Deputy Director Resilience, Assurance and Performance

Deputy Director Resilience, Assurance and Performance

The Environment Agency exists to protect and enhance our natural world, creating healthier places for people and wildlife while supporting sustainable development for generations to come. Since 1996, the EA has grown into a nationwide organisation of more than 12,000 dedicated professionals, with a head office in Bristol and teams based across England, all working together to safeguard the environment.

The Environment Agency are now looking for a leader who can help drive one of their most vital national services. As Deputy Director Resilience, Assurance and Performance, you will:

• The post holder provides strategic leadership for a 40-strong team, driving alignment with organisational and government priorities.
• They lead the Anticipate, Assess, Validation and Assurance elements of the IEM Framework, influencing decision-making and funding allocation.
• Through governance oversight, strategic portfolio management, and workforce planning, they ensure resilience is embedded across the organisation.
• The role also champions innovation, secures resources, and builds strategic partnerships to deliver sustainable, future-ready incident management capability

This is a pivotal role at the centre of the Environment Agency's transformation agenda-shaping how we respond to an increasingly complex world of incident management, national resilience, and climate‑driven risk. Operating within a rapidly evolving landscape defined by the UK Resilience Framework, Integrated Emergency Management (IEM) principles, and key government guidance including the Civil Contingencies Act and the Amber Book, the post holder will help position the organisation to meet rising expectations for proactive risk anticipation, integrated planning, and future‑ready resilience.

In this strategic leadership role, you will be responsible for:

• Growing demand for strategic leadership to align emergency planning with organisational and national priorities:
  You will provide senior leadership for Incident Management Resilience and Operational Risk (IMORR), ensuring our planning frameworks align with organisational priorities and national policy. Working across government, you will help shape the direction of resilience policy, embed best practice, and integrate long‑term planning into the Agency's corporate strategy.
• Growing demand for strategic leadership to align emergency planning with organisational and national priorities:
  You'll lead our work to build sustainable funding models for incident management, influencing government departments, developing business cases, and managing bids for future spending reviews. You will also explore commercial opportunities that support innovation, value for money, and long‑term organisational sustainability.
• Evolving risks requiring proactive anticipation and assessment under the IEM Framework:
  As the strategic lead for the 'Anticipate' and 'Assess' elements of the IEM Framework, you will work with hazard specialists, government bodies, Local Resilience Forums, and environmental partners to identify emerging threats. You will guide national risk assessments and ensure evidence-based insights shape decision-making, investment, and programme delivery.
• Workforce capability gaps and succession planning for future resilience needs:
  You will oversee workforce and succession planning for the full Incident Management service, developing a strong pipeline of skilled professionals and future leaders. This includes shaping development pathways, apprenticeships, and graduate programmes to ensure we have the right capability to meet the challenges of tomorrow's risk landscape.
• Governance discipline and assurance across a complex portfolio of change and improvement projects:
  You will provide leadership and oversight for governance, performance, assurance and risk management across major Incident Management programmes. Your work will ensure transparency, accountability, and disciplined delivery of high-impact change initiatives.
• Proven track record of strategic leadership across large, dispersed teams
• Experience of delivering complex programmes and embedding new ways of…