Environmental Enhancement Officer

The starting salary for this full-time, permanent position is £42,958 per annum based on a 36 hour working week.

Are you looking for an opportunity to build your Planning career?

We are excited to be recruiting a new Environmental Enhancement Officer to join our fantastic Planning Enforcement Team based at Victoria Gate in Woking. 

As a team, we collaborate in the office for a minimum of two days per week. However, the Planning Group has an agile workstyle which means you will work at different locations and venues across Surrey, including from home. Subject to team requirements, Officers are encouraged to choose the location they think they will be most productive and have access to technology to connect with team members.

Our Offer to You

• 26 days' holiday, rising to 28 days after 2 years' service and 31 days after 5 years' service, plus bank holidays
• Option to buy up to 10 days of additional annual leave
• A generous local government salary related pension
• Up to 5 days of carer's leave and 2 paid volunteering days per year
• Paternity, adoption and dependents leave
• An Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) to support health and wellbeing
• Learning and development hub where you can access a wealth of resources
• Wellbeing and lifestyle discounts including gym, travel, and shopping
• A chance to make a real difference to the lives of our residents

About the Role

Surrey County Council is putting Surrey's people and places at the heart of everything we do. We want Surrey to be a uniquely special place where everyone has a great start to life, people live healthy and fulfilling lives, are enabled to achieve their full potential and contribute to their community, and no one is left behind.

Surrey is a diverse county with an urban fringe in the north abutting Greater London and towns and villages to the south. It is situated between Heathrow and Gatwick airports and hosts highway networks and rail infrastructure which connect the county to London and the south coast. The county is recognised as a powerhouse of the British economy and provides the largest net contribution to the UK Government after London. It is also the most wooded county in England, some 25% of it is covered by the Surrey Hills National Landscape, and about 73% of it is designated Metropolitan Green Belt.

Consequently, Surrey faces huge challenges to accommodate housing and economic growth in a sustainable way in the context of:

• Changing climate
• Biodiversity loss
• A densely populated and valuable natural environment
• Sustainable waste management
• Maintaining the supply of, and safeguarding, a range of minerals
• Identified deficits in supporting strategic and local infrastructure

In this regard the council is a key infrastructure provider and has a statutory responsibility to engage with Surrey's districts and boroughs and surrounding planning authorities in plan-making and provide for minerals and waste management development across the county. The Enforcement and Monitoring Team deals with the regulation of authorised minerals and waste sites alongside the investigation of unauthorised Minerals and Waste development within the County.

As a member of the Planning Enforcement and Monitoring Team, you will play an important role in the delivery of highly quality site restoration, a fundamental component of minerals and waste development across the County.

The Planning Monitoring and Enforcement team sits within the Planning and Development service. The team regulate minerals and waste permissions, as well as the County Councils' own development. Minerals and waste planning is contentious and sensitive and can involve complex technical and regulatory detail. Such development often raises issues of significant public interest and requires strong organisational skills. Minerals and Waste permissions will be subject to restoration requirements, and the Council is responsible for ensuring that these schemes are of high quality and that any environmental enhancements are completed as required.

You will work closely with internal and external stakeholders to ensure Minerals and Waste development is implemented, operated and importantly restored in a compliant manner and to a high quality. The role will have a primary focus on the regulation of authorised mineral and waste development with opportunities to pursue formal and informal remedies to issues identified at authorised sites, working collaboratively to achieve high quality environmental outcomes at restored mineral and/or waste sites.

Your Application

In order to be considered for shortlisting, your application will clearly evidence the following skills and align with our behaviours :

• A degree qualification in land-use planning or related field (e.g. ecology, geography, environmental science, geology, sustainability)
• A good understanding of, and keen interest in, land-use planning in England particularly within local government
• A good understanding of ecology, including the statutory and non-statutory framework that enables key concepts (Biodiversity Net Gain, Habitat Management and Mitigation Hierarchy)
• Intellectual ability, attention to detail and political awareness 
• Excellent communication, negotiating and influencing skills, with ability to establish and maintain constructive and positive working relationships with a range of stakeholders
• Excellent IT skills, including MS Office and database management systems

We're looking for an enthusiastic and highly organised officer who is able to manage a varied workload effectively and independently.

Surrey has both urban and rural areas and candidates will be expected to have a valid driving licence to drive in the UK, access to a vehicle and be willing to travel across a wide geographical area. Reasonable adjustments where needed will be made for successful applicants who have a disability or long term health condition to enable them to fulfil the requirements of the job.

A Basic DBS 'Disclosure and Barring Service' check (formerly known as CRB) will be required for this role.

This post has been designated as a politically restricted post in accordance with the Local Government and Housing Act 1989.

To apply, we request that you submit a CV and answer the following 4 questions:

1. Please give an example of when you have led a project and describe how you ensured you met key milestones.
2. Please describe a time where you have experienced conflict as part of work you have carried out. Describe what techniques or approaches you employed to achieve a resolution.
3. How do you believe site monitoring can encourage and achieve high quality environmental outcomes?
4. How would ensure your work in this role is contributing to Surrey County Council's wider ambitions in relation to nature recovery and biodiversity?

The job advert closes at 23:59 on 22.09.2026 with interviews planned to follow.

Before submitting your application, we recommend you read the job description and our Life at Surrey Handbook to get an insight into working at Surrey.

We look forward to receiving your application, please click on the apply online button below to submit.

Contact Us

Please contact us for any questions relating to the role. This could be to discuss flexible working requests, transferable skills or any barriers to employment. Please contact Mitchel Pugh, Planning Enforcement Team Leader, by email at View email address on surreycc.gov.uk

Local Government Reorganisation (LGR)

Surrey County Council is undergoing Local Government Reorganisation, moving from a two-tier system to two new unitary councils in April 2027. If you are employed by Surrey on 1st April 2027, your role will transfer with current terms and conditions to one of the new organisations, supporting local devolution and greater powers for our communities.

Join our dynamic team and shape the future of local government. Make a lasting impact with innovative solutions and improved services for our community. Help us build a brighter future for our residents! Please see more information here:  Information for applicants on Local Government Reorganisation - Surrey County Council.

Our Commitment

We are a disability confident employer which means if you have shared a disability on your application form and have evidenced you meet the minimum shortlisting criteria as displayed on the advert, we guarantee you an interview.

Your skills and experience truly matter to us. From application to your first day, we're committed to supporting you with any adjustments you need, we value inclusion and warmly welcome you to join and help build a workplace where everyone belongs.