Key Tasks/Principal Accountabilities
Provide senior-level support to sustainable development advisers by offering guidance on complex issues, attending internal and external meetings, and escalating risks appropriately. Work collaboratively with other Senior Officers to ensure consistency in advice and decision-making across all areas of work.
Drive improvements in ways of working by building team capacity, identifying training needs, and delivering relevant development opportunities. Engage with customers and partners, including Local Planning Authorities, and government agencies, to provide clear, pragmatic advice that supports sustainable development objectives and drives forward the Natural England Strategy ambition to build better places.
- Providing a strategic lead for specific high risk, high opportunity casework, with a particular focus on Town and Country Planning Act development proposals. This will involve working closely with colleagues across the team, supporting others delivering technical advice, and drawing down national specialist input as required.
- Providing advice on spatial development strategies and working closely with local planning authorities on high priority local plans to manage risk, ensure nature is designed into development, and secure plan policies that support strong, long term environmental outcomes.
- Building partnerships with customers and stakeholders to resolve complex planning issues. Providing clear, pragmatic, evidence-based advice to developers and local planning authorities, seeking opportunities to maximising delivery through our discretionary advice service (DAS).
- Act as an account manager for Lead Environmental Regulator, managing relationships with developers and working with Defra and other Arm’s-Length Bodies (ALBs) e.g. Environment Agency, to provide joined up advice to developers and enable delivery of integrated outcomes for nature recovery and growth.
- Enabling developers to use tools such as Green Infrastructure standards, Biodiversity Net Gain and Environmental Delivery Plans (as these are developed) to secure planning approvals and gains for people and nature.
- Provide support to other sustainable development advisers within the team, including support at external and internal meetings, providing a steer on complex and challenging issues, and escalating risk through appropriate channels.
- Contributing to the broader leadership of the area team through active participation in cross-team groups and briefings to NE senior leadership and working with other Senior Officers within the wider area team to ensure consistency in advice delivery across all our work areas.
Knowledge, Skills & Experience
This role requires strong decision-making and communication skills, with the ability to make objective, evidence-based judgments while balancing risk and pragmatism. You will act with integrity, manage challenging issues, and communicate clearly and flexibly across diverse audiences. Building collaborative relationships and fostering trust are key to achieving practical outcomes aligned with organisational goals.
You will combine environmental understanding with effective delivery, managing complex, high-risk casework independently to meet targets and deadlines. The role also involves identifying evidence needs, securing resources through partnerships, and ensuring decisions support both public access and nature conservation objectives. A relevant degree (or equivalent experience) and proven expertise in handling high-opportunity casework are essential.
- The ability to see the big picture, so you can steer sustainable development work within the context of Natural England’s Strategy and help colleagues understand how their work relates to and supports this.
- The ability to build collaborative relationships with colleagues (both internally and externally) to help make things happen and deliver outcomes.
- The ability to direct, coach and support staff to deliver on sustainable development objectives.
- The ability to resolve problems and manage risks with good judgement and seek innovative solutions.
- Strong planning, prioritisation, and organisational ability to manage complex delivery areas with competing demands.
- Excellent written and oral communications skills.
- Robust and current knowledge of relevant legislation and guidance and how to apply and interpret it to NE’s activities and duties.
- Strong understanding of environmental protection in England and the legislation that underpins it.
- Demonstrable experience of UK ecology with a broad understanding of priority habitats and species.
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 & Knowledge
- Personal Effectiveness
- Work Delivery
- Putting People and the heart of the Environment
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.
As with all roles in NE, these roles require office attendance of a minimum of 20% of the working time – one day per week for those who work full time, subject to any reasonable adjustments and/or existing contractual homeworking.
