Project Support Lead Adviser – Ref : 5605

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

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  

 

The Team 

This post will sit in the nutrient mitigation project team, in Strategy and Government Advice (SGA). SGA advises government on the development of its environmental policy relevant to our remit; develops and delivers new programmes and pilots for the government to support major strategies such as the 25 Year Plan; leads stakeholder relationships with key national level partners; and develops internal standards and guidance on novel issues. 

The nutrient mitigation scheme is an exciting new and expanding team. The team enables housing developers to buy credits to mitigate their impact on waterways. The payments from developers fund a variety of environmental measures to improve nutrient levels in our waterways. payments from developers will fund a variety of measures to reduce nitrogen and phosphorous in waterways for example land use change, cover crops and the creation of new wetlands. The mitigation will be directly linked to impact and will be maintained and monitored by the scheme.  

The credit scheme launched in the Tees catchment in March 2023. The nutrient mitigation project team are now working to roll out this credit scheme in catchments across England where the impacts of excess nutrients are greatest.    

 

Job description   

Role description 

We have an exciting opportunity for a highly organised individual with great communication skills to join our friendly and inclusive team.  

You will have an aptitude for spotting opportunities for improvement, be able to work flexibly, and have a willingness to be collaborate with the wider project team, other Natural England teams, and contractors. 

You will work with the project manager to provide flexible support to the team, as well as own certain areas which are vital for project delivery and success.  

We value learning and development; support will be available every step of the way with a huge range of skills and experience to draw upon from colleagues in the nutrient mitigation team. 

This is an exciting role that will give you the opportunity to work in a high-profile project in Natural England that is at the forefront of government agenda. 

 

Key tasks/accountabilities 

The successful candidate will provide flexible support to a project under a high level of scrutiny from government and partners.  Tasks could include, but are not limited to :  

 

• Maintaining a ‘lessons learnt’ log to feed into continuous improvement of the project.  
• Maintaining the project RAID (risks, actions, issues, and dependencies) log and chasing outstanding actions. 

• Providing Site Owner support of the NMS team SharePoint OnLine site.  
• Updating our media log 
• Providing great customer service through oversight of the NMS mailbox, triaging emails and working with colleagues to respond 
• Supporting the team to ensure records management standards are achieved. 
• Organising online and face-to-face meetings to ensure an inclusive experience for all. 
• Ensuring purchase orders are raised and paid on time supporting good budget management.    
• Reporting on scheme outputs, preparing statistics and charts. 
• Undertaking various administrative tasks and attending meetings with team members, stakeholders and suppliers. 
•  

 

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 our staff 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 geographical 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 while Area Team roles will be linked with an office in the relevant geographic area. 

 

View a map of our office locations here: 

 https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/natural-england-office-locations 

 

Pay 

 

It is Natural England policy to employ at the entry point of the salary range. 

 

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. 

 

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. 

 

 

Competencies

 

Competence 1   

Professional competency

 

Detail   

Technical Skills and Knowledge

 

Description   

**You do not need to use STAR format for this competency**

Good IT skills, especially Excel, and SharePoint Online and the ability to learn new systems and software quickly

An understanding of workflow management

Demonstrate an ability to lead within a certain area that supports change, embraces challenge and adapts work practices to continuously improve

Ability to work in a fast paced, evolving project where change is constant.

 

Competence 2   

Professional competency

 

Detail   

Personal effectiveness

 

Description   

Share expertise and knowledge with people and networks so that you can develop together (Basic)

Be ambitious, identify and adopt ways to make improvements in your team and Natural England and inspire others to act (Practitioner)

Use clear and appropriate language, communication styles and techniques that engage your audience (Basic)

 

Competence 3   

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)

 

Competence 4   

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 Natural England (practitioner)

Nurture trusting partnerships and collaborate to achieve pragmatic outcomes that help deliver Natural England’s vision, mission and aims (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).

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Job contact :

• Name : Gracia Robinson
• Email : gracia.robinson@naturalengland.org.uk
• Telephone : 07909 872370

Recruitment team

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