Principal Officer – Lead Environmental Regulator - ( Ref : 6409 )

Job summary

This position is based Nationally

Job description

Natural England are yet to finalise the details of the 2025 Pay Review. This will be backdated to July 2025, and this could involve a review of our current terms and conditions alongside increases to the advertised pay ranges. If there are any changes to what has been advertised the vacancy manager will be able to provide further details ahead of any offers being accepted.

Join us in shaping a future where nature and people thrive. Whether you're drawn to hands-on conservation or playing a vital part behind the scenes, your work at Natural England will support lasting benefits for the environment and society.

Our Role

Natural England is the Government’s adviser for the natural environment and the Nature regulator with a wide range of statutory duties and powers. We provide the evidence, expertise and advice to recover Nature and shape better places for people to live. We do this working through and with others.

Strategic Outcomes for Nature

Our strategy is framed through four strategic outcomes. Each of these outcomes reinforces and amplifies the others, and together they address environmental, social and economic actions critical to thriving nature.

• Recovering Nature – Increased scale and quality of places where nature thrives.
• Building Better Places – Greener homes and infrastructure create healthier, more investable places, recognising we live better where nature thrives around us.
• Improving Health and Wellbeing – Build nature into everyday life so people can support, access and benefit from nature, wherever they live.
• Delivering Security through Nature – Nature helps us adapt to the threats of a changing climate and improves our national security, supporting more resilient food production, healthy soils, clean and plentiful water and clean air.

Find out more about the work of Natural England at

Natural England’s Strategy: Recovering Nature for Growth, Health and Security - GOV.UK

Job description

The Role

The Corry Review recommended the implementation of an approach called ‘Lead Environmental Regulator’ to streamline the regulatory service offered to major infrastructure projects by Defra Group Arms- Length Bodies (ALBs) - Natural England, Environment Agency, Marine Management Organisation and Forestry Commission.

This approach, a Secretary of State reform priority, is being initially piloted with a small number of projects. In summary, it involves establishing a robust approach to project managing the interactions with the developer across the relevant Defra Group ALBs, seeking to avoid unnecessary delay and improve the customer experience. An Operating Model and evaluation methodology have been established in partnership with the cross-Defra Project Board.

As a Strategic Lead for the Lead Environmental Regulator pilots, you will provide strategic oversight, leadership, and direction for one of Natural England’s most high profile and influential reform initiatives. You will be accountable for shaping how Natural England and the wider Defra Group engage with major national infrastructure projects, helping to embed a collaborative, consistent and customer-focused regulatory service. You will be accountable for shaping how Natural England and the wider Defra Group engage with major national infrastructure projects, helping to embed the LER approach.

This role requires a leader who can combine strategic thinking, system-wide influence and programme leadership, while representing Natural England at senior level with developers, regulators, and government partners with influence and programme leadership.

This is a high-profile work area, offering a fantastic opportunity to trial and shape the way that we work with some of the most significant development projects in our country.

The role will be based in the Major Planning Casework Team (MPCT) in National Delivery. This multi-disciplinary team works on significant, large-scale, complex casework and strategic programmes, providing expert support and technical leadership to area teams and coordinating major infrastructure programmes. Its current portfolio of projects includes High Speed 2 (HS2), Sizewell C, East West Rail and RAPID and other High Risk/High Opportunity casework.

Key Tasks/Principal Accountabilities

Leadership & Coordination

• Work closely with the Defra Lead Environmental Regulator (LER) team and ALBs to deliver current LER pilots.
• Serve as Natural England’s primary point of contact for the Defra LER team.
• Develop and maintain Natural England’s future pipeline of suitable projects for LER implementation.

Stakeholder Engagement

• Engage proactively with developers to identify opportunities for applying the LER model and to resolve emerging issues.
• Champion the LER approach internally, promoting awareness, understanding, and adoption across the organisation.

Integration & Reform Delivery

• Ensure the LER model is embedded into Natural England’s Sustainable Development (SD) critical reforms, including innovation and risk related activities.
• Support culture change by ensuring lessons learned on innovation and risk influence Natural England’s risk appetite statements and related programmes.

Organisational Implementation

• Oversee the effective rollout of the LER approach across Natural England’s 12 area teams.
• Work collaboratively with colleagues to identify and address barriers to adoption and ensure consistency in practice nationwide.

Knowledge, Skills & Experience

• Highly organised, with strong analytical skills with a proven track record of delivering complex work projects and/ or programmes to deadlines managing risks and dependencies, benefits realisation, resources & budget.
• Strong people leadership skills, with the ability to functionally lead a multi-disciplinary and dispersed project team to deliver programme outcomes.
• Strong stakeholder management and relationship building skills.
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills - able to communicate complex concepts and analysis in a simple, straightforward, and honest way.
• Confidence in engaging with senior leaders, regulators, and external partners and excellent track record of partnership working, especially with other Government departments.
• Knowledge of environmental regulation and the Defra Group landscape.
• Experience working with developers, infrastructure projects, or major project delivery.

What You’ll Bring

• A proactive, solution-focused mindset.
• Commitment to improving environmental outcomes while streamlining regulatory processes.
• Ability to work flexibly, think strategically, and influence others.
• Enthusiasm for shaping.

Benefits

At Natural England, we support a healthy work-life balance by offering full-time, part-time, and flexible working arrangements.

We provide excellent opportunities for career progression, training, and development tailored to your role. This includes ten days annually for personal learning and development, plus three additional days for volunteering.

You’ll receive a generous leave allowance of 33 days per year (pro rata), access to the Civil Service Pension scheme with a 28.97% employer contribution, and a range of benefits such as shopping discounts and a cycle-to-work scheme. Staff can also join the Civil Service Sport club for discounts on sports, leisure activities, and social events.

We are committed to fairness, equality, and inclusivity. Our employee-led diversity networks help foster a welcoming environment where everyone feels valued and supported.

Locations

Natural England has adopted hybrid working – which means our staff work from a flexible range of locations, encompassing home, offices (ours and our partners) and relevant sites. 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 geographical area. Staff are expected to attend their associated office for 20% of their contractual hours.

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: online map of Natural England office locations.

Pay

It is Natural England policy to employ at the entry point of the salary range.

You will become an active member of the relevant local leadership community, the group of senior Natural England staff in each of the localities across England who we ask to provide support and co-ordination for the local group of staff.

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. We now provide primary interview questions in advance for all formal recruitments.

This vacancy uses competency-based assessment. We'll assess you against the competencies below during the selection process:

• Technical Skills and Knowledge
• Creating Resilient Landscapes & Seas
• 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 Action.

Please note that STAR format is not required when answering a Technical Skills & Knowledge competency.

Examples should be given in no more than 250 words for each competency.

If you are successful at the shortlisting stage, you will be invited to attend an interview via MS Teams or a suitable alternative, where you will be asked to give examples for all competencies as set out in the Job Description.

Please note: 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 for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.

Competencies

Competence 1

Professional competency

Detail

Technical Skills & Knowledge

Description

• Relevant degree e.g. marine/planning/environmental assessment or equivalent level of applied experience (Essential).
  • Understanding of Natural England’s statutory remit and our role in planning, licensing and protected and landscapes (Essential).
  • Experience of risk identification and management and working with senior leaders to achieve natural environment outcomes (Essential).
  • Experience of managing relationships with external partners and internal multi-disciplinary teams (Essential).
  • Functional management experience (Desirable).

Competence 2

Professional competency

Detail

Creating Resilient Landscapes and Seas

Description

• Identify and apply relevant planning and environmental legislation, policies and processes to deliver effective and proportionate evidence-based solutions and advice (Expert).
  • Identify appropriate solutions for avoidance, mitigation, compensation of environmental impacts and meeting shared outcomes; and identify opportunities for enhancing the natural environment (Expert).

Competence 3

Professional competency

Detail

Personal Effectiveness

Description

• Use clear and appropriate language, communication styles and techniques that engage your audience (Expert).
  • Make and explain objective decisions which combine your professional judgement and evidence (Expert).
  • Share expertise and knowledge with people and networks so that you can develop together (Expert).

Competence 4

Professional competency

Detail

Putting People at the Heart of the Environment

Description

• Nurture trusting partnerships and collaborate to achieve pragmatic outcomes that help deliver Natural England’s vision, mission and aims (Expert).
  • Listen to and understand our diverse partners and customers so that you achieve the best outcomes for them and Natural England (Expert).

Competence 5

Professional competency

Detail

Work Delivery

Description

• Manage and deliver your work to meet agreed targets and deadlines (Expert).

Person specification

Please refer to Job Description

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £51,000, Natural England contributes £14,774 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

Please note this Post is NOT regulated by the Civil Service Commission.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

The Civil Service welcomes applications from people who have recently left prison or have an unspent conviction. Read more about prison leaver recruitment (opens in new window).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 : Kathleen Covill
• Email : kathleen.covill@naturalengland.org.uk
• Telephone : 07900 608194

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/6409-6409-Principal-Officer-Lead-Environmental-Regulator/en-GB

Attachments

DEF-001h - Candidate Pack Natural England v2.3 Opens in new window (docx, 1325kB)