Wildlife Lead Adviser (Hen Harrier)(Ref: 5265)

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 . 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. 

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 

The Team 

The lead adviser role will be based in the hen harrier reintroduction project in Wiltshire near Salisbury. The role will be part of a wider hen harrier project team, within Natural England’s National Complex Case Unit. The core mission of the team is to improve complex and high-risk casework handling across Natural England, having a critical role in supporting and developing organisational delivery of environmental outcomes.

Hen harrier reintroduction to southern England represents a major opportunity for Natural England and the project partners to lead a high profile ‘flagship’ project, delivering benefits to both people and nature through the recovery of species populations and wildlife-rich landscapes. In collaboration with specialist partners, the project is developing a conservation breeding programme to provide the founders for a long-term release programme based in Wiltshire. The overall project aim is to achieve a self-sustaining population of hen harriers centred on Wiltshire and neighbouring counties in farmland within the next few years.

Job Description 

The lead adviser role is predominantly field based, facilitating the translocation through proactive community and public engagement, ongoing biological monitoring, management of release facilities, and hen harrier husbandry. 

As lead adviser you will: 

• Develop and maintain relationships with local land managers and other key stakeholders
• Deliver stakeholder and public engagement through illustrated talks, guided walks and events in liaison with Defra Communications and NE Area Team colleagues
• Attend relevant meetings with partners, stakeholders and NE teams
• Support NE volunteers involved in hen harrier conservation
• Undertake daily husbandry, monitoring and recording of hen harriers pre-release
• Undertake maintenance of the hen harrier release field
• Conduct post-release satellite tracking monitoring and protection of hen harriers, including basic care of recovered individuals
• Oversee and undertake small mammal and bird surveys on site and on Salisbury Plain SSSI
• Work closely with partners on the captive breeding programme 

Additional Information 

• Training will be provided where required, for example hen harrier welfare and husbandry, biological monitoring or practical tickets
• It is essential that you live within a daily, commutable distance to the site.
• We try to accommodate flexible working patterns but please note that the suggested minimum working hours are 30 hours a week due to the nature of the role and workload.
• Duties will involve working outdoors, which can be physically demanding, and sometimes during inclement weather conditions.
• A current full driving licence is essential for the role.
• Out of hours work may be required including evening meetings and weekends.
• You will be based at the release location in Wiltshire. This location is a working farm and a National Nature Reserve. Occasional assistance to farm staff may be required.
• The role will require national travel to locations, to locate or retrieve tagged hen harriers, conduct visits, meetings, and training. This will sometimes require overnight stays. 

Level of Security Checks Required 

• Must have or be prepared to undertake security check clearance. The post will also require additional screening from Agenda Security Screening.
• The vetting process will seek to understand your loyalty, honesty and reliability, and identifying any vulnerabilities that could lead you to being bribed or blackmailed. 

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
• Work Delivery
• Putting People at the Heart of the Environment
• Personal Effectiveness 

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.

Competencies

Competence 1  

Professional competency

Detail  

Technical Skills and Knowledge (STAR format not needed for this competency)

Description  

• A degree in conservation biology, agriculture, zoology, environmental science, or other relevant scientific subject at level 2:2 or higher, or
  evidence of equivalent relevant experience (including report writing with attention to detail, IT and communication skills, and workload
  management). (Essential)
  · Ability to work with and communicate effectively to a range of stakeholders. (Essential)
  · Applied experience of working outdoors, such as environmental conservation or land management. (Essential)
  · Applied experience of ecological survey and monitoring techniques. (Desirable)
  · Knowledge and applied experience of hen harrier or bird of prey ecology and conservation. (Desirable)
  · Experience undertaking and reviewing community/stakeholder engagement. (Desirable)

Competence 2  

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 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)
  · Nurture trusting partnerships and collaborate to achieve pragmatic outcomes that help deliver the organisation you represent’s vision, mission and aims. (Practitioner)

Competence 4  

Professional competency

Detail  

Personal Effectiveness

Description  

• Act with integrity, addressing challenging issues and managing conflict through being open and objective. (Practitioner)
  · Be ambitious, identify and adopt ways to make improvements in your team and the organisation you represent and inspire others to act. (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 : Hugh Turner
• Email : hugh.turner@naturalengland.org.uk
• Telephone : 07827 983424

Recruitment team

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