About the job

Job summary

This position is based Nationally

Job description

Chief Scientist Directorate

The Chief Scientist Directorate provides scientific and evidence leadership, services, and support to help Natural England operate as an evidence-led organisation. The Team provides access to evidence and services to others in Natural England; particularly the management of a range of evidence projects which include People and Nature Survey and a range of data and analytical services. We lead work to implement our Monitoring Strategy and develop new approaches and tools. We also provide evaluation, capability building, communications, and programme management functions for the organisation’s Science & Evidence Programme.

The Evidence Services Team will co-ordinate and lead Natural England’s SSSI monitoring and evaluation programme as part of the Resilient Landscapes and Seas Programme.

SSSI Monitoring and Evaluation Programme.

Natural England has committed to deliver the Environmental Improvement Plan (EIP) target: 

• All SSSIs will have an up-to-date condition assessment by the 31st of January 2028A 

This means that up to 13500 features will need an assessment over the next 4 years. These assessments can take a variety of forms from onsite data collection by Natural England, contractors or partners to a desk-based review or assessments using 3rd party data. 

Protected Sites will be at the heart of the Nature Recovery Network as core network areas that ‘brim over’ with wildlife. These core areas will need to be in good condition. Unfavourable sites are more likely to be vulnerable to climate change and addressing the causes of unfavourable condition will continue to be a priority. Protected Sites are integral to the resilience of ecological networks, supporting the persistence of species under threat from climate change and promoting the colonisation and spread of species in response to climate change.

The Evidence Services Team will co-ordinate and lead Natural England’s SSSI monitoring and evaluation as part of the Resilient Landscapes and Seas Programme.

Climate Change

Climate change is and will increasingly impact Protected Sites. The changing distribution and abundance of species and the timing of ecological events are resulting in changes to the structure and function of communities. Our Protected Site network needs to reflect this increasing dynamism. To accommodate inevitable change, we will need to look at how we assess the condition of protected areas and if that needs to be changed.

Protected Sites will be at the heart of the Nature Recovery Network as core network areas that ‘brim over’ with wildlife. These core areas will need to be in good condition; however, this may be assessed in future. Unfavourable sites are more likely to be vulnerable to climate change and addressing the causes of unfavourable condition will continue to be a priority. Protected Sites are integral to the resilience of ecological networks, supporting the persistence of species under threat from climate change and promoting the colonisation and spread of species in response to climate change.

Job description  

The Lead Adviser will be responsible for the delivery of a desk-based assessment (DBA) for approximately 7000 notified features. This assessment will ensure that the baseline condition data held within the Natural England systems is up to date. The post holder will work closely with the Senior Adviser to ensure that the protocol is fit for purpose and that lessons learned are incorporated into the process.

The post holder will also functionally manage an adviser.

Key Tasks/Principal Accountabilities

• Manage the start to finish desk-based assessment process to confirm baseline condition outcomes.
• Ensure continuous improvement forms part of the process.
• Develop a quality assurance process for the DBA.
• Review internally held documents to find information to support the baseline condition of features.
• Use ARC GIS to review spatially held data to support baseline condition of features.
• Provide quality assurance of the outputs from the MoAs and contracts by working closely with specialists and the Natural England Field Unit.
• Use other mapping tools to look for change in condition.
• Ensure that data within CMSi is fit for purpose and take appropriate action to resolve this, if necessary, particularly owner occupier data
• Ensure that all data management requirements are adhered to, including GDPR, data storage and licensing.
• Support planning and delivery of workshops.
• Review and summarise reports and documents for use by Area Teams, National teams and stakeholders.
• Provide support to the Senior adviser on the refinement of the data collection protocol.
• Update all internal systems with the outcome of the Desk Based Assessment and feedback to Area Teams and landowners.
• Provide regular update for reporting on internal Key Performance indicators and external Environmental Improvement Plan.
• Provide functional management to Adviser staff supporting the project.

The post holder will need to show flexibility in taking on and managing other work should team priorities or resources change.

Additional information

Occasional travel and overnight stays may be required for meetings.

Locations 

Natural England is adopting hybrid working – which means that our staff will 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 geographic area. 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 

Competencies

 

Competence 1   

Professional competency

 

Detail   

Technical Skills and knowledge

 

Description   

• Good written and verbal communication skills (Essential)
  • Ability to assimilate information and concisely share with others (Essential)
  • Competent in the use of IT, particularly spreadsheets (Essential)
  • Experience of ArcGIS and data analysis skills (Essential)
  • Good Project management skills (Essential)
  • Functional Management of staff (Desirable)
  • Strong networking and stakeholder management skills – (Desirable)
  • Understanding of SSSI legislation (Desirable)

 

Competence 2   

Professional competency

 

Detail   

Work delivery

 

Description   

• Manage and deliver your work to meet agreed targets and deadlines. (Practitioner)
  • Ability to review information and write reports. (Practitioner)
  • Handle data responsibly, understand your role in good governance, and comply with delegations, policies and procedures (Practitioner)

 

Competence 3   

Professional competency

 

Detail   

Leading and Managing People

 

Description   

• 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)

 

Competence 4   

Professional competency

 

Detail   

Personal Effectiveness (Practitioner)

 

Description   

• Use clear and appropriate language, communication styles and techniques that engage your audience (Practitioner)
  • Apply new technology to improve the way we deliver our work (Practitioner)
  • Share expertise and knowledge with people and networks so that you can develop together (Practitioner)

Person specification

Please refer to Job Description

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £29,318, Natural England contributes £7,945 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.