Environmental Permitting Manager

Protect Rivers. Restore Nature. Shape the Future of Yorkshire’s Water.

•    We offer a competitive salary, depending on experience up to £65,000.

•    A company car lease/allowance scheme (£500 per month/£6,000 per year, based on full-time employment on joining the company).  You can opt to sign up to the EV Car Salary Sacrifice Scheme 6 months after joining the company.

•    Annual incentive related bonus (up to 15%).

•    Private health care (self only).

•    Attractive pension scheme (up to 12% company contribution).

•    Life assurance cover of 4 times pensionable salary.

•    25 days annual leave plus bank holidays – plus an extra two wellness days.

•    Life assurance cover of 4 times pensionable salary.

•    A great benefits package – choose from health cash plan scheme, critical illness insurance, dental insurance, life assurance flex and partner cover.

•    Retail savings scheme.

•    Online GP service, cycle to work scheme, gym membership discounts and many more!

Location: This role will initially be based in Bradford but we’re moving our office to Leeds Valley Park in summer 2026, so you’ll be based there in the future / Hybrid Working (two to three office a week – Bradford/Leeds).

Work type: Permanent. 37 hours per week, Monday – Friday.

At Yorkshire Water, river health and environmental protection are at the heart of everything we do. We’re looking for an Environmental Permitting Manager to join our Environmental Regulation and Permitting Team and play a vital role in safeguarding Yorkshire’s rivers, coastal waters, and communities—now and for generations to come.

This is a fantastic opportunity to be part of one of the biggest environmental programmes Yorkshire Water has ever delivered. Over the next five years we will be investing £1.5 billion in our storm overflow programme to bring improvements to 482 storm overflows across the region.

You will be right at the heart of this work, helping shape the permitting that unlocks real environmental improvement for our rivers and coastal waters. The role offers hands on experience in permitting and environmental legislation and the chance to work closely with the Environment Agency.

If you are curious, ambitious or want to develop your skills in a high profile and meaningful area of our work, this is an exciting moment to get involved.

Your Opportunity to Make an Impact.

Yorkshire Water holds over 3,800 environmental permits, including complex discharge, abstraction and IED permits, across multiple regulatory frameworks. With the largest‑ever AMP8 WINEP workload and significant permitting activity continuing into AMP9, keeping permits up to date and fit for purpose is critical.

The Environmental Permitting Manager will lead the team to deliver timely, high‑quality permit and licence applications, ensuring compliance and supporting capital delivery.

 
The role owns the end‑to‑end Environment Agency permitting process, works closely with the EA on performance and escalations, and ensures new permit conditions and legislative changes are embedded through clear processes and effective training.

What You’ll Be Doing!

In this highly influential role, you will:

•    Lead and develop the Environmental Permitting Team, providing coaching, one‑to‑ones and clear objectives to deliver agreed outputs and service standards.

•    Own and manage the end‑to‑end permit and licence application process across Yorkshire Water, ensuring it is efficient, embedded and consistently applied.

•    Ensure Yorkshire Water holds the right permits and licences, fit for operational and business needs, with clear visibility of live applications and progress.

•    Act as the primary liaison with the Environment Agency, managing performance, resolving escalations and closing out actions effectively.

•    Work closely with Asset Management, Capital Delivery and Operations to ensure permit requirements, changes and new conditions are clearly communicated and implemented.

•    Drive performance by measuring, reporting and improving permitting activity against agreed targets and business priorities.

•    Lead knowledge management for environmental permitting, ensuring policies, procedures and guidance are current, accessible and well understood.

•    Support the development of training, awareness and competency programmes, making environmental compliance clear, practical and easy to apply across the business.

Skills & Qualifications;

•    Proven experience working within a regulated environment, including effective engagement with regulators.

•    Strong knowledge of environmental regulation and permitting, particularly relating to wastewater, clean water and waste.

•    Demonstrable experience in people leadership, including coaching, performance management and team development.

•    Excellent stakeholder management and influencing skills, comfortable working across all levels of the business and externally.

•    Experience in process ownership, development and continuous improvement.

•    Highly organised with strong planning skills, able to deliver to tight timescales and targets.

•    Confident communicator with the ability to present, lead meetings and resolve conflict.

•    Self‑driven, adaptable and solution‑focused, with strong problem‑solving capability and a passion for environmental compliance.

Be Part of Something Bigger.

This is more than a regulatory role—it’s a chance to protect rivers, enable nature recovery, and shape how Yorkshire Water delivers environmental change.

If you want your expertise to matter—and to see the real world impact of your work on Yorkshire’s rivers and communities—we’d love to hear from you.

If successful for the role, you will be required to undergo pre-employment checks that will include a Basic Disclosure Check, carried out through a Third-Party Company, prior to commencing employment. Depending on the role, you may also be required to go through the security vetting process for either a Counter Terrorist Check or Security Check clearance.

All our roles are subject to a medical questionnaire, and further medicals when required.

Closing date will be 23rd July 2026.

We are committed to removing barriers and ensuring our recruitment process is accessible to everyone. We offer a range of adjustments to make your application experience as comfortable and straightforward as possible.

If you have an accessibility need, disability, or condition that requires changes to the recruitment process, please include this information in your application. We will then discuss any reasonable adjustments required.

Kelda Group reserve the right to close this position before the published closing date, should the need occur. We therefore advise that you complete and submit your application as soon as possible.

No agencies please.