Job Introduction
Job Title: Ecology Adviser
Starting Salary: £34,434 progressing to £37,280 per annum (pro rata for part time)
Hours: 37
Location: Hertfordshire
Contract Type: Permanent
Directorate: Growth & Environment
About the team
If you are a passionate ecologist and care about saving the environment, then we need you!
This is a really exciting opportunity to progress your career in Ecology in a truly unique team at a pivotal moment with Biodiversity Net Gain, Local Nature Recovery Strategy, Sustainability, Climate Change and Placemaking at the heart of the growth agenda in Local Government. This is also an opportunity to express yourself as an ecologist, unhindered by external pressures.
The role will help to ensure that the natural environment lies at the heart of these core objectives as you respond to planning applications on individual developments, contribute to strategic long-term plans for the county and help shape the long-term future for the natural environment in Hertfordshire.
The role is a highly sought after position, which comes with a high level of respect, influence and responsibility. Your remit will be to provide dedicated, expert ecology advice, focused exclusively on the needs to the natural environment. You will have the opportunity to ensure applications and developers comply with your advice through practical on-site visits.
Your work will help us:
- Enhance buildings and infrastructure in planning, making new developments more nature-friendly and improving existing buildings and surfaces;
- Helping to halt and reverse fragmentation of habitat in the built environment in order to better connect urban areas to rural areas.
- Enhance urban habitats through utilising nature-based solutions to provide wider environmental benefits.
You will also be a part of a truly uniquely dedicated cross-sector team (LEADS – Landscape, Ecology, Archaeology and Design Sustainability) of environment specialists, giving you the opportunity to learn new skills, observe shared problems and find common solutions. This approach takes local authority environmental work in a new and exciting direction in order to meet 21st century priorities and challenges and as such has already received many plaudits. Through working with other teams across the council, you can help make our natural environment more resilient, help nature recover and improve the lives of residents through make Hertfordshire a greener and healthier place to live.
About the role
The main purpose of the role is to:
- Provide high quality information and advice to the County Council and Hertfordshire Local Planning Authorities and developers as part of a family of ecologists.
- Ensuring that the natural environment is a key consideration when applications for planning permissions are considered.
- Ensuring site surveys and appropriate protection, enhancement, mitigation and biodiversity net gain are properly undertaken, to your satisfaction.
- Recommending approval of schemes when they meet recommended criteria and objections when they do not.
- Contributing to strategic plans, local plans and masterplans looking at ecology on a broader landscape view.
- Undertake site visits to ensure compliance.
Our objective is to halt and reverse fragmentation of habitat in the built environment in order to better connect urban areas to rural areas.
The work involves the critical interpretation and assessment of ecological reports and records. You would be a person who thrives in an information rich environment combining an eye for detail with an ability to prioritise and make critical assessments of likely ecological impacts. You will enjoy tackling complex problems in a methodical manner using your own initiative but will also be able to show case your ability to work positively within a team. The work requires a degree of flexibility and pragmatism in dealing with multiple planning authorities and a wide range of planning and development scenarios. The post would suit a well organised and solution focused individual.
You will have a good working understanding of current biodiversity and ecology legislation and initiatives and be committed to ensuring that the benefits and importance of the natural environment form part of Hertfordshire’s planning and placemaking.
You will be given the opportunity to have a platform that allows you to communicate the values of the natural environment to planners, elected officials, developers and the public, and the challenges of ensuring this message is delivered, acknowledged and embraced.
About you
Essential:
- Educated to degree level (or equivalent) in ecology, environmental science, or a related natural science discipline.
- Relevant professional experience within local government ecology, ecological consultancy, or a comparable applied ecological role.
- Good understanding of the planning system, including the role of ecological advice in development management.
- Working knowledge of UK protected species legislation, with the ability to apply this to influence decision making by providing appropriate ecological advice.
- Demonstrable experience of biodiversity net gain (BNG), including the ability to review and interpret the statutory metric and understand how BNG is secured and delivered through the planning process.
- Experience of advising on ecological mitigation, compensation, and enhancement measures, including securing outcomes through planning conditions
We welcome applications from candidates who currently reside in the UK with established proof of right to work documentation. We are not able to offer sponsorship at this time for this role.
This job role is Level 9. Please locate the job profile here:
Job profiles: Technical services
To hear more about this opportunity please contact simon.richards@hertfordshire.gov.uk for an informal discussion about the role.
Interview Date: TBC
Benefits of working for us
How to apply
As part of your application, please upload your most recent CV. Ensure your CV is up to date with your employment history (including any employment gaps), and including any training/qualifications. We encourage you to include examples of where you have demonstrated the requirements/criteria in the advert / job profile to allow the panel to fully recognise your skills and abilities. You will have the opportunity to include a short covering paragraph within your application to give us a little more information about your skills, knowledge, and experiences.
Additional information
Disability Confident
We are proud to be a Disability Confident employer and guarantee an interview to anyone disclosing a disability whose application meets the minimum criteria for the post.
Safeguarding
This role has been identified as requiring a Disclosure & Barring Service (DBS) check.
Driving required
You’ll need to have the ability to drive and/or travel around Hertfordshire, either using your own mode of transport or a company car to travel to other locations.
English Fluency
The ability to converse at ease with members of the public and provide advice in accurate spoken English is essential for the post (for those whose language is a signed language the provision of a sign language interpreter who speaks English to the necessary standard of fluency will be required). Further information about the legal requirement can be found here.