About the job

Job summary

This position is based at County Hall, Worcester

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 and leading a team?

If so, 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.

We are the Government’s advisor for the natural environment, playing a vital role in delivering the Government’s Environmental Improvement Plan, an ambitious vision which brings new opportunities to recover nature for the benefit of people.  We do this through

• Advising on plans for new developments to maximise gains for nature
• Providing ways for people to better connect with nature, which in turn improves their health and well being
• Working with farmers and landowners to develop greener food production methods
• Working with partners, delivering in specific project areas to create more space for nature

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 specific role is in the West Midlands area team, which covers a large and diverse area ranging from Staffordshire and Shropshire in the north, down through Birmingham and the Black Country, to the rural environment of Herefordshire, also including Warwickshire, Worcestershire and Gloucestershire. 

Our team vision is for ‘Big green connected areas, with thriving wildlife, and people enjoying it, forever’. Our priority projects focus on heathland recovery in the Cannock Chase area, the headwaters of our main rivers, and upland and lowland peatlands.  We also work with partners and through the planning system to alleviate recreational pressure in the places like the Severn Vale; and deliver projects working connecting people with nature in and around Birmingham and other areas.

Job description

Natural England’s team leaders are vital to the smooth running of the team and organisation, providing leadership and support for team members’ and translating team or organisational priorities into day-to-day work programmes for teams. Team leaders support and develop our people, striving to ensure a fulfilling work life and a heathy work-life balance for all. 

This particular role will provide inspirational leadership and line management, principally for staff delivering our planning advice and our health and people engagement work (the actual staff roles can vary).  You will have the following responsibilities:

• Role model and lead with strong communication skills, adopting an inclusive approach.
• Develop and continuously improve team performance through motivational use of the People Performance framework, encouraging personal development, and addressing and resolving any poor performance. 
• Create a supportive culture that enables all Team members to innovate, take risks, and show creativity in the way they deliver, and to reflect, review and learn lessons from their work.  Build a culture of seeking out opportunities that develop the Team’s commercial income whilst also delivering more for the environment. 
• Provide leadership and proactively support team members dealing with difficult casework or project issues, signposting to the most effective person to advise. Escalate awareness of major risks and engage other’s skills within Natural England to help achieve resolution.  
• Sustain a culture focused on the positive wellbeing and morale of staff. Proactively deal with complex and contentious issues relating to people, including signposting staff to appropriate support mechanisms within Natural England.

Person specification

Please refer to Job Description

Pay 

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

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 offers 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.

• Learning and development tailored to your role
• An environment with flexible working options
• A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity
• A Civil Service pension with an average employer contribution of 27%

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. 

The post holder will be associated with one of the West Midlands offices, Telford or Worcester. Full time staff are expected to attend their associated office for a minimum of one day a week and to travel across the area to meet staff. 

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.  

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.

Natural England welcomes applications from Civil Service employees. NE are a non-departmental public body and are therefore unable to accept transfers in from the Civil Service, although membership of the Civil Service pension scheme continues unaffected.

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

•    Leading and Managing People
•    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.

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

Competencies

Competence 1

Professional competency

Leading & Managing People

• Develop an inclusive and trusting team environment that positively safeguards team members’ physical and mental wellbeing (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)
  
  
• Encourage, inspire and support people to be ambitious, creative and innovative, and to reflect, celebrate and learn lessons from their work (practitioner)

Competence 2

Professional competency

Personal Effectiveness

• Act with integrity, addressing challenging issues and managing conflict through being open and objective (practitioner)
  
  
• Be ambitious, identify and adopt ways to make improvements in your team and throughout the organisation you represent and inspire others to act (practitioner)
  
  
• Use clear and appropriate language, communication styles and techniques that engage your audience (practitioner)

Competence 3

Professional competency

Work Delivery

• 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)
  
  
• See the big picture so you can set your team’s work within the context of the organisation’s vision, mission and aims, and help them understand how their work relates to and supports this (practitioner)

Competence 4

Professional competency

Working safely [Expert]

• Apply relevant legislation and best practise in a meaningful way to Natural England to support sensible risk management across all teams
  
  
• Develop, deliver and monitor training and guidance that enables people to work in a healthy and safe way

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.