3253 - Marine Lead Adviser

We have a number of vacancies in our Area Teams across the country. These roles will be delivering our marine work which includes conservation advice, condition assessments, monitoring, marine casework (offshore wind/sustainable development) and fisheries management advice.

The successful candidate(s) will play a central role in the co-ordination and delivery of Natural England’s work in the marine environment.

The post holders will

• Take a leading role on the conservation and recovery of the marine environment through the provision of advice, monitoring and working with partners
• Marine casework specific roles will take ownership of casework, coordinating the provision of advice from across Natural England, building expertise to deliver quality-assured and robust advice on major marine projects.

Remit of all roles will include (but not be limited to):

• Contributing to the production of formal conservation advice packages for our Marine Protected Area (MPA) network
• Carrying out MPA feature condition assessments as part of our statutory duty and to inform advice
• Identification and completion of priority marine monitoring (may include field work)
• Provision of advice on Environmental Impacts Assessments and Habitat Regulations Assessments (including technical supporting information)
• Provision of statutory advice to competent authorities such as local planning authorities and the Marine Management Organisation within specified statutory time frames
• Responding to post-consent consultations on discharge of DCO and marine licence conditions
• Provision of advice to developers to inform survey and monitoring plans and reports through Natural England’s Discretionary Advice Service.
• Provision of chargeable advice through Natural England’s Discretionary Advice Service (DAS), to maximise early engagement opportunities to achieve better outcomes for the natural environment
• Building partnerships with customers and stakeholders to resolve complex or contentious planning issues in order to support nature recovery.
• Identification of any risks associated with the delivery of this work and ensuring they are escalated appropriately
• Participation in relevant internal technical networks, showing leadership and sharing best practice with others to support development of strategic approaches to challenges and promote skills development across the wider team.

Some roles may have a sole focus on marine casework, fisheries or our MPA work from the above descriptions.

Roles may involve working outside, and regular travel including to sites which are not accessible by public transport so a driving license is essential.

We have a number of roles available. Some roles on offer can only be done from specific offices. This includes Area Team roles where you would be expected to be based in the team’s geographic area. Some National Team roles have ‘hubs’ where you would be expected to join the rest of the team in a specific office. Many roles in National Teams can be undertaken from any office. 

You can view a map of our office locations here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/natural-england-office-locations

Please specify your location preferences in the appropriate field on the application form.

Successful candidates will be allocated roles in merit order based on scores achieved at interview and in accordance with location preferences, taking into account the work area successful candidates are most suited to wherever possible

How to apply

We'll assess you against the competencies below during the selection process. When completing the application form you should present relevant examples using the STAR format. STAR stands for:

• Situation
• Task
• Action
• Result

Examples should be given in no more than 250 words for each competency. For full details see the attached Candidate Information Pack.

Next steps

If we receive a significant number of applications we may choose to sift applications on the first two competencies of Technical Skills and Knowledge and Personal Effectiveness only.

If you are successful in being invited to interview you will be asked to give examples for all four competencies.

Everything’s better with nature. You included.

We are the Government’s statutory adviser for the natural environment, playing a vital role in delivering the Government’s 25 Year Environment Plan. This describes an ambitious vision, bringing new opportunities to protect and enhance, and to achieve real outcomes for the environment.

At Natural England, we love what we do. We’re here to make sure people and nature can thrive. A healthy natural environment is fundamental to our wellbeing, prosperity and happiness – that’s why we collaborate with scientists, lawyers, project managers and experts to implement environmental policy and shape decisions.

We work with a wide range of partners, stakeholders and customers on a huge range of projects, from influencing construction, advising farmers and landowners how they can manage their land in a sustainable way for the benefit of the environment, gathering and analysing environmental data, and carrying out vital statutory duties. Across the country, we’re helping nature to support people and our planet.

We are focusing our efforts on six key programmes:

Greener Farming and Fisheries – supporting those who manage land and sea to operate in harmony with the environment

Sustainable Development – creating great places for people to live and work

Connecting People with Nature - promoting health and wellbeing through the great outdoors

Resilient Landscapes and Seas – protecting and restoring wildlife and natural beauty for future generations

Specialist Science and Evidence - an evidence-led organisation that is driven by science

Managing the Organisation – gathering business data to enable decision-making.

Natural England staff are inclusive, motivated and ambitious to achieve results for our environment, for everyone. We welcome and encourage applications from all communities and we operate a guaranteed interview scheme for disabled applicants who meet the minimum requirements for the role.

Wherever possible Natural England accommodates requests for both full-time and part-time hours and other flexible working patterns to help employees achieve a good work/life balance and maintain their health and wellbeing. 

From induction to ongoing learning and development, everyone in Natural England is supported to develop their skills and capabilities. Where appropriate there will be offers of training under our apprenticeship schemes.

See more about the work of Natural England at https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/natural-england