Fish and Fisheries Ecological Specialist – Marine Natural Capital and Ecosystem Assessment (mNCEA) Programme(Ref: 5217)

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 at Ashford (Kent) , Bakewell , Bridgwater , Bristol , Cambridge , Crewe , Eastleigh , Exeter , Kendal , Leeds , Lincoln , London, Manchester , National , Newcastle-upon-Tyne , Norwich , Nottingham , Penrith , Peterborough , Reading , Telford , Truro , Wallingford , Worcester , Worthing , York

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 advisor 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

The Science Team is part of the Chief Scientist’s Directorate in Natural England. This Directorate is responsible for Natural England’s Science, Evidence and Evaluation Strategy and supports its implementation to ensure Natural England is an evidence-led organisation. The science team leads on the development and application of natural, economic and social science and evidence to drive and enable the achievement of environmental outcomes both within Natural England and externally.

Science, evidence and analysis are at the heart of Natural England’s advice, operations and regulatory activity. To be successful in recovering nature, we need high quality, relevant and up to date evidence that is actively and confidently applied by all of us. This means we need, amongst other things, to understand what changes are happening in the natural environment and what interventions and actions work well. 

Our underpinning science, evidence and analytical capability continues to grow, as we pursue our ambition to be an evidence-led organisation.

Job description  

This position is for a fish and fisheries ecological specialist to support delivery of Natural England’s contribution to the Defra-funded marine natural capital and ecosystem assessment (mNCEA). 

The mNCEA began in 2021 with a pilot year and has since developed into a full 3-year programme running from April 2022 up to 2025. The overarching aim is to deliver evidence, tools and guidance on the extent and condition of marine natural capital assets (such as fish species and assemblages), the ecosystem services they provide and the trade-offs that are necessary in realising the natural capital benefits of most importance to society. We are also working with Defra and specialists in Environment Agency (EA), Centre for Environment, Fisheries & Aquaculture Science (CEFAS), Marine Management Organisation (MMO), Association of Inshore Fisheries & Conservation Authorities (IFCAs) and Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC), to develop and deliver the mNCEA programme. 

The mNCEA programme seeks to construct and promote the natural capital approach, whereby the value we place on nature is seen and evaluated through a combination of viewpoints, be that societal, economic, and environmental. Its vision is for a “thriving marine environment where nature is at the heart of decision making” with a mission to “accelerate nature recovery, growth, and delivery of nature’s benefits by transforming marine evidence and decision making”.

Familiarity with a range of other disciplines will be advantageous. 

You will support, and potentially lead on developing the natural capital evidence base for inshore fish and fisheries using research and analytical skills to ensure we have the evidence and tools needed to facilitate natural capital assessments. Working collaboratively with others you will also provide specialist guidance and advice to trial and embed a natural capital approach. 

Engagement, communication, and relationship building skills is key. You will inform and influence policy and decision makers, raising awareness and knowledge of natural capital.  

Key Responsibilities

As a Marine Specialist for inshore fish, working within the marine Natural Capital and Ecosystem team, you will provide technical expertise, influence and help to steer our work to gain an integrated understanding of the state of our inshore fish and shellfish communities, the pressures they are subjected to and their effective management to seek ecological gain and improved ecosystem service delivery.  You will be required to work with colleagues from across Natural England’s programmes, to work with external partners and consultants to enhance, integrate, interrogate, and analyse the evidence base, collaborate on projects, and to assist in the products of natural capital tools and approaches to achieve positive outcomes for people and nature. 

Key tasks

• Provide technical project input on the fish, and to a lesser extent, shellfish components of the mNCEA programme. This will include evidence integration, collection, and analysis to better understand how to assess environmental and ecosystem service outputs.
• To help identify key evidence gaps and to develop approaches to help fill those gaps which will enhance Natural England’s evidence base going forward.
• Contribute to the appropriate working groups within the mNCEA programme in relation to inshore fish and shellfish and when considering how to integrate with other eco-components such as marine birds, mammals, and benthic habitats.
• Support and further embed citizen science initiatives in the collection analysis and evaluation of relevant evidence.
• Work with others to ensure that the ongoing development of underpinning Marine Evidence systems and tools meets our requirements to ensure evidence is accessible and usable internally and externally, to support a broad range of requirements for e.g., NE statutory conservation advice, condition assessment and reporting, Net Gain, Whole Site Approach, delivering Good Environmental Status and sustainable use of the marine environment. 
• Work closely and co-ordinate with other evidence specialists (particularly the marine specialists) to provide integrated technical advice and guidance to support marine delivery. 
• To communicate and disseminate learning across Natural England and wider audiences.
• To support key project management functions such as reporting, setting up meetings etc.
• As a specialist you will also prioritise your own learning and development and ensure you keep up to date with current research. 

The ideal candidate will:

• Be qualified to at least BSc level in a marine ecological discipline, with proven knowledge of marine, migratory and estuarine fish ecology and experience in marine habitat/species ecology or can demonstrate equivalent experience.
• Be able to demonstrate their ability to analyse and interpret complex datasets, and to communicate with confidence.
• Be able to demonstrate their knowledge of Natural Capital in the marine context.
• Be able to evidence a sound knowledge of the ecology and management of marine fish and fisheries and understand how this knowledge can be used to take an integrated systems approach to understanding our marine environment.
• Be able to demonstrate effective communication skills (verbal and written) in communicating your specialism to multiple audiences.

• Have knowledge of current marine evidence & data standards and legislative drivers for handling marine biological data (e.g. NE’s evidence standards, Mapping European Seabed Habitats (MESH), Marine Environmental Data and Information Network (MEDIN) data and metadata standards).
• Have an understanding of relevant marine & coastal ecological survey techniques (particularly fish and shellfish) and relevant data analysis within the English marine & coastal environment.
• Knowledge of the key partners and customers for Natural England’s marine work.
• Geographic Information experience desirable ( Arc GIS 2).
• Experience of integrating data sets and modelling desirable
• Experience of statistical analysis desirable 

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.

Locations

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. Full time staff are expected to attend their associated office for a minimum of one day a week.

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.

National team roles can be linked with any Natural England office.

View a map of our office locations here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/natural-england-office-locations.

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.

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

• Technical Skills and Knowledge
• 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.

Please note that STAR format is not required when answering the Technical Skills & Knowledge competency.

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

Competencies

Competence 1  

Professional competency

Detail  

Technical Skills and Knowledge

Description  

• An excellent knowledge of marine fish ecology.
  • Knowledge of marine survey techniques, and the analysis and interpretation of resultant data.
  • Knowledge of current and planned policies, legislative frameworks, and drivers for the marine environment.
  • Clear understanding of the marine evidence base and systems supporting it, knowledge gaps and how to assign confidence to evidence

Competence 2  

Professional competency

Detail  

Personal Effectiveness

Description  

• Understand the full context of each case or project you work on and use interpretive, evaluative, analytical, and problem-solving skills to make informed decisions about it (Practitioner).
  • Test and challenge others in a constructive and evidence-based way providing scientific scrutiny, challenge and assurance to casework and other delivery that is practical and, where appropriate, cross-disciplinary (Practitioner).
  • Proactively communicate and present your data, evidence and analyses in ways that meet people’s needs so they can understand its implications and use it effectively to deliver positive outcomes for the environment (Practitioner).

Competence 3  

Professional competency

Detail  

Work Delivery

Description  

• Identify priority evidence needs and seek ways to meet them (e.g. through funding or partnerships) (Practitioner).
  • Manage and deliver your work to meet agreed targets and deadlines (Practitioner).
  • Identify and apply the most appropriate data and methodologies for your analysis, utilising reproducible analytical pipelines and data science approaches where appropriate (Practitioner)..

Competence 4  

Professional competency

Detail  

Putting People at the heart of the Environment

Description  

• Nurture trusting partnerships and collaborate, negotiate and influence to achieve pragmatic outcomes that help deliver Natural England’s vision, mission and aims (Practitioner).
  • Listen to and understand our diverse partners and customers so that you achieve the best outcomes for them and Natural England (Practitioner). 

Please refer to Job Description

• 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).

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Job contact :

• Name : Nigel Howard
• Email : Nigel.Howard@naturalengland.org.uk
• Telephone : 07425 613306

Recruitment team

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