About the job

Job summary

This position is based at Kendal or Penrith

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 an opportunity for you to play a 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

 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 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. 

Location 

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.  

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

This role is based within the Cumbria Area Team. The team has offices at both Kendal and Penrith.

The Role

You will be responsible for coordinating the team’s regulatory, condition assessment and site improvement work on our protected sites (SSSIs, SACs, SPAs and Ramsars). You will have a strong understanding of England’s protected sites and of Natural England’s role in them.  You will be familiar with habitat condition assessment and have an understanding of the Natural England’s role in the Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations 2017 and the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 (as amended).  You will build a strong and coherent team mindset among staff delivering protected sites work.

The role will provide inspirational leadership and management of our nature recovery work on protected sites that target ours and partner’s interventions to places where we can achieve the biggest long term environmental improvements.  Ensuring that how we do this aligns with Natural England’s Action Plan in delivering Government’s 25 Year Environment Plan (25 YEP) and Environmental Improvement Plan. And in doing this, role modelling Natural England’s ways of working.

We are seeking individuals with a range of knowledge, skills and experience covering habitat management, species management, agricultural practices, land management, and negotiation to provide comprehensive technical advice on conservation and nature recovery. 

You will work both as a team with a range of staff in local and national teams and have the ability to operate as an individual; You will lead the Area Teams Protected Sites work and cultivate effective working relationships that can make a real difference in the natural environment. 

By working collaboratively and seeking feedback you will help to identify areas for improvement to inform the work going forward.

Key Tasks / Accountabilities

• Functionally Leading and motivating staff delivering against our protected sites work.
  
• Leading on the Cumbria team’s contribution to the SSSI elements of the Governments Environmental Improvement Plan targets
• Encourage uptake of new technology and ways of working
• Provision of project management expertise to our terrestrial protected sites delivery
• Providing mentoring and guidance to our staff on SSSI Condition Assessment, the use of NE’s regulatory powers and on improving the ecological functioning of our protected sites
• Liaising with the area management team on business planning
• Developing project monitoring and reporting tools.
• Cascade and interpretation of Natural England’s national instruction and policy on protected sites for local staff.
• Taking a lead on complex regulatory casework
• Contributing to Natural England’s regional and national protected sites forums
• Actively engaging with organisational standards and governance structures.
• Building a strong and coherent team mindset among staff delivering on our protected sites work.

We are seeking individuals with a range of knowledge, skills and experience covering habitat management, species management, agricultural practices, land management, leadership and negotiation to provide comprehensive technical advice on conservation and nature recovery  

Applicants should have a relevant degree in an environmental discipline/ conservation or significant practical experience of working in the environmental sector. 

A broad understanding of England’s biodiversity commitments along with knowledge of relevant European Directives, associated UK/England Regulations, including the legislation relating to protected sites, especially Sites of Special Scientific Interest. 

Excellent project management skills and the ability to inspire, motivate and work in co-operation with others are essential.

Understand and be able to engage with stakeholders and partners from a wide variety of organisations to provide effective leadership to collaborative working.

Good communication skills including the ability to explain technical information to a range of audiences. 

Competence in the use of IT, including ability to work with spreadsheets, databases & presentation packages.

The role will require travel to sites. A driving licence is essential for the role. The role will include a mixture of working in offices, on site, and home working.  

Recruitment Framework

Competencies

Competence 1

Professional competency

Personal Effectiveness

Description

• Make and explain objective decisions which combine your professional judgement and evidence.
• Share expertise and knowledge with people and networks so that you can develop together.
• Be ambitious, identify and adopt ways to make improvements in your team and Natural England and inspire others to act.

Competence 2

Professional competency

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.
• Understand and explain the outcomes that we seek in your local patch and how these fit in with local and national issues.
• Deliver the environmental benefits that people and places need most and take practical steps to enhance opportunities for people to access, engage with, enjoy and take action for the environment.

Competence 3

Professional competency

Work Delivery

Description

• Manage and deliver your work to meet agreed targets and deadlines.
• Understand and apply relevant policy, legislation, governance frameworks and strategies to your work.
• Identify, document and analyse the various delivery options to select the optimal solution.

Competence 4

Professional competency

Creating Resilient Landscapes and Seas

Description

• Understand the environmental value of designated sites and explain that to partners, stakeholders and customers.
• Identify appropriate solutions for avoidance, mitigation, compensation of environmental impacts and meeting shared outcomes; and identify opportunities for enhancing the natural environment.

Competence 5

Professional competency

Technical skills & knowledge

Description

• Demonstrate an understanding the Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations 2017 and the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 (as amended) and Natural England’s role within this legislation.
• Recognise and describe the environmental value of designated sites (including undertaking condition assessments using the correct methodology)
• Understand how an ecosystem functions, recognising and advising on impacts which could affect the resilience of an ecosystem (including ecological networks)

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.