About the job

Job summary

This is a Nationally based role

Job description

The team 

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.

This role sits within Project NE1 - Mapping & Earth Observation - Living England. ​Living England, a satellite-derived probability map of ecosystem and habitat extent, has been developed to address this gap but the current version requires further development (Phase IV) to improve its overall accuracy as well as the accuracy for certain key habitat types where confidence is currently particularly low. Therefore, this work package will take steps to improve the classification process and overall accuracy through the collection of bespoke habitat data through targeted field survey.

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 

Additional Information

These are all nationally dispersed teams, so location is flexible.

Some travel will be required with occasional overnight stays.

Please note;

• We may use a reserve list of candidates who pass at interview for any future opportunities that arise at the same grade in Natural England where similar skills are necessary.  

Job description 

You will be expected to:   

• Lead on the communications of Earth observation data, tools and techniques for the Living England (LE) project.
• Lead engagement with key stakeholders and data users in the Earth observation community to present and collate feedback of Living England data products.
• Develop use cases and data visualisations of how LE data is being used to inform policy and wider environmental applications and identify new opportunities for innovation.
• Support the use of Earth observation data in wider NCEA projects by providing advice and sharing technical knowledge, as well as engagement with teams across Natural England. 
• Lead the ‘Desktop Validation’ work area to develop the Living England project through desk-based research and analysis. 

Competencies

Competence 1 

Professional competency

Detail 

Technical Skills and knowledge (Not required in STAR format)

Description 

• Earth observation qualification at Masters level or equivalent experience (Essential)
• Experience communicating complex techniques to a non-technical audience, and engaging effectively with stakeholders (Essential)
• Experience in implementing earth observation data, modelling and statistical techniques to environmental applications, in particular, imagery detection and habitat classifications (Desirable)
• Knowledge of data governance, licensing, and management (Desirable)

Competence 2 

Professional competency

Detail 

Work Delivery

Description 

• Understand and apply relevant policy, legislation, governance frameworks and strategies to your work. (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 3 

Professional competency

Detail 

Personal Effectiveness

Description 

• Make and explain objective decisions which combine your professional judgement and evidence. (Practitioner)
• Act with integrity, addressing challenging issues and managing conflict through being open and objective (Practitioner)

Competence 4 

Professional competency

Detail 

Putting people at the heart

Description 

• Listen to and understand our diverse partners and customers so that you achieve the best outcomes for them and Natural England (Practitioner)
• Understand and explain the outcomes that we seek and how these fit in with local and national issues (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.