Sustainable Development - ( Ref : 6580 )

Job summary

This position can be based at Cambridge Shaftesbury or Peterborough Quay House

Job description

West Anglia Area Team has an ambitious plan to build a resilient natural environment. We want to create flourishing landscapes that are a source of pride, employment, access and enjoyment. The habitats across the landscapes will provide benefits to biodiversity, water quality, flood management, climate change and the wider farmed environment.

West Anglia Area Team contains four county-based teams (Cambridgeshire, Northamptonshire, Beds & Hertfordshire and Essex) – where we develop our plans and deliver our services under the leadership of a Team Leader. The county teams are multi-disciplinary, enabling us to bring together different tools and advice to deliver our outcomes in partnership with others. Supporting our county teams is our People & Nature cross cutting team, essential to provide over-arching leadership and support in a number of areas and is where this role is homed.

We have offices in Peterborough and Cambridge as well as some staff based in our London office

Job description

Job Purpose:

The purpose of this role is to work with a range of partners and stakeholders including statutory undertakers, government agencies, developers, consultants, landowners, and members of the public to drive forward nature recovery through the planning system. The role operates to uphold Natural England’s statutory duties and to create benefits for nature and people within the land, freshwater and marine environment.

The role uses a range of specific tools such as statutory advice to decision makers; regulatory mechanisms that avoid and reduce environmental harm through the planning system; and technical guidance to planners and developers to secure environmental improvements through individual schemes.

This Higher Officer role sits in Area Teams and provides the main interface between Natural England (NE) and the key local stakeholders who NE wish to engage with and influence through the planning system. It is a key role in balancing both our regulatory responsibilities and our delivery of nature recovery through the green growth agenda. Roles may be primarily based within NE’s role in the terrestrial planning system, the management of water quality/resources, or shaping the design of major infrastructure and delivery projects in the marine ecosystem.

The role reports to a Senior Manager for line management, while functional management is provided by a Senior Officer from the relevant work area (Sustainable Development Casework Manager)

Key responsibilities

Deliver timely, high quality, pragmatic and legally sound advice to authorities and developers in the Area Team geography. Especially focussing on provision of advice on Strategic Planning, Habitats Regulations Assessments and Environmental Impact Assessments for major casework.

• Take ownership for helping delivery our remit regarding High Risk and High Opportunity plans and casework, coordinating the provision of advice from across Natural England, building expertise to deliver quality-assured and robust advice on major plans and projects in terrestrial, freshwater and/or marine settings.
• Building partnerships with customers and stakeholders to resolve complex planning issues in order to support nature recovery, often through use of chargeable services that support better environmental outcomes.
• Proactively work with partners on strategic solutions and projects that take forward NE nature recovery goals including use of net gain, nutrient mitigation plans, provision of high quality green and blue infrastructure, and creating opportunities for better connections between people and nature.
• Contribute to efforts to improve our effectiveness in engaging with planning and development.
• Responding to post-consent consultations on discharge of Development Consent Orders, planning permission and licence conditions

Apply highest standards of record keeping and decision making to demonstrate that legislation, policy and governance frameworks are followed, and consistent advice is delivered to customers.

Key performance measures

The role focuses on time critical statutory work, which is complex and often contentious and requires completing in short timescales. This role must analyse an array of evidence to make informed, objective decisions; negotiate requirements for improvements to plans, or seek additional information to reduce risks and maximise environmental gains; manage potentially contentious relationships with external parties (who may not have any background or interest in nature recovery); work as a team player to make best use of networks across the organisation to both deliver work and find pragmatic solutions to accommodate the needs of both people and nature.

The role has important customer facing function to deliver within a high priority work area, that carries significant reputational risk (and opportunity) to both NE and the environment agenda. It also represents an area where NE has significant statutory role that is quite different to that of campaigning and advisory environmental non-government organisations (eNGOs). The role is critical to the effective functioning of all Area Teams, both in terms of administering both our statutory regulatory functions, as well as our driving nature recovery ambition.

This Higher Officer role will typically lead one or more work areas within a defined geographical area. The role will have considerable autonomy with regard to work planning within that area in support of national programs and in response to local requirements. The role will lead on developing relationships with customers and identifying and developing new stakeholder partnerships.

There are no line management responsibilities associated with this role although it often includes direct supervision of Officers and support or training for peers within the Area Team.

Knowledge, skills and experience

This role demands a comprehensive understanding of the relevant work area and ability to provide high quality advice to customers and partners.

A comprehensive knowledge of the planning system, environmental legislation relating to the natural environment and protected sites and regulatory mechanisms will be required. The post holder will understand key ecological processes and systems as they apply to local landscapes and will have significant expertise in providing coherent evidence-based advice to shape delivery of quality schemes that contribute to nature recovery.

The role holder must be able to communicate clearly, both verbally and in writing, and experience of building pragmatic working relationships with partners and stakeholders is essential. A relevant academic qualification or significant equivalent will be required alongside the ability to gain additional technical knowledge at pace. Competence in the use of IT, the ability to be organised and work at pace on complex cases will also be necessary.

Key relationships

There is a requirement for Higher Officer to be able to explain complex, technical and legislative information to those that are outside of the environment sector, and also to understand and be able to interpret how a proposal fits within planning process and legislation and be able to have the skills and expertise to represent a wealth of nature recovery ambition within our responses. This will include statutory agencies, planners, developers, consultants, landowners, and members of the public.

There is also a strong need to be able to consider and represent a diverse range of other technical and social ambition (e.g. clean air and water, mitigation for nutrient deposition; landscape impacts; provision of green and blue infrastructure; enabling access to greenspace for health and wellbeing; delivery of government biodiversity net gain targets etc) either directly from their own knowledge or through internal colleagues.

Higher Officers will also develop networks and work closely with both Area Team and national colleagues, especially those with knowledge of the risks and opportunities within a geography, those with understanding of the ecological function of specific protected sites or catchments, and those who can input specific technical skills to evidence our position.

The planning system elicits strong feelings with external parties who may be opposed to a proposal. The Higher Officer may need to interact to manage reputational risk and represent the NE position with those that are strongly opposed to a case.

Organisation chart

These roles will sit under a Senior Manager within an Area Team but will have workload functionally managed by a Sustainable Development Casework Manager The role will not have line management or functional management responsibility.

Competencies

Competence 1

Professional competency

Detail

Technical knowledge and skills

Description

A relevant degree (e.g. geography, environmental studies, planning, ecology) or alternative qualification and/or suitable relevant experience, please specify. (Essential).

Knowledge of the application of the Town and Country Planning Act to shape environmental solutions for designated sites, protected landscapes and species (Essential).

Knowledge of Habitats Regulations Assessments, Sustainability Appraisals and Environmental Impact Assessments and the Development Plan process (Desirable).

Understanding of ecology and habitats in relation to the planning system, including Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project (NSIP) developments. (Desirable).

Competence 2

Professional competency

Detail

Personal Effectiveness

Description

Act with integrity, addressing challenging issues and managing conflict through being open and objective

Make and explain objective decisions which combine your professional judgement and evidence

Use clear and appropriate language, communication styles and techniques that engage your audience

Competence 3

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

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

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

Person specification

Please refer to Job Description

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £32,240, Natural England contributes £9,339 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

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 : Cheryl Allibone
• Email : cheryl.allibone@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/6580-6580-Sustainable-Development/en-GB

Attachments

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