Lead Adviser (Ref: 5637)

These positions can be based at the following locations: 

Cambridge , Norwich

The team 

About Natural England

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

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

Working for the Norfolk and Suffolk Area Team

The counties of Norfolk and Suffolk have a wonderful and diverse geology and natural environment, rich in history and habitats. Features range from great swathes of wetlands and heathlands to the striking coastal habitats and marine sites, ancient wood pasture and forests, river valleys and estuaries. They are complemented by the deeply rural nature of our agricultural landscapes.

Partnerships for Nature Recovery are at the heart of everything we do. We work with a wide range of partners and stakeholders, including our Designated Landscape partners, Local Authorities, Water Resource East, The Forestry Commission, Environment Agency, Wildlife Trusts, Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, major landowners, farmers and our local communities. We want to help support flourishing landscapes that are a source of rich biodiversity, pride, employment, access and enjoyment.

We are looking for motivated individuals to join our growing team and have lead adviser roles available in a range of work areas including marine, sustainable development, and protected sites. Full training and support will be provided for all roles.

Role Description

Our lead advisers apply a broad combination of technical skills and behaviours to make decisions relating to our protected sites and deliver specialist advice to customers and stakeholders across Norfolk and Suffolk. Your aim will be to secure positive environmental outcomes and to further the establishment of a Nature Recovery Network.

Working at pace within a supportive and collaborative environment you will have the opportunity to contribute and develop your skills to a wide variety of high-profile areas. This could be working with landowners/land managers and stakeholders to deliver improvements to the condition of habitats and species on SSSIs and Marine Protected Areas, coordinating our advice and input into Nationally Significant Infrastructure Work on land and at sea.

We are looking for people who can demonstrate their skills and experience in relation to at least one of the work areas below:

• Knowledge of and experience of working within the statutory planning process and how nature is accommodated within the system locally.
• England’s wider biodiversity commitments including some knowledge of relevant European Directives, associated UK/England Regulations, including the legislation relating to protected species and Sites of Special Scientific Interest
• Ecological knowledge of one or more habitats or species groups on land and/or at sea. Experience in field survey, including species identification and data interpretation.
• Experience of working with farmers and landowners to advise on how they manage their land in a sustainable way for the benefit of the natural environment.
• Experience of delivering in the support services of an organisation by using systems to gather and interpret business intelligence to enable decision making.

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

If you are successful at the shortlisting stage, you will be invited to attend an interview via MS Teams or a suitable alternative, where you will be asked to give examples for all four competencies as set out in the Job Description.

Successful candidates will be allocated roles in merit order based on scores achieved at interview and in accordance with location preferences, taking into account the work area to which successful candidates are most suited, wherever possible.

Additional Information

• A Driving Licence is desirable but not essential for the role.
• Flexible working patterns will generally be accommodated unless stated otherwise.
• Candidates with disabilities will automatically be put forward to the interview stage provided that they satisfy the minimum criteria for the role.

Competencies

Competence 1 

Professional competency

Detail 

Technical Skills & Knowledge

Description 

• A relevant degree (e.g. geography, environmental studies, planning, ecology) or alternative qualification and/or suitable relevant experience, please specify. (Essential)

• Understand and apply relevant environmental legislation, policy and governance frameworks to their work. (Essential)

Competence 2 

Professional competency

Detail 

Personal Effectiveness

Description 

• Be ambitious, identify and adopt ways to make improvements in your team and throughout the organisation, and inspire others to act. (Practitioner)

• Make and explain objective decisions which combine your professional judgement and evidence. (Practitioner)

Competence 3 

Professional competency

Detail 

Putting People at the Heart of the Environment

Description 

• Listen to and understand our diverse partners and customers so that you achieve the best outcomes for them and the organisation you represent. (Practitioner)

• Work proactively and collaboratively with stakeholders and partners to identify and secure opportunities to deliver gains for people and nature. (Practitioner)

Competence 4 

Professional competency

Detail 

Work Delivery

Description 

• Manage and deliver your work to meet agreed targets and deadlines. (Practitioner)

• Handle data responsibly, understand your role in good governance, and comply with delegations, policies and procedures. (Practitioner)

• 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%

Job contact :

• Name : Hannah Wallace
• Email : hannah.wallace@naturalengland.org.uk
• Telephone : 0779 5315 604

Recruitment team

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