Senior Environmental Regulatory Lawyer
- Salary
- £68K–£75KGBP per year
- Hiring from
- United Kingdom
- Work type
- Remote
- Posted
- Oct 1, 2026
About the Trust
We're one of the UK’s biggest charities and we care for 2,000 miles of canals, rivers, docks and reservoirs because we believe life is better by water. We're looking for people who support our cause and want to make a difference for future generations. Could this be you?
Along with our waterways we also manage museums, archives and the country's third largest collection of historic buildings, as well as the nature and wildlife that calls our canals home. All of this enables us to provide wellbeing opportunities for millions of people each year.
Join Our Team: Senior Environmental Regulatory Lawyer
We’re excited to welcome a new Senior Environmental Regulatory Lawyer to join our Legal team.
Navigate your future and lock in your career as we keep our canals open and alive.
Working Hours & Location
This role follows 37 hours, Monday to Friday working pattern. The vacancy will be offered on a remote working basis, with a requirement to attend our main hub spaces as and when required.
Role Overview
As a Senior Environmental Regulatory Lawyer, you will lead on environmental law matters across the Trust’s network, providing expert legal advice to support compliance, manage enforcement and prosecution risks, and promote strong governance. Working closely with stakeholders across the organisation, you will deliver practical, risk-based solutions that protect the Trust’s interests and support its environmental and operational objectives.
Key Accountabilities:
- Working with the Senior Regulatory Lawyer to provide senior level advice to the Trust on all matters of environmental law. This will include the provision of strategic and operational advice to the Trust (including
- Executive and Board) on a range of matters.
- Provision of day to day advice on issues such as critical water resource, flood management issues, reservoirs, environmental designations and habitats, waste and permitting.
- Strategic advice to Senior Managers and the Executive on developing areas of environmental law (including climate change) as they affect the Trust.
- Leading and co-ordinating the legal response to serious incidents, investigation and statutory reporting obligations which relate to environmental matters, ensuring proportionate and compliant engagement with regulators and stakeholders.
- Advising on water industry regulation in the context of the Trust’s commercial water development activity.
- Providing strategic and practical legal advice on Trust interaction with key environmental regulators (e.g. The Environment Agency, Natural England, Natural Resources Wales, the Office of Environmental Protection and Local Authorities), water industry regulators and key stakeholders (e.g. OFWAT, water and sewerage undertakers).
- Leading environmental litigation taken by or against the Trust (e.g. abstraction licence appeals, judicial review, civil litigation, regulatory enforcement action).
- Supervision of Principal Environmental Lawyer, close working with the Senior Regulatory Lawyer and co-ordination of external legal support, including Counsel.
About you
You will be a qualified lawyer (10 years+ PQE) or have equivalent experience in environmental law, gained in private practice, in house roles, or a combination of both. With a proven track record of providing strategic, pragmatic and timely legal advice, you will be confident advising senior leaders on complex environmental and regulatory matters.
You will have strong expertise across environmental compliance, regulation and litigation, with the ability to manage risk, influence stakeholders and deliver practical solutions that support the Trust’s objectives. Excellent communication skills and the ability to build effective relationships with regulators, external advisers and colleagues at all levels are essential.
Skills & Qualifications
- Qualified lawyer (10 years+ PQE) or similar experience in environmental law (private practice and/or in-house
- Excellent oral and written communication skills
- Track record of providing strategic, proactive, expert and timely legal advice
- Ability to give pragmatic advice and to solve problems to meet the needs of the Trust
- Lead by example, ensure the Legal team take responsibility for the safety of colleagues, volunteers, themselves and customers.
- Comply with Canal & River Trust’s Health & Safety policy and defined standards.
- Investigate and report incidents, accidents and near misses.
- Ensure safe use of appropriate equipment, prepare Risk Assessments and Method Statements ensuring contents are understood and acted upon.
- Some planning law experience would be beneficial but not necessary.
We reserve the right to close this vacancy early if we receive sufficient suitable applications for the role. Therefore, if you are interested, please submit your application as early as possible.
Contact & Application
If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to us at CRT.recruitment@canalrivertrust.org.uk. We encourage early applications as we may close the vacancy once we receive enough suitable candidates.
What We Offer
We offer an annual salary of £68,000 - £75,000 dependant on experience. Enjoy a competitive pension scheme, increasing holiday entitlement, and a range of employee benefits. For a full breakdown of our benefits, check out our brochure here: EVP - 1.
Learn more: https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/about-us/work-for-us/our-benefits
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Our values
We care passionately for our waterways, and as importantly, for those who look after and use them. We are committed to building a diverse and inclusive workforce where everyone can thrive. We are striving to represent the diverse communities that we are a part of and welcome applicants from across all sectors of the community.
We want everyone to have the opportunity to perform at their best during our recruitment process. If you require any reasonable adjustments - whether for a disability, neurodiversity, or health condition - please let us know what you need and how we can support you. We’ll work with you to make any necessary changes.
All of our jobs can be considered on a part time, flexible or job share basis.
We operate a Guaranteed Interview Scheme for disabled applicants who meet the minimum criteria for the role. You are considered disabled under the Equality Act 2010 if you have a physical or mental impairment that has a substantial and long-term negative effect on your ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities. We recognise not everyone who is classified as disabled under the Equality Act personally identifies this way, or with this definition of disability. Please do not let this discourage you from applying under the scheme.
At Canal & River Trust, we are committed to fair, transparent, and ethical recruitment practices. As part of our hiring process, we may use AI to analyse applications and support us work more efficiently. However, all hiring decisions – without exception - are made by our hiring managers.
Navigate your future and lock in your career as we keep our canals open and alive.
Find out more about us on our website: https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/about-us