About the job

Job summary

This position is based Nationally

Job description

Do you have a passion for nature and the environment? Do you want to make a real difference and secure significant environmental gains in the present and the future? Do you enjoy working in a team? Can you see yourself advising communities and customers to maximise gains for the Natural Environment?

If this appeals to you, a career at Natural England offers rewarding opportunities to secure environmental improvements and play your part in creating a better future for people and nature.

The priority work Natural England is delivering includes:

• Establishing a Nature Recovery Network to help wildlife thrive
• Monitoring environmental changes to identify and help reduce the effects of climate change
• Working with farmers and landowners to develop greener food production methods
• Advising on plans for new developments to maximise gains for nature
• Providing ways for people to better connect with nature, including green social prescribing.

 

We are the Government’s Adviser for the natural environment, playing a vital role in delivering the Government’s 25 Year Environment Plan, an ambitious vision which brings new opportunities to protect and enhance and to achieve real outcomes for the environment.

Find out more about the work of Natural England at www.gov.uk/government/organisations/natural-england

Job description  

The Team

The Digital Transformation Team act as the intelligent partner on behalf of NE, representing the organisation’s interests, supporting colleagues to find digital solutions, and helping to access the digital corporate services through Digital Data and Technology Services (DDTS. You will be joining a small team that sits in the Business Management Group, working collaboratively within the Change Directorate.

 

Job Description

We know that Natural England needs digital solutions to deliver on its vision of thriving nature for people and planet. You will be central to supporting colleagues, whilst forging more effective partnerships to ensure NE meet its mission and its people get what they need to deliver.

You will be supporting the Digital Delivery & Assurance lead and taking ownership of key elements of our Intelligent Partner Function responsibilities. In this role you will be required to work with multiple stakeholders, across the business including external service providers and contractors. You will be prepared to lead various tasks and understand project dependencies and deliverables whilst championing our mission through excellent communication.

As part of the Change Team, within the Business Management Group, we are working to implement significant organisational change projects aimed at building NE’s capability to deliver for nature into the future. This is an exciting time of change to set the future direction and we are looking for someone who will be enthusiastic about enabling and driving this kind of change.

As a team we pride ourselves on fostering an environment where we all have opportunities to focus on things we are passionate about, where we all feel heard and can express ourselves as individuals, and where we all have a role in shaping the team as we evolve. We are seeking colleagues who will be enthused to get involved in building our future together.

 

Key Tasks/Accountabilities

• You will act as key point of contact for NE’s Intelligent Partner Function, and day to day liaison between NE & DDTS Virtual Team.
• You will have excellent communication skills and be able to translate the complex world of Digital, Data and Technology to our stakeholders.
• Focus on user needs ensuring solutions are developed that meet NE requirements and solutions are delivered efficiently and effectively.
• Working with DDTS Virtual Team to manage the full range of NE digital projects & requests.
• Maintain active engagement with digital change projects to enable project sponsors to maintain standards and timescales as projects move through the project lifecycle.
• Build capability in others in the team and across NE (as appropriate) to enable effective delivery and support resilience to absence and change.
• Liaise with managers and teams to establish cross-cutting planning so that projects are delivered efficiently, with appropriate resource and capability, and progress, risks and issues are monitored.
• Take a ‘probe and explore’ approach to your work focusing on organisational priorities, reacting to unexpected change, and ensuring that all necessary governance is adhered to, audit trails are maintained, and lessons learnt are actively sought and embedded into future ways of working.
• You will be eager and willing to develop your own knowledge and expertise within the digital and change environments.

Benefits

Wherever possible Natural England accommodates requests for both full-time and part-time hours and other flexible working patterns to help employees achieve a good work/life balance and maintain their health and wellbeing.

Natural England provides excellent opportunities for career progression, training and development tailored to your role. From induction to ongoing learning and development, everyone in Natural England is supported to develop their skills and capabilities. Everyone has 10 days to devote to personal learning and development, as well as an additional 3 days to volunteer.

You will have access to Civil Service Pension and benefits arrangements and generous leave allowances (33 day per year pro rata), as well as flexible working, to help you achieve a work-life balance that works for you and us.

You will have access to a range of benefits including discounts on shopping vouchers, cycle to work scheme, and childcare vouchers. You can also join the Civil Service Sport club which offer discounts on a range of sports and leisure opportunities as well as social events.

Natural England is a fantastic place to work, where difference is celebrated.

We’re committed to fairness and equality for all, so you feel valued for who you are and what you do. Our shared values help us work together to benefit the communities we serve. Our thriving employee-led diversity networks support our inclusive culture and contribute to our Diversity Action Plan.

Locations

Natural England is adopting hybrid working – which means our staff work from a flexible range of locations, encompassing home, offices (ours and our partners) and relevant sites. All new staff will be formally linked to one of our 25 offices across England and the expectation is that all new staff will be able to access their local office to be part of the community of staff in their geographical area. Full time staff are expected to

attend their associated office for a minimum of one day a week. Staff members are required to carry out all their duties working in this way and cannot do so from an overseas location at any time. Travel expenses will be paid if work related travel is required but does not apply to travel between home and your associated office.

National team roles can be linked with any Natural England office while Area Team roles will be linked with an office in the relevant geographic area. View a map of our office locations here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/natural-england-office-locations

Pay

It is Natural England policy to employ at the entry point of the salary range.

How to Apply

We welcome and encourage applications from all communities. Natural England is accredited to the Disability Confident Scheme, which denotes organisations which have a positive attitude towards disabled people. Disabled applicants who meet the minimum requirements for the role at the shortlisting stage are guaranteed an invitation to interview.

If you require a reasonable adjustment at interview, or there is anything else you would like the panel to take into consideration, you should notify us of this at application stage where possible, or well in advance of your interview.

This vacancy uses competency-based assessment. We'll assess you against the competencies below during the selection process.

When completing the application form you should present relevant examples using the STAR format. Give us an example of how you have demonstrated the competency (which can be work related or from another area of your life) and tell us about the Situation, the specific Task you had to undertake, the specific Actions you took, and the Result (both immediate and in a wider context) of your doing so.

Please note that STAR format is not required when answering the Technical Skills & Knowledge competency. 

Examples should be given in no more than 250 words for each competency.

If you are successful at the shortlisting stage, you will be invited to attend an interview via MS Teams or a suitable alternative, where you will be asked to give examples for all 4 competencies as set out in the Job Description.

Competencies

 

Competence 1   

Professional competency

 

Detail   

Technical Skills and Knowledge

 

Description   

You have experience within Digital, Data and Technology (DDaT) and understand how the power of DDaT can support nature‘s recovery and drive positive change (Essential)
Agile working. You ensure that the team knows what each other is working on and how this relates to project objectives and user needs. You can coach and lead teams determining the right approach for the team to take and evaluating this through the life of a project. You can think of new and innovative ways of working to achieve the right outcomes. (Essential)
Problem management. You can anticipate problems and defend against them at the right time. You can understand how the problem fits into the larger picture. You can articulate the problem and identify the appropriate solution. (Essential)

 

Competence 2   

Professional competency

 

Detail   

Personal Effectiveness

 

Description   

Be ambitious, identify and adopt ways to make improvements in your team and Natural England and inspire others to act (Practitioner)
Share expertise and knowledge with people and networks so that you can develop together (Practitioner)
Assess the impact and effectiveness of communication; review achievement of objectives; identify lessons learnt and share feedback (Expert)

 

Competence 3   

Professional competency

 

Detail   

Work Delivery

 

Description   

Manage and deliver your work to meet agreed targets and deadlines (Expert)

Handle data responsibly, understand your role in good governance, and comply with delegations, policies and procedures (Practitioner)

Systematically identify, analyse and communicate with stakeholders to ensure all those impacted are engaged (Practitioner)

 

Competence 4   

Professional competency

 

Detail   

Leading and Managing People

 

Description   

Encourage, inspire, and support people to be ambitious, creative, and innovative, and to reflect, celebrate and learn lessons from their work (Practitioner)

Set clear plans and expectations for your team, explain reasons behind decisions, be clear on the outcomes to be achieved, and make things happen by sharing and delegating work to the right people (Practitioner)

Person specification

Please refer to Job Description

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £36,098, Natural England contributes £9,782 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

Things you need to know

Selection process details

Please refer to Job Description

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check. People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.

Nationality requirements

This job is broadly open to the following groups:

• UK nationals
• nationals of the Republic of Ireland
• nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (opens in a new window)
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
• individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020
• Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service

Further information on nationality requirements (opens in a new window)

Working for the Civil Service

The Civil Service Code (opens in a new window) sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.

We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles (opens in a new window). The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.