About the job

Job summary

This is a National Role

Job description

The team

Please note that the salary range for this post is £36,098 – £41,361.  Whilst it is NE's policy to appoint at salary minimum, a higher starting salary within the pay range may be considered for exceptional candidates. There is currently a further market skills allowance for this role of £9,000, which may be subject to change. 

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
• 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.

Job description

Key tasks/accountabilities 

This is a rare and varied role for a talented Solicitor looking to develop a rewarding career in nature conservation. As a Senior Solicitor you will be advising on a wide range of matters to assist Natural England to deliver nature recovery across all its work programmes. This will include up to half of your time being spent on advising in relation to the continued development and operation of Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG). Other work will include providing advice on protected sites and species, commercial and contractual agreements and sustainable development. You will be supporting Principal Solicitors on complex work and leading on smaller matters, gaining valuable experience, and developing your legal skills in an increasingly popular subject area. 

Casework - Managing legal risks and providing innovative legal solutions 

• Supporting each of the Programmes by providing clear, pragmatic advice and solutions on casework. You will become familiar with legal aspects of environmental, commercial, planning and BNG casework, 

• Working closely with practitioners and specialists to identify and manage legal and governance risks. Providing legal advice and analysis of legislation, policy and guidance affecting Natural England, 

• Advising on BNG to protect existing habitats and ensure that lost or degraded environmental features are compensated by features of greater environmental value,

• Assisting with legal advice on novel, contentious and strategic work areas such as: 

• • Development and operation of Natural England’s role in BNG  
  • Natural England exercising its regulatory functions e.g. consenting operations on SSSIs and determining species licences 
  • Analysing major funding/grant agreements to ensure they deliver Natural England’s aims 
  • Natural England exercising its role as statutory consultee in planning cases 

• Drafting and negotiating commercial and contractual arrangements to fulfil Natural England’s mission of building partnerships for nature’s recovery. This will include using existing precedents and drafting bespoke contracts for smaller projects as well as assisting on high profile, complex schemes such as Landscape Recovery,

• Advising on public law, governance and vires issues including encouraging and implementing corporate discipline about the use of the schemes of delegation, 

• Conducting high quality legal research and distilling into concise, practical briefings,

• Assisting with litigation, appeals, inquiries, and complex information requests,

• Providing excellent case management and client communication. Organising and managing legal queries and projects. Communicating with clients to gather information, understand their legal needs and address their concerns, 

• Instructing Counsel and other external legal providers and ensuring pragmatic advice is secured that represents value for money,

• Adopting a flexible approach to managing casework and legal risk that can absorb new roles and responsibilities to deliver Natural England’s aims, and

• Contributing to regular legal risk reviews and recommendations.

Supporting the development of environmental law and governance 

• Staying up to date on changes in law and contributing with legal advice to the implementation of the Environment Act 2021 and Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Act 2023 where it affects Natural England’s operations, and

• Contributing with legal support to the development of post-EU Exit environmental law and governance, including any proposed reforms linked to nature conservation.

Raising Capability and External Relationships 

• Continuous learning and professional development to enhance your own knowledge and skills,

• Contributing to delivering an in-house legal training programme for the Legal Services team and across Natural England, and

• Developing relationships with key external stakeholders to influence outcomes including counterparts in Defra and other government departments, Environment Agency and other Statutory Nature Conservation Bodies. 

Collaboration and Building Relationships 

• Collaborating with existing Senior and Principal Solicitors, the wider Legal, Governance and External Affairs Team and Access to Information Team to provide an exemplary legal service to Natural England,

• Close collaboration with technical specialists and scientists across Natural England, 

• Supporting and mentoring paralegals on their case work, ways of working, and personal development,

• Assisting with induction of new team members, and
• Travel and some overnight stays across England to attend meetings are an essential part of this role. 

This is a national role and can be based at any of our Natural England offices - https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/natural-england/about/access-and-opening 

Candidates with disabilities will automatically be put forward to the interview stage provided that they satisfy the minimum criteria for the role. Flexible working patterns will generally be accommodated unless stated otherwise.  
 
How to apply  
 
We'll assess you against the competencies below during the selection process. When completing the application form you should present relevant examples using the STAR format. STAR stands for:  
 
• Situation  
• Task  
• Action  
• Result  
 
Examples should be given in no more than 250 words for each competency. Please ensure you read the Candidate Information Pack before you begin completing the application form. 

Competencies

Competence 1

Professional competency

Technical and specialist knowledge

• A qualified solicitor, capable of practising in England, with experience of advising on environmental, commercial/contractual arrangements, or planning law (essential). This role is suitable for a newly qualified solicitor or up to 5 years PQE
  
  
• A keen interest in developing across the breadth of nature conservation law including commercial and contractual aspects, planning, BNG, and public law (essential). Natural England’s specialist teams will be able to support your development in these areas so you can contribute to its nature recovery aims
  
  
• Enjoy solving problems and confidently analyse risks to reach balanced decisions (essential)
  
  
• Be self-motivated, proactive and able to work independently without close supervision (essential)
  
  
• Excellent written and oral communication skills (essential)

Competence 2

Professional competency

Personal effectiveness

• Make and explain objective decisions which combine your professional judgement and evidence (Expert)
  
  
• Act with integrity, addressing challenging issues and managing conflict through being open and objective (Practitioner)
  
  
• Use clear and appropriate language, communication styles and techniques that engage your audience (Practitioner)

Competence 3

Professional competency

Putting people at the heart of the environment

• Listen to and understand our diverse partners and customers so that you achieve the best outcomes for them and Natural England (Practitioner)
  
  
• Nurture trusting partnerships and collaborate to achieve pragmatic outcomes that help deliver Natural England’s vision, mission and aims (Practitioner)
  
  
• Understand the external influences affecting Natural England and assess the implication to the function e.g., Defra Policy, arm’s length body reviews (Expert)

Competence 4

Professional competency

Work Delivery

• Manage and deliver your work to meet agreed targets and deadlines (Expert)
  
  
• Understand and be able to interpret relevant international, national, and local legislation, Conventions, byelaws statutory guidance and policy (Practitioner)
  
  
• Be able to demonstrate a thorough understanding of corporate governance and risk within which Natural England operates at a local, national, and international level (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.