2941 - Water Senior Adviser

3
East of England, South East, South West
Bridgwater , Bristol , Cambridge , Eastleigh , London, Norwich , Reading , Wareham
SEO
Senior Adviser
Permanent
Full Time, Part Time, Part Time/Job Share
Environment & Sustainability
£31,493

Oversight and direction of the team’s engagement and input into Strategic Water Planning (for example – see below) to identify and secure opportunities to address the challenges affecting our water environment e.g. climate change, drought, flooding, abstraction, pollution;

  • RAPID
  • Price Review 19/24
  • Asset Management Plan 7
  • Diffuse Water pollution Judicial Reviews
  • River Basin Management Plans
  • Flood and Coastal Risk Management
  • Water Level Management Plans,
  • and Drainage and Waste Water Management plans

Work with colleagues from across the business, both local and national, and lead on technical input into major water projects including for example;Strategic engagement and relationship management of key partners (such as the EA, Water companies etc.) to maximize joined up and effective delivery of opportunities;

  • Poole Harbour
  • Somerset Levels
  • Hampshire Avon
  • Solent Nitrates
  • Southern Water Drought Work
  • Anglian Water strategic alliance pipeline
  • Restoring sustainable Abstraction programme in the Broads

Lead our conversations with the EA to identify the common ground and identify differences in our positions to help us agree nature based solutions for water quality;

  • Liaison with the EA on the joint planning. Work with the EA on the development of their habitat creation programme, Flood risk Management plan second cycle development of plan and support of Natural Flood Management approaches;
  • Seeking innovative and novel solutions to long standing intractable site based issues working with local area team staff to implement;
  • Champion Nature based water solutions and put our water programme at the heart of Nature Recovery Networks;
  • Build and lead effective networks to facilitate and influence thinking in this area, sharing information across the team;
  • Provide risk oversight and act as the escalation point for high risk casework in accordance with NE’s schemes of delegation;
  • Anticipate casework demand and work to ensure resource is allocated accordingly;
  • Lead the development of our chargeable services and support delivery of chargeable advice for our freshwater work;
  • Provide mentoring and training to grow the capability and capacity of our teams to provide technical water advice, and create resilience in this work area;

Support our freshwater Lead Advisers and Advisers with;

  • Provision of technical advice on water related casework, including hydrogeological advice on abstraction licences, water quality and water level issues arising on casework (planning, land management or environment Agency consultations).
  • Completion of Diffuse Water Pollution Plans with the Environment Agency and embed the roll-out of their actions.
  • Provision of Discretionary Advice Service (DAS) work related to statutory water company plans (drought plan, water resource management plan and business plan) in particular Drought Plan Environmental Assessment Reports (EARS).
  • Work with other Area Team staff to develop a shared protected sites monitoring strategy, which integrates all aspects of our work;
  • Provide oversight of Water Environment Grant projects across the Area Teams, supporting Lead Advisers and acting as link with national leads;
  • Engaging with our sustainable development programme to embed opportunities to deliver water outcomes in strategic plans e.g. net gain, and maximise the use of these tools to support our water ambitions.
  • Provide technical leadership on hydrological issues, maintaining an over view of the delivery of water related Protected Sites casework, ensuring our advice is timely, professional and robust and complies with current guidance;

You will be:

  • Strategic in your thinking and actions.
  • Show innovation and creativity in finding solutions and encourage team members to do the same in their day-to-day work.
  • Be proactive and self-driven, spotting and exploring opportunities and bringing them to fruition.
  • Role model Natural England’s values
  • Demonstrate leadership
  • Play a significant role in driving forward the delivery of the Area Team plan and shaping our Team’s response to the changes needed to achieve the vision set out in our Conservation Strategy and the 25 Year Environment Plan.

The Norfolk and Suffolk, Thames Solent and Wessex Area Teams are each looking to appoint a Freshwater Senior Adviser to provide technical advice, lead our Team’s in-year delivery, strategic planning and thinking about the role of our freshwater work in delivering our Nature Recovery ambitions across our teams. 

This role will be central to shaping our Area Team culture by role-modelling our values and championing new ways of working to enable us to implement the government’s ambitious 25YEP and our vision for Nature Recovery.

The successful candidate will contribute to our team planning and reporting against the Greener Farming and Fisheries programme and will be required to work closely with other Senior Advisers contributing to this programme, and the wider leadership team including Team Leaders and Managers.

You will play an important role in setting our team priorities for all staff working on our freshwater agenda for the coming year, monitoring our progress, identifying in year risks and putting in place mitigating measures, and helping us to be agile in our response to new opportunities as and when they occur.

A priority tasks for our new post holder will be to build our commercial offer, ensuring we move work to a chargeable basis where appropriate so we can build a resilient and self-funding service for water companies and other key customers/stakeholders.

We will expect the successful candidate to demonstrate a flexible and adaptable approach working across our remit and taking on new areas of work as the team needs change.

Norfolk and Suffolk:  Helen.Dixon@natturalengland.org.uk

Wessex:  Claire.Newill@naturalengland.org.uk

Thames Solent:  Graham.Horton@naturalengland.org.uk

27/09/2020, 23:55 hours

Expected - Week commencing 19th Oct
Basic Check (BPSS)
Professional competency
Leading and managing people
• Set clear plans and expectations for your team, explain reasons behind decisions, be clear on the outcomes to be achieved, and make things happen by sharing and delegating work to the right people. – Practitioner
• Encourage, inspire and support people to be ambitious, creative and innovative, and to reflect, celebrate and learn lessons from their work. – Practitioner
• Facilitate and support the personal development of people in your team, enabling them to share expertise and continuously learn. – Practitioner
• Lead by example, engage and support your team through change – Practitioner
Professional competency
Personal Effectiveness
• Act with integrity, addressing challenging issues and managing conflict through being open and objective. – Practitioner
• Be ambitious, identify and adopt ways to make improvements in your team and Natural England and inspire others to act. – Practitioner
• 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. – Practitioner
Professional competency
Putting People at the Heart of the Environment
• Listen to and understand our diverse partners and customers so that you achieve the best outcomes for them and Natural England. – Practitioner
• Nurture trusting partnerships and collaborate to achieve pragmatic outcomes that help deliver Natural England’s vision, mission and aims. – Practitioner
Professional competency
Work Delivery
• See the big picture so you can set your team’s work within the context of the organisation’s vision, mission and aims, and help them understand how their work relates to and supports this. – Practitioner
• Manage and deliver your work to meet agreed targets and deadlines. – Expert
Professional competency
Technical skills and knowledge
• Familiarity and experience of Strategic Water Planning, e.g. River Basin Management Plans, Flood and Coastal Risk Management, Diffuse Water Pollution Plans, Water Level Management Plans, RAPID and Price Review 19/24.
• Understanding of the challenges affecting our water environment e.g. climate change, drought, flooding, abstraction, pollution etc.
• Understand how an ecosystem functions, recognising and advising on impacts which could affect the resilience of an ecosystem (including ecological networks)
• Understand the use of Habitats Regulations and give appropriate consent, assent and advice
• Identify and apply relevant planning and environmental legislation, policies and processes to deliver effective and proportionate evidence-based solutions and advice
• Understand the environmental value of designated sites and explain that to partners, stakeholders and customers.
• Knowledge of freshwater ecology and systems including open waters, rivers, standing waters and estuarine environments
• Knowledge of wetland ecology and systems including bogs, fens, reed beds and grazing marshes
• Knowledge of water supply, quality and resource protection issues, including catchment-sensitive farming
• Knowledge of Hydrology and hydrogeology
• Ability to oversee complex technical cases/issues in the team which will include water abstraction and water quality
Driving licence
Natural England

This Vacancy is closed to applications.