About the job

Job summary

This position is based nationally

Job description

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

We hold a mixed leasehold and freehold estate of some 64,000ha of land, workshops, offices, and other buildings. The majority of the Estate comprises of National Nature Reserves (NNRs) covering some of the most important and iconic wildlife sites in England. Of the 219 designated NNRs over 60% are managed by Natural England.

The Natural England Estate supports delivery of our vision and ambition through delivery, demonstration and partnership working activity that cross cuts across all of our goals:

• Resilient Landscapes and Seas
• Sustainable Development
• Greener Farming and Fisheries
• Connecting People with Nature

You will be joining a national team of Land Agents working across the country and be part of a wider team of conservation professionals.   Roles cover a particular geographic patch which is determined by the candidate’s location and distribution of the wider Land Agent team. Plans showing the distribution of the Natural England Estate are available on request.

Offices are located within each geographic patch, and you would be expected to work out of one of these offices for an agreed minimum number of days a week. You will also be expected to spend 2-3 days per fortnight working with the reserve teams on the NNRs in your patch.

See more about National Nature Reserves at:

National Nature Reserves in England - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

 See more about the work of Natural England at: 

www.gov.uk/government/organisations/natural-england 

Job description 1 

Natural England Chartered Surveyors are leading traditional Land Agency into the world of natural capital and ecosystem services. They are essential to the Estate fulfilling its conservation and income potential whilst meeting the organisations legal obligations and providing value for money.

Key areas of work include:

• Professional advice on legal and valuation matters or engagement of internal and external advisers on such matters.
• Estate Management – management of all tenure casework for a particular geographic area including lease renewals, rent reviews, grazing agreements, acquisitions and access.
• Acquisitions and declarations - advise the relevant geographic team on NNR acquisitions and National Nature Reserve designation.
• Work with wider Natural England teams to align Estate processes with Natural England regulatory needs.
• Income generation - explore traditional and new potential of Estate assets and drive forward opportunities from emerging environmental markets.
• Records - updating and maintaining of property records and mapping.
• Finance - work with support staff to deliver accurate payments and receipts from the Estate tenure and assist with procurement for valuation and other contracts.
• Professional advice - the post holder will provide formal and informal advice to others on casework matters related to the management of the Natural England estate. This will involve working with our Area Teams, NNR staff and the National NNR team.
• Work with wider Natural England teams to input to emerging policy areas /schemes.

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 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.

Chartered Surveyors are supported to meet their RICS CPD obligations.

You will have access to a Civil Service Pension, more information, including employer and employee contributions can be found here Home - Civil Service Pension Scheme

Annual leave allowance of 33 day per year (pro rata).

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

You will be joining a national team of Surveyors/Land Agents working across the country and be part of a wider team of conservation professionals.   Roles cover a particular geographic patch which is determined by the candidate’s location and distribution of the wider Land Agent team. Plans showing the distribution of the Natural England Estate are available on request.

Offices are located within each geographic patch, and you would be expected to work out of one of these offices for an agreed minimum number of days a week. You will also be expected to spend 2-3 days per fortnight working with the reserve teams on the NNRs in your patch.

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.

You can view a map of our office locations here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/natural-england-office-locations

Pay

The starting salary range for post qualified Chartered Surveyors is £33,736. Whilst it is NE’s policy to appoint at salary minimum a higher starting salary within the pay range may be considered for exceptional candidates.

How to Apply

All applications must be made through the Civil Service Jobs portal.  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
• Work Delivery
• Putting People at the Heart of the Environment

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.

Evaluation of applications will begin shortly after the closing date. Candidates invited to interview will be notified by email.

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 competencies as set out in the Job Description.

Successful candidates will be allocated roles in merit order based on scores achieved at interview and in accordance with location preferences, taking into account the work area to which successful candidates are most suited, wherever possible.

Competencies

Competence   1

Professional competency

Detail  

Technical Skills and Knowledge

Description  

You will be a qualified member of The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors and will be required to keep professional membership up to date. Experience within the division of Rural Practice is preferable but not obligatory. Professional membership of the Central Association of Agricultural Valuers is not essential but preferable.

Knowledge and experience in all aspects of Property Estate Management, preferably rural, will be valuable including:

• Legal matters (essential)
• Lease negotiations, rent reviews, lease management, tenant relations (essential)
• Valuations – freehold and leasehold (essential)
• Rent and debt management (essential)
• Estate utilisation and rationalisation (essential)
• Property Transactions – purchases, leases, easements, wayleaves (essential)
• Estate Terrier Management (essential)
• Stakeholder Engagement and Relationship management with a range of landowners, occupiers, farmers and other professionals will be valuable (essential)

Competence 2  

Professional competency

Detail  

Personal Effectiveness

Description  

• Use clear and appropriate language, communication styles and techniques that engage your audience (practitioner)
  • Make and explain objective decisions which combine your professional judgement and evidence (expert)
  • Progress your personal development and take responsibility for keeping your knowledge and expertise current (practitioner)

Competence 3  

Professional competency

Detail  

Work Delivery

Description  

• Manage and deliver your workload to meet agreed targets and deadlines (expert)
  • Consider the financial implications of your work and seek income from our products and services (practitioner)

Competence 4  

Professional competency

Detail  

Putting People at the Heart of the Environment

Description  

• Nurture trusting partnerships and collaborate to achieve pragmatic outcomes that help deliver the vision, mission and aims of the organisation you represent (practitioner)

 

Person specification

Please refer to Job Description

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £33,736, Natural England contributes £9,142 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.