Area Delivery Team Officer - ( Ref : 6578 )

Job summary

This position can be based at Telford or Worcester

Job description

Please note that this role is based at either NE's new Worcester office due to open in July 2026, or at Shrewsbury in Defra's Hafren Office. Regular travel (on at least a weekly basis) will be required to either NE Shrewsbury or Worcester offices.

The Area Delivery Team (ADT) is the first point of contact for West Midlands enquiries relating to Protected Sites (PS) and Rural Payments agency (RPA) Agri-environment scheme queries. As an ADT Officer, you will support the delivery of nature recovery by helping minimise impacts on protected sites and contributing to positive outcomes through accurate, timely casework.

Job description

Job purpose

You will undertake low‑risk statutory and non‑statutory Protected Sites casework, including Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) consenting, assenting and advice, working within established procedures and under the guidance of senior officers. You will also support colleagues in identifying and reporting on measures to improve the condition of protected sites.

The role requires close working with Farm Advisers, technical specialists, and national teams to ensure appropriate ecological input is obtained for casework. You will also collaborate with the national Farm and Conservation Services team, who lead on low‑risk PS casework. You will operate within Natural England’s governance, systems, and processes, using sound judgement to resolve routine and non‑routine issues and escalating risks appropriately.

Key responsibilities

The Officer role may operate within one of a number of work areas or projects within the Area Team remit.

• Deliver low‑risk statutory SSSI casework, preparing draft advice, assessments, and documentation for review by senior colleagues, in line with established procedures and regulatory requirements.
• Manage straightforward SSSI enquiries, triaging and escalating medium‑ or high‑risk issues where appropriate.
• Respond to non‑statutory SSSI queries, including general management questions and providing information to new SSSI owners or occupiers.
• Support low‑risk enforcement and Environmental Impact Assessment (Agriculture) casework, ensuring timely escalation where risks, complexity, or non‑compliance are identified.
• Maintain accurate records and audit trails, updating Casework Tracker and supporting the management of the West Midlands mailbox and answerphone.
• Contribute to improvements in local SSSI casework processes and support implementation of agreed reforms, identifying opportunities to enhance service delivery.
• Participate in Protected Sites Delivery Calls when required, sharing updates and supporting discussions under the guidance of senior colleagues.
• Work collaboratively with Farm Advisers, technical specialists, and other team members to ensure effective case handling and consistent customer service.
• Manipulate data and collate information to support casework, PS condition reporting, projects and decision‑making.
• Support updating and reporting of actions to improve condition of protected sites, including liaising with colleagues assessing the condition of protected sites.
• Operate within Natural England’s systems, methods, and procedures, complying with all relevant policy, legislation, and governance requirements.
• Develop your technical knowledge and capability through on‑the‑job learning, training, and support from senior officers.

Knowledge, Skills and Experience:

• Developing understanding of UK protected sites legislation and ability to apply it to low‑risk casework with support.
• Understanding of the environmental value of designated sites and the pressures on them, with the ability to communicate this clearly to customers and partners.
• Developing experience in providing advice to protected sites owners/occupiers and statutory bodies, with clear and professional communication skills.
• Applied knowledge of work routines, systems, and digital tools used within Natural England.
• Good level and experience of using Microsoft applications (Word, Outlook, Excel, Teams) and digital mapping systems.
• Ability to work to specified standards, service levels, and timeframes, prioritising short‑term tasks and supporting others to meet deadlines.
• Ability to communicate effectively, build strong working relationships, and influence using reasoning and technical understanding.
• Knowledge of Natural England’s role.

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 (30 days 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.

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

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

Competencies

Competence 1

Professional competency

Detail

Work Delivery

Description

Handle data responsibly, understand your role in good governance, and comply with delegations, policies and procedures
Manage and deliver your work to meet agreed targets and deadlines
Understand and apply relevant policy, legislation, governance frameworks, and strategies to your work

Competence 2

Professional competency

Detail

Personal effectiveness

Description

Act with integrity, addressing challenging issues and managing conflict through being open and objective
Apply new technology to improve the way we deliver our work
Be ambitious, identify and adopt ways to make improvements in your team and Natural England and inspire others to act

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

Competence 4

Professional competency

Detail

Technical Skills and Knowledge

Description

Relevant experience or knowledge of delivering nature recovery, for example, habitat management or protected sites legislation.
Knowledge of Natural England’s role.
Experience of, and ability in, applying effective communication skills (verbal and written) in conveying complex and/or difficult messages to a variety of different audiences.
Experience of working in a fast-paced environment delivering work within deadlines and contributing to team targets.
Confident and experienced user of Microsoft applications (Word, Outlook, Excel, Teams).

Person specification

Please refer to Job Description

Licences

Full UK driving licence

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £27,590, Natural England contributes £7,992 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 employer contribution of 28.97%

Things you need to know

Artificial intelligence

Artificial intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application, however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action. Please see our candidate guidance (opens in a new window) for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.

Selection process details

Please refer to Job Description

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check.People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.

Nationality requirements

This job is broadly open to the following groups:

• UK nationals
• nationals of the Republic of Ireland
• nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (opens in a new window)
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
• individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020
• Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service

Further information on nationality requirements (opens in a new window)

Working for the Civil Service

The Civil Service Code (opens in a new window) sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.

We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles (opens in a new window).The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.

Diversity and Inclusion

The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see theCivil Service People Plan (opens in a new window) and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy (opens in a new window).

Apply and further information

Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available. You may want to save a copy for your records.

Contact point for applicants

Job contact :

• Name : Caroline Dahn
• Email : caroline.dahn@naturalengland.org.uk
• Telephone : 07979 757684

Recruitment team

• Email : defra-recruitment-enquiries@resourcing.soprasteria.co.uk

Further information

https://networkrecruitment.tal.net/vx/appcentre-7/brand-4/spa-1/candidate/so/pm/1/pl/8/opp/6578-6578-Area-Delivery-Team-Officer/en-GB

Attachments

DEF-001h - Candidate Pack Natural England v2.9 Opens in new window (docx, 548kB)