Find More Than 10K+
United Kingdom Jobs

The team

The NCEA is a new Defra Group evidence programme which in the long term aims to deliver high quality national and local evidence to assess the state and condition of biodiversity, ecosystems, and natural capital assets across our terrestrial, freshwater and marine environments. In 2023/24, we are continuing to explore approaches to understand how best we can identify the condition of environments and ecosystems, identify detrimental changes and improvements, calculate the value of interventions and to develop, test, implement and evaluate policy.

Natural England will deliver elements of the terrestrial and marine parts of the pilot, building our skills and capacity in: Earth observation; data management; analysis and modelling; project and contract management; specialist expertise (habitats, marine, landscape, soils, evaluation, natural capital etc); and ecological survey co-ordination and survey on land and at sea.

Job description

We are looking for candidates with an interest or experience in field survey to join the Natural Capital & Ecosystem Assessment (NCEA) project team. This is an entry level role in a supportive and growing national team, working on an innovative new project. The role will have a strong training element and will give successful candidates a good opportunity to develop their skills and progress their career in this field.

The role

Your role will be working alongside and supporting field surveyors with planning and carrying out a range of field surveys and testing of protocols. The field team are our people on the ground - developing and delivering the England Ecosystem Survey including soil and Peat surveys and ground truthing our Earth observation data.

During the main survey season the role will be predominantly field-based and involve supporting the organisation, and carrying out, a range of habitat surveys across England. Survey scope is likely to include botanical surveying on a range of habitats (mixture of lowland, upland, freshwater, coastal etc) and will include data collection associated with assessing landscape features. It will also include soil surveys, which may partly extend into the winter months. Training will be provided on survey methods, and you will be working alongside our experienced field ecologists on site. Equipment will include a mixture of traditional and Geographical Information System-based recording/collection tools to enable georeferenced data collection and spatial mapping. Survey season length will vary each year depending on habitat and purpose. Off season you will be working alongside project staff to focus on planning and preparing updates to methods, and development of training materials ahead of the following year’s survey season.

Key tasks and accountabilities

• Support field surveyors to undertake targeted vegetation and soil surveys and record landscape and habitat features.
• Support the planning, organising (including risk assessments), monitoring, and measuring all elements of the survey delivery.
• Contribute towards the development and improvement of survey methodology and explore opportunities for improvements, enhancements and/or innovations in the field data collection process.
• Liaise with landowners, public and staff regarding survey, access and site safety.
• Contribute to survey/project updates and share findings to relevant audiences; e.g. via webinars, articles and team and project meetings as necessary.
• Liaise and uphold good communication with other Natural England teams, land owners and managers, and members of the public.
• Build and develop strong internal and external working relationships.

Competencies

Competence 1

Professional competency

Detail

Technical skills and knowledge

Description

A strong interest in ecology / field survey and the willingness to develop skills in this area:

Essential:

Basic ecological knowledge gained through either a relevant qualification, or previous experience

Essential:

• Good IT skills and a willingness to work with new and developing technologies: Essential
• Good written and verbal communication skills: Essential
• Experience of GIS and data analysis skills: Desirable:
• An understanding of UK habitats gained through previous experience or study: Desirable
• Ability to drive – a full UK driving licence is required: Essential

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 (Basic)

Competence 3

Professional competency

Detail

Personal effectiveness

Description

• Use clear and appropriate language, communication styles and techniques that engage your audience (Basic)
• Make and explain objective decisions which combine your professional judgement and evidence (Practitioner)

Competence 4

Professional competency

Detail

Putting people at the heart of the environment: Working in Partnership

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 (Basic

• 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 :
Stephen Marsh
Email :
[email protected]

Recruitment team :

Email :
[email protected]