Earth Observation Analyst – Lead Adviser (Ref: 5433)

East Midlands (England), East of England, London (region), North East England, North West England, South East England, South West England, West Midlands (England), Yorkshire and the Humber

This position is based Nationally

The team

The Evidence Directorate provides scientific and evidence leadership, services and support to help Natural England operate as an evidence-led organisation. 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.

Job description 

As a lead advisor earth observation analyst, your duties will include the acquisition and analysis of earth observation data to meet the needs of Natural England’s NCEA projects. You will apply your knowledge of different earth observation and data science techniques and data to environmental problems.

You will be expected to:

• Apply earth observation data, tools and techniques to contribute to the development of EO mapping and monitoring methods in support of Natural England NCEA needs.
• Work with others to collate and prepare existing survey data, from a variety of sources, for use as training and validation data.
• Work under the direction of senior colleagues to support NCEA projects by providing EO analysis and expertise.
• Provide high quality mapping and statistical analyses for the NCEA programme and external stakeholders.

Develop new tools to improve the way NCEA projects use EO and geospatial information. 

Competencies

Competence 1 

Professional competency

Detail 

Technical Skills and Knowledge

Description 

• Advanced level of Earth observation analysis skills and experience (Essential)
• Direct experience of using and applying a range of remote sensing data including Radar/SAR data, tools and techniques (Essential)
• Experience of using ArcGIS Online and/or ArcGIS Pro (Essential).
• Experience of using Esri apps (e.g. Survey 123, Field Maps etc.) (Essential).
• Strong analytical and problem solving skills using a range of software and techniques (e.g., ArcGIS, QGIS, R, Python, eCognition, etc.) (Essential)
• Basic knowledge of data governance, licensing, and management (Essential)
• Experience of data modelling (e.g. ArcGIS Model Builder, machine learning models) (Desirable).
• Experience of scripting and writing reproducible analytical processes, e.g. R/Python scripting (Desirable).
• Experience of using EO techniques for environmental applications, e.g. habitat mapping and/or land management activities. (Desirable)
• Some knowledge of ecology and habitats (Desirable).

Competence 2 

Professional competency

Detail 

Work Delivery

Description 

• Manage and deliver your work to meet agreed targets and deadlines (Practitioner).
• Apply the relevant methodologies and tools for collecting and collating data / evidence including metadata (Practitioner).
• Identify and apply the most appropriate data and methodologies for your analysis, utilising reproducible analytical pipelines and data science approaches where appropriate (Practitioner).
• Understand and apply relevant policy, legislation, governance frameworks and strategies to your work. (Basic)
• 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. (Basic)

Competence 3 

Professional competency

Detail 

Personal Effectiveness

Description 

• Make and explain objective decisions which combine your professional judgement and evidence. (Practitioner)
• Use clear and appropriate language, communication styles and techniques that engage your audience (Basic).
• Apply new technology to improve the way we deliver our work. (Practitioner)
• Proactively communicate and present your data, evidence and analyses in ways that meet people’s needs, using clear and appropriate language so they can understand its implications and use it effectively to deliver positive outcomes for the environment (Practitioner).

 

Please refer to Job Description

Alongside your salary of £27,273, Natural England contributes
£7,390 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme.

Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

• 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%

The Civil Service welcomes applications from people who have recently left prison or have an unspent conviction. Read more about prison leaver recruitment (opens in new window).

Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available.
You may want to save a copy for your records.

Job contact :

• Name : Nick Biddiscombe
• Email : Nicholas.biddiscombe@naturalengland.org.uk

Recruitment team

• Email : defra-recruitment-enquiries@gov.sscl.com