agency by 4th March

Graduate civil engineers are invited to work with the Environment Agency on a structured graduate programme with 13 vacancies across the UK. Apply by 4th March 2022.

Job description

As a Civil Engineering graduate at the Environment Agency, you can have a major impact on reducing the risks to people, households and businesses from flooding. You’ll also contribute to our challenge of becoming a carbon net-zero organisation by 2030.

Our structured graduate programme lasts between four to five years and offers you a mix of internal and external placements. This allows you to build skills in everything from asset management to project feasibility, planning and design to project management, and site supervision to incident response. Spending between three months and a year in each placement gives you plenty of time to get to grips with the real issues, gain the necessary experience and make your mark on a project.

Accredited by the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE), our programme leads to Incorporated (IEng) and then Chartered (CEng) status. You’ll learn by working alongside expert engineers and will also have the support of professional development advisors to coordinate your training. At every step, your placement journey will be carefully tailored to your individual development needs.

The team

You will join a team of professional engineers who will support you throughout the scheme. They will share their extensive knowledge and experience to encourage your development to Chartered Engineer. Throughout the scheme there will be opportunities to join other projects and teams across the country providing a varied work environment.

Experience/skills required

We’re looking for graduates with the innovation and passion to make a difference. Keen to learn, you will be ready to make the most of all the placements and opportunities that this scheme offers. You will also have evidence of skills you’ll need to develop during the programme including leadership, collaboration, people skills and problem-solving.

To join the graduate programme you’ll need to be a graduate with a MEng degree in Civil Engineering (or equivalent). It’s also essential that your degree is accredited by the Joint Board of Moderators (JBM) as satisfying the academic requirements of becoming a Chartered Engineer with the ICE. Please check online here.

Contact and additional information

If you have any questions about the scheme, please email gradengineers@environment-agency.gov.uk using ‘Graduate Civil Engineers’ as the subject of your email.

Assessments will take place in March/April 2022. This will be face to face at a location local to the advertised vacancies. However, virtual assessments might be used in line with government COVID restrictions at the time.

We are committed to being an inclusive employer, ensuring equal opportunities and keen to have a workforce to reflect the full diversity of the communities we serve. We welcome applications from individuals of any age/gender or background.

Role Competencies

Competence 1: Takes Decisions and Solves Problems

The competency questions will be the first stage of the selection process. You may want to use the STAR approach and the indicators detailed in the candidate pack to help you write your answers. These competencies will also make up some of the interview if you are successful. We are also interested in how you would describe and demonstrate behaviours to meet the Environment Agency’s Flood and Coastal Erosion Risk Management Strategy.

Through your development as a graduate engineer you will be encouraged to take decisions and solve problems when working within teams and on projects.

Describe a time when you had to take initiative to develop an innovative solution. How did you come to your chosen solution?

Competence 2: Works in Teams

Through your development as a graduate engineer you will work in a variety of different teams, each working to achieve a common goal. Please give an example of a time when you have successfully supported others in a team to obtain a positive outcome?

Competence 3: Environmental Awareness

The Environment Agency has set an aim of becoming a carbon net zero organisation by 2030. Our 2020 Flood and Coastal Erosion Risk Management Strategy’s long-term vision is for: a nation ready for, and resilient to, flooding and coastal change – today, tomorrow and to the year 2100. These are key areas where you will be able to make a difference and be part of the solution.

Identify and describe sustainable solutions that could help the Environment Agency meet the aims of the 2020 Flood and Coastal Erosion Risk Management Strategy.

Competence 4: Manages Self

Our graduate engineers are self-motivated and committed to all aspects of their personal development. This includes developing resilience and having an enquiring and growth mind set.

Describe a time when you received negative feedback. How did you respond to it and what did it teach you about yourself?

To join the graduate programme you’ll need to be a graduate with a MEng degree in Civil Engineering (or equivalent). It’s also essential that your degree is accredited by the Joint Board of Moderators (JBM) as satisfying the academic requirements of becoming a Chartered Engineer with the ICE. Please check online here.