Senior Reserve Manager, National Nature Reserve - ( Ref : 6550 )

Job summary

This position is based at Castle Eden Dene NNR

Job description

Job summary

This position is based at Castle Eden Dene, Peterlee, SR8 1NJ

Job description

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

Northumbria Area Team is seeking to recruit a professional and highly motivated individual to join the Northumbria Team as part of its National Nature Reserve (NNR) group of staff. Our National Nature Reserves (NNRs) are at the forefront of nature recovery and people engagement and are at the heart of achieving Natural England’s ambitions (such as Local Nature Recovery, Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG), NNR strategy etc.). This role is fundamental to the delivery of the NNR Management plans and the ambitions of NNRs, providing key operational delivery on the reserves, thereby ensuring the NNR series can achieve its role in delivering the Government’s ambitious 25-year plan.

Job description

Job Description:

The Senior Reserve Manager (SRM) holds a pivotal role in the comprehensive management and enhancement of National Nature Reserves (NNRs), actively promoting Nature Recovery in the broader landscape. The role demands an understanding of land management techniques, biodiversity conservation, and strategic planning combining technical expertise with practical land management knowledge. The Senior Reserve Manager collaborates with staff, volunteers, local communities, and partners, contributing to Nature England's Vision, Mission and Aims. The role will be actively involved in the wider Area Team leadership group, working alongside other Senior staff and Managers.

The principal NNRs to be managed by this role are:

• Castle Eden Dene

• Teesmouth

• Cassop National Nature Reserves.

The post is based at our reserve base at Castle Eden Dene, Peterlee.

This is the main operational hub for the Castle Eden Dene NNR cluster and supports operational and strategic partnership working that delivers nature recovery and public health benefits across the region. It is a base for staff, volunteers, visiting schools and participants from the local community, and hosting a wide range of activities delivered by the Northumbria Area Team and partners.

The Senior Reserve Manager will lead the development and implementation of NNR work programs, aligning day-to-day management with a long-term nature recovery vision alongside partners. The role will be responsible for their own Health & Safety and of staff, visitors, volunteers and contractors on the reserves. They will line manage reserve staff, foster a positive working culture, provide financial management alongside working with colleagues to deliver Area Team priorities and strategic projects.

The post holder is required to have an active onsite presence and be based at Castle Eden Dene for a minimum of 3 days per week. The role may require some weekend, public holiday and evening work.

Key Tasks/Principal Accountabilities

• To provide strategic leadership to deliver Natural England ambitions and drive the NNR agenda, across reserves on a landscape scale

• Develop, review and deliver NNR management plans along with Area Team staff and partners and lead the development and implementation of NNR work programmes providing strategic leadership, setting priorities and risk management

• To be responsible for delivering high value and strategically complex work programmes on the NNR cluster, dealing with challenging and complex external issues

• Be a champion for ambition and implement strategic direction for engagement, delivery and visitor experience across NNR groups that aligns with national strategic and programme priorities.

• Seek opportunity to link into wider partnership ambitions and promote inclusion with diverse audiences.

• To provide functional (and/or) line management to NNR staff and volunteers including responsibility for H&S across the reserves.

• Manage budgets and seek external funding and income generating opportunities, identify long term strategic resource requirements and work with teams to ensure spend is tracked and audited

• Lead procurement processes relating to the spend of programme budgets and provision of capital goods and services including project management of capital works.

• Implementation of Health & Safety (H&S) Frameworks and Legislation, provide leadership of a safe working practice culture to all staff, ensuring robust management of all H&S risks pertinent to activities undertaken on the NNR are in place and controlled.

• Develop opportunities for local and regional networks and partnerships across NNR delivery, including with Approved Body partners and other potential NNR managing partners seeking mutual benefits

• Identify opportunities for local NNR science, research, evidence and monitoring to support or contribute to wider organisational evidence priorities and programmes.

Knowledge, Skills and Experience

• Leadership (essential) – ability to line manage and develop others and manage volunteers in a remote setting to achieve good environmental outcomes. Motivate individuals and groups and use coaching and a range of engagement styles.

• H&S (essential)– Including risk assessment and management. Ability to demonstrate good judgement and decision making in complex situations. Experience of the range of tasks required on site and the equipment associated and ability to operate machinery.

• Collaborating and partnerships (essential) - demonstrates honesty and integrity, steers, or leads NE’s contribution to existing partnerships, has skills for issue resolution. Understands partners’ objectives and needs; can apply strategic thinking to identify the potential for new partnerships/relationships and negotiating skills to establish them.

• Work delivery (essential) – ability to manage complex, landscape scale or Area Team (AT) - wide NNR projects and programmes. Evaluate and assess priorities between NNR groups and balance NNR resources across their area of responsibility. Working with Reserve Managers, ensure delivery is on time and to budget.

• Technical skills (essential)– knowledge of the purposes of NNRs, the principles of site selection and the mechanisms involved in tenure, declaration, and other relevant legal and regulatory processes. Strong understanding of the diversity of reserve activities and the types of methods, tools and equipment used. Competence in relevant IT. Budget management and planning skills, including external funding. Competence in prioritising and planning programmes of work across multiple sites and years.

• Environmental and organisational outcomes (desirable) – An understanding of (i) local, regional and national environmental issues; (ii) Local Nature Recovery

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 25 days per year (pro rata), increasing by one day for each year of service up to 30 days (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.

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
• Working Safely
• Putting People at the Heart of the Environment
• Work Delivery
• Creating Resilient Landscapes and Seas

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 the 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.

Additional information

Introduction to sites and location:

Castle Eden Dene, Cassop and Thrislington NNRs

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/durhams-national-nature-reserves/durhams-national-nature-reserves

Teesmouth NNR

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/clevelands-national-nature-reserves/clevelands-national-nature-reserves

Competencies

Competence 1

Professional competency

Detail

Technical Skills and Knowledge

Description

Practical knowledge of habitat and reserve infrastructure management. (Essential)

Supervise and enable staff and volunteers to carry out a range of practical tasks using machinery and tools (with relevant qualifications). (Essential)

Knowledge of land management including management planning and the use of corporate recording and finance systems. (Essential)

Understand and apply relevant policy, legislation, governance frameworks and strategies to your work. (Essential)

Competent IT skills, use of MS Office and social media. Knowledge of GIS mapping will be an advantage. (Desirable)

Competence 2

Professional competency

Detail

Working Safely

Description

Apply the principles of risk management and adopt safe working practices for yourself and the people you work with in everything you do. (Practitioner)

Understand the duty of care owed to all visitors, contractors or others on our NNRs, and adhere to appropriate legislation and Natural England policies and procedures. (Practitioner)

Competence 3

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. (Practitioner)

Listen to and understand our diverse partners and customers so that you achieve the best outcomes for them and Natural England (Practitioner)

Understand the importance of people accessing and engaging with the natural environment, and how to balance their needs with nature conservation objectives. (Practitioner)

Competence 4

Professional competency

Detail

Work Delivery

Description

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

Review budget performance and maintain accurate forecasts so that your financial submissions and commentaries are complete. (Practitioner)

Competence 5

Professional competency

Detail

Creating Resilient Landscapes and Seas

Description

Identify how a site interacts with the surrounding landscape, habitats and local communities. (Practitioner)

Recognise, identify and interpret environmental features on NNRs. (Practitioner)

Understand and apply appropriate management techniques to maintain or enhance the condition of sites. (Practitioner)

Person specification

Please refer to Job Description

Licences

Driving Licence

Qualifications

Ecology/Environmental Science degree or equivalent experience

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £39,660, Natural England contributes £11,489 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 : Anna Millard
• Email : Anna.Millard@naturalengland.org.uk

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/6550-6550-Senior-Reserve-Manager-National-Nature-Reserve/en-GB

Attachments

DEF-001h - Candidate Pack Natural England v2.8 Opens in new window (docx, 666kB)