Evidence Specialist 202566

Job summary

Post background

The Ecosystems Analysis Team helps JNCC’s stakeholders meet the challenges of managing our environment and the benefits it provides.

This dynamic, multi-disciplinary team brings together three elements:

• A set of long-term partnerships with organisations undertaking species surveys in terrestrial, coastal and freshwater ecosystems using networks of volunteers.
• An analysis and modelling capability producing rapidly deployable models. These include a range of models focussed on predicting outcomes from changing land uses and environmental pressures.
• An Earth observation (EO) data processing and analytical capability with expertise in using EO to provide high-quality evidence on biodiversity and ecosystems to inform environmental decision making.

As an Evidence Specialist, you will help JNCC to run and develop our species surveys, to refresh our long-term partnerships, and to work on providing standard protocols to allow locally focussed citizen science to monitor outcomes. The post would also contribute to projects across the work of the team, and to projects led by other teams in JNCC, helping to integrate our products and services.

Recent examples of projects undertaken by Evidence Specialists within the team include scoping out the potential to improve habitat data collection through citizen science, developing indicators of soil health, investigating the benefits and challenges of co-locating ecological data collection across taxa, and increasing the diversity, equality and inclusion of participation in our citizen science-based species surveys.

Job description

Post Duties

The post will be managed by a Senior Evidence Specialist and will work with other Evidence Specialists, as well as modellers, analysts, EO specialists, and surveillance experts. The main duties of the post are to:
• Lead on a set of species surveillance contracts within the overall portfolio, with strategic oversight from the Senior Biodiversity Evidence Specialist. This will include steering survey development with the partners in line with JNCC’s strategy, enabling the production of Official Statistics, ensuring regular news items and communications updates, tracking delivery of contractual elements and renegotiating contracts as they end.
• To act as project manager for selected projects, managing external research providers, ensuring corporate reporting and planning activities are provided to time and follow JNCC quality assurance procedures.
• To work with other team members to develop emerging work areas, such as development of a framework of metrics for assessing species and community condition and developing new analytical products, novel ways of interpreting EO products, or ways of interpreting and using modelled outputs.
• To assist or lead on projects depending on their scale, across the team, providing technical input, undertaking research synthesis, and devising communications activities to gain input from our users and stakeholders or to stimulate uptake of outputs.

The post-holder may be required to attend meetings and other fora at various localities in the UK and potentially internationally, involving overnight stays away from home.

Person specification

Please use the STARR technique where applicable.

• Situation: Set the stage.
• Task: Explain where you fit in.
• Action: Describe each step.
• Results: Impress with your achievements.
• Reflection: what have you learned

Please also note should you be selected for an Interview you will be required to sit a technical test as part of the interview.

Behaviours

We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:

• Communicating and Influencing
• Making Effective Decisions
• Seeing the Big Picture
• Managing a Quality Service

Technical skills

We'll assess you against these technical skills during the selection process:

• A strong understanding of the main ways in which terrestrial species and habitats can be sampled, the sampling strategies used to meet different requirements (e.g. representative, stratified, risk based) and of the statistics used to measure change.
• An ability to assure quality and interpret statistical methods.
• Experience of communicating technical detail through a variety of media, including an ability to synthesise complex information and communicate concepts to technical and non-technical audiences.
• An ability to engage with stakeholders and partners, determine their priorities and work collaboratively with them.

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £33,130, Joint Nature Conservation Committee contributes £9,597 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.Equality and diversity

JNCC is committed to creating an environment where everyone feels valued and respected and see this as a good place to work. JNCC has a responsibility to ensure that we have an inclusive culture where discrimination, harassment, bullying and prejudice will not be tolerated. Our selection process is determined on fair and open competition and regardless of age, disability, gender reassignment, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, sexual orientation, marriage and civil partnership.

Continuous professional development (CPD)

Employees are encouraged to keep developing skills and professional knowledge.
JNCC has made available, and encourages employees to use, on average, five working days per annum for CPD activities with access to related funding

Leave entitlement

JNCC annual leave allowance is 25 days per annum. After five years’ service, leave entitlement increases to 30 days per annum.
In addition to annual leave, JNCC offers 12 public and privilege days per annum, three of which are explicitly reserved for office closure between Christmas and New Year.

Work/life balance

JNCC supports flexible working hours and practices to help employees strike a good balance between work life and personal life.

Our policies are family-friendly and include flexi-time, flexible working patterns, compressed hours and dispersed working. JNCC also offers paid maternity, paternity, adoption and shared parental leave, over and above the minimum statutory entitlements. Some work/life balance benefits are available following a minimum length of service.

Any move from another employer will mean you can no longer access childcare vouchers. This includes moves between government departments. You may however be eligible for other government schemes, including Tax-Free Childcare. Determine your eligibility at https://www.childcarechoices.gov.uk/

Civil Service Pension

Employees will have the opportunity to join Civil Service pension arrangements, which include a valuable range of benefits. JNCC makes a significant contribution to the cost of employee pensions.

Employee Assistance Programme

JNCC provides employees with a free and confidential support service which gives unlimited access to information, advice and emotional support to help employees prepare for and manage all of life's ups and downs, events and challenges.

Trade Union

JNCC has entered into a partnership agreement with its recognised Trade Unions: Prospect and PCS, which employees are able to join and be involved with.

Salary sacrifice schemes

Employee Discount Scheme

Civil Service Sports Club

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

This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Behaviours, Experience and Technical skills.

If selected for interview you will be required to sit a Technical test.

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

This vacancy is part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans (opens in a new window) initiative.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 : Recruitment Team
• Email : recruitment@jncc.gov.uk

Recruitment team

• Email : recruitment@jncc.gov.uk

Further information

Selection for appointment to the Civil Service is on merit, on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission’s Recruitment Principles. In accordance with the Civil Service Commissioners’ Recruitment Principles, our recruitment and selection processes are underpinned by the requirement of appointment on the basis of merit by fair and open competition. If you feel your application has not been treated in accordance with the Recruitment Principles and you wish to make a complaint, you should contact recruitment@jncc.gov.uk in the first instance.

Attachments

Evidence Specialist - 202566 - H Opens in new window (pdf, 167kB)