Senior Nature Based Solutions Specialist

Closing Date 2026-01-02 Job Title: Senior Nature Based Solutions Specialist Location: Flexible (ideally West Sussex or Hampshire) – 1 day a week in Durrington, West Sussex Contract Type: Permanent Hours: 37 hours per week Salary: circa £55,000 depending on skills and experience The Environment & Innovation team is at the forefront of Southern Water’s drive to enhance and protect the environment. Deploying the latest innovative solutions and working in partnership with our customers and stakeholders, the team takes an holistic approach to managing water quality and flow across the region. The portfolio has rapidly expanded from £50million to over £2 billion in the next 10-year period. This is a fast-paced team that is now expanding to continue to deliver a larger programme of sustainable and innovative solutions. A brand new position has been created to join our Environment & Innovation team as a Senior Nature Based Solutions Specialist. Job Overview Support delivery of our regulatory programme, supporting the Principal Nature Based Solutions Specialist to manage implementation, delivery and reporting of our regulatory investigations, impact assessments, ecological schemes and compliance requirements. Responsible for managing projects through a full lifecycle and delivering outcomes within given timescales. A key element of this role is engagement with key stakeholders including our regulators (EA and NE), other Water Companies, the Water Industry, Catchment Partnerships, internally within SWS to promote our Catchment First Programme and contribute to industry technical working groups. Providing Nature Based Solutions advice to the wider business in relation to ecology, planning and development, environmental policy etc. Contribute to industry forums promoting the Catchment First approach. Assist and mentor the professional development of the Nature Based Solutions Specialists. Support how we can best deliver in each catchment, balancing the opportunities for specialist consultants, catchment partnership working and direct delivery by the in-house team. About You Demonstrable expertise in ecology, river / wetland restoration, biodiversity enhancement, planning and development. Proven expertise of project management, including planning and permitting requirements. The ability to demonstrate the completion of quality multi-disciplinary tasks on time to a consistent & high standard. Experience managing delivery of technical work via sub-contracted consultancy teams. Experience translating regulatory environmental requirements into deliverable and manageable work streams. Degree in relevant environmental discipline or equivalent experience. Masters degree in relevant discipline such as Hydroecology is desirable. Chartership or working towards is highly desirable. Package Benefits This role will be full time Monday to Friday with a hybrid approach to working between our projects/sites, office and home. We are offering a salary of circa £55,000 as well as other benefits including: Generous pension up to 11% company contribution 25 days annual leave Life assurance equal to 4x salary Salary sacrifice electric car scheme (after 6 months service) Health Cash Plan Full funded eye tests Two paid volunteering days a year Occupational health service Discounts with over 800 popular retailers Digital GP service Study support may be available for job-related qualifications Competitive maternity leave and flexible return to work options Cycle to work scheme Join our Environment & Innovation team and see how far your career could progress with a company committed to career progression, training and development opportunities, our customers and the environment. Does this opportunity excite you but you’re not 100% sure if you meet all the requirements for the role? Or are you concerned that ‘normal’ office hours aren’t possible given your personal circumstances? Whilst we can’t accommodate every flexible working request, we’ll try to find a practical solution. So why not engage with us and find out more about this role? Our customers are at the heart of everything we do, because delivering water for life is our core purpose. To achieve this, we need 24/7 support in place to resolve incidents quickly and efficiently. All our employees understand the importance of out-of-hours incident support – because when problems appear, fixing them is our top priority. That’s why our people join together and support when and however needed to make sure our customers get the service they deserve. Joining the Southern Water family means you’ll become part of our incident support team. During your interview, your manager will speak to you about any incident support rotas that apply to your position. Privacy Statement Please note: If you are an existing Southern Water employee, you will need to confirm within your application that your Manager is aware of your application. All applicants must be eligible to live and work in the UK. You will need to provide evidence of eligibility (e.g. a passport or long birth certificate and proof of NI) and current proof of address (dated within the last 3 months), will be required as part of the recruitment process. If you do not meet these criteria, your application will not be considered.