Environmental Performance Apprentice

Summary:

Are you passionate about protecting the natural world and eager to kickstart a career with real purpose? Do you want to earn a degree while gaining hands-on experience in a sector that truly matters?

We have an exciting opportunity to join our Environmental Team at South East Water. We are looking for an enthusiastic individual to help us improve environmental performance across our entire business. Whether you are looking for a supportive environment to grow, or seeking a stable, reputable company to build your future, this role offers the perfect blend of academic learning and practical application.

You’ll be right in the thick of it, rotating between our Engineering and Operations teams to gain a broad understanding of how we ensure compliance during our construction and operational activities to protect our water sources and biodiversity. You will also have the chance to work with our Catchment Team on vital monitoring programmes for rivers and groundwater, even working alongside farmers to tackle pollution at the source. This role is designed for someone who enjoys solving problems, managing competing priorities, and wants to make a tangible impact on the environment.

You will gain a Level 6 Environmental Practitioner Degree Apprenticeship, which is a 5-year course with one day a week spent studying at Kingston University. As such, you are required to show commitment towards studying and completing the degree. You can be based in any of the regions we operate in (Kent, Sussex or Hampshire), but there will be travel involved across our patch. Please ensure you have a full, clean driving license and are comfortable with travel and making your way to Kingston once a week.

Main responsibilities:

• Contribute to Environmental Projects: Assist in delivering our environmental strategy and ensuring all projects follow company guidance.

• Support Engineering & Operations: Work closely with our Performance Officers to ensure timely delivery of environmental surveys and essential documentation.

• Site Work: Visit working construction sites to ensure compliance and best practice. 

• Duty of Care: Support a sampling programme for operational waste streams to uphold duty of care requirements and our commitment to the waste hierarchy and carbon footprint reduction.

• Reporting: Complete operational sampling and develop the skills to produce high-quality environmental reports for the Waste and Operations Team and the wider business.

• Monitor Biodiversity: Help complete environmental screenings, respond to incidents, and monitor biodiversity net gain across our sites.

• Conduct Field Inspections: Initiate and lead safe field inspections to collect and monitor environmental data using professional measurement techniques.

• Stakeholder Liaison: Work towards building relationships and communicating technical information to both internal teams and external stakeholders

What you’ll need:

Skills / Experience / Qualifications

We are looking for someone who is highly organised, collaborative, and has a positive approach to solving problems. To be successful, you must meet the following criteria:

• Driving Licence: A clean UK driving licence is essential as this is a "fluid" role involving travel to various sites (work vehicles are provided).

• Passion: A genuine, demonstrable passion for the environment.

• Confidence to work independently and with Contractors and colleagues on site to check compliance and best practice.br3

• Communication: Excellent written and oral communication skills.

• Qualifications (One of the following pathways):

• A-Levels: 96 to 120 UCAS tariff points from at least two A-Levels (e.g., Geography, Sciences, Geology, or Maths) at Grade A*-C.

• BTEC: BTEC National Diploma in a Science or Engineering related subject at Grade DMM.

• Access to HE: A pass in a relevant Access to HE Diploma (e.g., Science, Engineering, or Business).

• Full entry requirements can be found here: https://www.kingston.ac.uk/study/degree-apprenticeship/environmental-science-bsc-hons-degree-apprenticeship

​
We want to be the water company people want to be supplied by and want to work for.

We know the communities we serve are diverse. We recognise creativity comes from diversity not similarity. That’s why we are enthusiastic about creating inclusion across age, race, gender, ethnicity, religion and identity. You will experience our dedication to equal opportunities and fair treatment for all: through your recruitment, employment and career progression with South East Water.

Benefits package:

• Excellent Stakeholder pension scheme, up to 10% employer contribution.

• 5 weeks holiday plus bank holidays per annum, increasing to 6 weeks with length of service.

• Flexible annual leave policy to buy or sell holiday leave.

• Paid volunteering days.

• Cycle to work scheme.

• Health cash plan.

• Life assurance.

• Wellbeing related benefits.

​​
What can you expect from your recruitment?

• To apply for this position, please submit your CV on our career’s website.

• It is necessary for you to have the legal right to work in the UK when you begin employment with South East Water.

• Additionally, as part of the employment offer, you will need to pass background, identity, and employment referencing checks.

​
If this sounds like the opportunity you’ve been looking for, apply now!

South East Water kindly asks that recruitment agencies refrain from submitting CVs to our employees or associates without explicit invitation from our HR Resourcing team. CVs sent on a speculative basis will not be acknowledged and will not assume any responsibility for fees or commissions in the event that we hire a candidate who applied directly or subsequently introduced by an instructed agency.

Compensation package:

£19,085 increasing to £24,521 (National Living Wage) after 12 months