About the job

Job summary

This is a Nationally based role

Job description

The team

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, and 
• 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 

The Team

This post sits within the Science Team (Marine). The Science team leads on the development and application of natural, economic, and social science and evidence to drive and enable the achievement of environmental outcomes both within Natural England and externally.

Science, evidence, and analysis are at the heart of Natural England's advice, operations and regulatory activity. To be successful in recovering nature, we need high quality, relevant and up to date evidence that is actively and confidently applied by all of us. This means we need, amongst other things, to understand what changes are happening in the natural environment and what interventions and actions work well.

Our underpinning science, evidence and analytical capability continues to grow, as we pursue our ambition to be an evidence-led organisation.

Role description

As a senior specialist, you will proactively lead and provide technical expertise on the development and delivery of evidence and advice on the impacts of fisheries on benthic systems. You will work across a number of teams (e.g. Evidence, Strategy, Analysis, offshore wind, Natural Capital, and climate change) to enhance Natural England’s evidence-base and deliver advice to Defra. You will also work with external partners and intergovernmental advisory bodies to collaborate on projects.

Key tasks

• Act as technical lead on benthic impacts of fisheries, working with others to develop evidence-led fisheries advice, primarily in relation to the UK Marine Strategy and delivery of Good Environmental Status.
• Provide timely and transparent evidence to Defra on benthic impacts of fisheries through the Fisheries Management Plans programme of work, working closely with Natural England’s Principal in Fisheries Management Plans.
• Develop evidence projects to further our understanding of impacts of fisheries on benthic habitats.
• Provide advice to MMO and IFCAs on fisheries management in MPAs.
• Lead Natural England’s input to the Benthic Impacts Working Group
• Work with others to ensure that the ongoing development of evidence and tools is in line with Defra’s objectives to 1) progress towards Good Environmental Status, 2) deliver the UK Fishery Act objectives, and 3) support Marine Spatial Prioritisation (MSPri).
• Effectively communicate research to a wide range of audiences and stakeholders, publish peer-reviewed scientific papers, and disseminate research at national and/or international conferences.
• As a specialist, you will also prioritise your own learning and development and ensure you keep up to date with current research.

 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:

• Technical Skills and Knowledge
• Personal Effectiveness
• Putting people at the heart of the environment
• Work Delivery

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.

Competencies

Competence 1 

Professional competency

Detail 

Technical Skills and Knowledge

Description 

• You will hold a relevant graduate or postgraduate degree in fisheries or marine science/ecology or be able to demonstrate equivalent experience. A postgraduate qualification in a relevant area would be desirable. Applicants that do not hold a relevant degree should specify experience and outputs that demonstrate that they have an equivalent level of knowledge. You will be able to demonstrate that you are recognised as an expert in at least one aspect of marine science/ecology but with a proven ability to apply your scientific expertise and skills to areas beyond that to achieve positive environmental outcomes.You will have an excellent knowledge of marine fisheries, particularly with respect to understanding impacts of fishing on the marine environment, advising on and developing fisheries management and policy, and interactions between fishing and other uses of the sea.
  
  
• You will be able to demonstrate an understanding of the existing and emerging indicators for estimating benthic integrity/ naturalness, for example in the UK Marine Strategy and the models and methods underpinning them (e.g. Common indicator extent of physical disturbance to benthic habitats BH3)
  
  
• You will have knowledge of policies, legislative frameworks and drivers for the marine environment as well as detailed understanding of the roles and responsibilities of key stakeholders in UK marine fisheries.
  
  
• You will have excellent communication and presentation skills, with the ability to present to technical and non-technical audiences and lead publications in peer-reviewed journals and/or detailed project reports.
  
  
• You will be able to work as part of a team and unaided while contributing to a positive, supportive team culture that helps others to build their technical capability.

 

Competence 2 

Professional competency

Detail 

Personal Effectiveness

Description 

• Test and challenge others in a constructive and evidence-based way providing scientific scrutiny, challenge and assurance to casework and other delivery that is practical and, where appropriate, cross-disciplinary. (Expert)
  
  
• Research, produce and contribute to specialist products such as articles, think pieces, peer reviewed papers, reports and conference presentations for general and technical readerships, both internal and external. (Expert)

Competence 3 

Professional competency

Detail 

Work Delivery

Description 

• Identify priority evidence needs and seek ways to meet them (e.g. through funding or partnerships). (Practitioner)
  
  
• Understand evaluation and apply it to your work at an appropriate scale in order to identify the impact of our evidence or interventions and opportunities for improvement. (Practitioner)

Competence 4 

Professional competency

Detail 

Putting people at the heart of the environment

Description 

• Build relationships and effective networks both externally and internally to bring in fresh perspectives, approaches and evidence to raise the profile of both your individual specialist work and that of the organisation you represent. (Expert)
  
  
• Listen to and understand our diverse partners and customers so that you achieve the best outcomes for them and Natural England. (Practitioner)

Contact 

Joana Smith

Email: joana.smith@naturalengland.org.uk    

Telephone: 020 8026 7459   

Or Dr. Libby West

Libby.west@naturalengland.org.uk

Telephone:  020 8720 0619  

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.