Ecology Officer

Location: High Wycombe

Overview

Do you love wildlife and want to make a difference to improving our natural environment? Buckinghamshire Council has an exciting opportunity for an Ecology Officer to join our fantastic Ecology Team within the Planning and Environment department. This is a full-time, permanent position, with one of the country’s leading Ecology and Biodiversity Net Gain teams.

About us

The Ecology Team is an award-winning, professional and friendly team made up of qualified Ecology Officers and Biodiversity Net Gain Officers. Together we work to protect, promote and manage the unique natural environment of Buckinghamshire. The Ecology Team is part of the Council’s Planning and Environment directorate. The Ecologists work alongside other specialist teams, including heritage, archaeology, urban design and landscape, arboriculture and the Buckinghamshire and Milton Keynes Environmental Record Centre (BMERC). 

This is an exciting time to join Buckinghamshire Council. The ecology team have been leading the way nationally on Biodiversity Net Gain, setting up two of the first habitat banks in the region and providing templates and guidance to other authorities through the Planning Advisory Service. Working with us will give you the chance to work on a range of large and small-scale developments, as well as some of our existing projects. Partnership work is key to the success of this project and successful applicants will work with some of the key environmental stakeholders in the region, especially the Bucks and Milton Keynes Natural Environment Partnership. Come and join our fantastic, expanding team while developing your professional career at the same time.

Buckinghamshire is a beautiful place to live and work. We pride ourselves on our great working ethos, our professionalism, our adaptability and our flexible working. We recognise that training is an essential part of any technical role and pride ourselves on offering excellent training opportunities and Continuing Professional Development.

Buckinghamshire Council is a relatively new organisation that combines the strengths and expertise of the previous five councils in the county to create positive change for local people, communities, and businesses. We are firmly focused on the future and have made a clear commitment to serve residents better and to provide stronger representation for Buckinghamshire, both locally and nationally.

About the role

As an Ecology Officer you will provide authoritative ecological advice, guidance and support to colleagues, customers and stakeholders. You will provide pre application advice on ecology issues, undertake ecology screening visits and respond to planning consultations from the planning teams. You will also have a strategic role in helping in the development of our Buckinghamshire Local Plan, our Local Nature Recovery Strategy, and advising on Neighbourhood Plans, green infrastructure, tree planting projects and other County-wide policies. 

The successful candidate will have:

Demonstrable experience of ecological planning advice or consultancy Experience of working with biodiversity net gain calculations Demonstrable knowledge of the terrestrial ecology, habitats and species of lowland England Knowledge of legislation and policy and guidance relating to habitats and species Qualifications to degree level in natural or environmental science or equivalent Good Project Management experience and the ability to implement change

Any-Desk:

As an ‘any-desk’ worker, you’ll need to be connected to our network to access digital folders and resources, but this can either be from home or an office location when required. You will be required to work from the office a couple of times a week, depending on your role and team requirements.

About you

The successful candidate will have:

Demonstrable experience of ecological planning advice or consultancy Experience of working with biodiversity net gain calculations Demonstrable knowledge of the terrestrial ecology, habitats and species of lowland England Knowledge of legislation and policy and guidance relating to habitats and species Qualifications to degree level in natural or environmental science or equivalent Ideally be working towards holding protected species licences (e.g. bat and GCN) Good Project Management experience and the ability to implement change

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