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, 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 is responsible for delivering Natural England’s part of the Natural Capital and Ecosystem Assessment (NCEA).

 

The NCEA is a transformative programme to understand the extent, condition and change over time of environmental assets across England's land and water environments, supporting the government’s ambition to improve the environment within a generation. Data will come from Earth Observation, professional field data collection, citizen science and partner data sets.

 

Natural England’s Terrestrial NCEA delivery is organised into projects:

1. Mapping and Earth Observation – Spatial data and maps on natural capital to inform national and local decision making and delivery.
2. England Peat Map – Mapping the extent and condition of England’s peatlands.
3. Field data collection – Data on habitats, soils, landscapes and species to understand the condition of natural capital assets.
4. Citizen science – Working with citizens and community science to fill gaps, provide local and landscape scale information and engaging the public.
5. Data mobilisation and integration and reporting – Making NCEA, partner and volunteer data available for analysis, integration and use, producing high quality evidence products by analysing and integrating NCEA data.
6. Programme management – Managing Natural England’s NCEA programme.

Job description  

This role sits within Project NE3 - Field Data Collection. The England Ecosystem Survey work package will use professional survey as a tool to provide high quality data to assess the state and condition of biodiversity, ecosystems, and natural capital assets within England’s habitats and landscapes addressing data gaps, including soils and peat.   

Key tasks/principal accountabilities.

• Work with the NCEA Field Data Collection Principal Adviser to develop one aligned approach to field survey elements of the NCEA - including England Ecosystem Survey, Living England ground-truthing, soil sampling, soil classification, England Peat Map.
• Oversee coordination of all field surveyors working on NCEA across multiple teams and work alongside other NCEA workstream leads in Evidence Services to plan and lead a single integrated programme of field surveys.
• liaising with the partner organisations that have been contracted to deliver NCEA surveys on behalf of NE acting as a point of contact regarding Field Survey planning and coordination.   
• Develop an integrated delivery plan for the 2024/25 programme of NCEA field survey.
• Work alongside the NCEA Field Data Collection Principal Adviser, other NCEA Project 3 Senior Advisers, National Field Unit lead, Living England lead, Team Leaders, the England Peat Mapping (EPM) Field Survey Manager and Specialists to develop and track (taking account of in-year changes) the 2024/25 NCEA survey programme seeking synergies across the projects and ensuring delivery of 2024 survey targets; work with external partners leading on survey delivery.
• Chair project calls as necessary and co-ordinate inputs from staff across the field survey approaches for different aspects of the field data collection work packages.
• Oversee training & mentoring support to the staff involved in field survey across NCEA work packages to ensure training in new approaches and ensure the field teams have the required skills.
• Proficient in relevant IT systems such as MS Excel, GIS and records management.
• Be creative, use initiative and innovation to embed best practice and join up with other NCEA Projects, other areas of Natural England’s delivery and new technologies.
• Set direction and maintain technical standards and methods including storing, analysing and reporting evidence and creating projects log with links to completed work.
• Develop and oversee delivery of training for staff working on fieldwork elements of the NCEA.
• Engage with other NCEA workstreams and contributing to their development as required.

 

 

Essential Criteria:

 

• Able to plan and integrate field surveys
• Experience of field survey planning, including monitoring techniques
• Good written and verbal communications
• Good experience of working with and functionally leading others to achieve joint outcomes & being innovative
• Experience of training /mentoring and/ or coaching others

 

 

Desirable Criteria:

 

• Experience of field survey, including monitoring techniques

 

Competencies

 

Competence 1   

Professional competency

 

Detail  

Personal Effectiveness

 

Description   

• Act with integrity, addressing challenging issues and managing conflict through being open and objective (Expert)
  • Be ambitious, identify and adopt ways to make improvements in your team and Natural England and inspire others to act (Practitioner)

 

Competence 2   

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

 

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)

 

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 Natural England’s vision, mission and aims (Practitioner)
  • Listen to and understand our diverse partners and customers so that you achieve the best outcomes for them and Natural England (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.