Freshwater Lead Adviser

**Details**:
**Reference number**:

- 267908**Salary**:

- £27,273**Job grade**:

- Higher Executive Officer- Lead Adviser**Contract type**:

- Permanent**Type of role**:

- Environment and Sustainability**Working pattern**:

- Full-time, Job share, Part-time**Number of jobs available**:

- 1Contents

Location

About the job

**Benefits**:
Things you need to know

Location
- North West EnglandAbout the job

**Job summary**:
This position can be based at the following locations:
Kendal, Penrith

**Job description**:
**The team**

Do you have a passion for nature and the environment? Do you want to make a real difference and secure significant environmental gains in the present and the future? Do you enjoy working in a team? Can you see yourself advising communities and customers to maximise gains for the Natural Environment?

If this appeals to you, a career at Natural England offers rewarding opportunities to secure environmental improvements and play your part in creating a better future for people and nature.

**The priority work Natural England is delivering includes**:

- Establishing a Nature Recovery Network to help wildlife thrive
- Monitoring environmental changes to identify and help reduce the effects of climate change
- Working with farmers and landowners to develop greener food production methods
- Advising on plans for new developments to maximise gains for nature
- Providing ways for people to better connect with nature, including green social prescribing

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

**The Cumbria Team**

Cumbria is home to some of the richest, wildest and most remote areas of natural beauty in England. We host more legally protected sites and landscapes than any other English county. The iconic landscape of the Lake District has been awarded World Heritage status, but the Cumbrian landscape is much more extensive and diverse, and includes the English Solway Coast, the Cartmel and Furness Peninsulas, the North Pennines, the Dales, and the Borderlands. Our residents, visitors and wildlife enjoy a wide range of habitats comprising the sea and coastline, rivers, lakes, bogs, meadows, dales, and fells.

Our team is divided into four geographical areas of operation and has offices that can be utilised by all team staff in both Kendal and Penrith.

**Job description**

This is an exciting opportunity to provide lead advisor level support for our freshwater work in Cumbria and help deliver our nature recovery goals in the freshwater environment. The role will be supporting the freshwater Senior Adviser in Cumbria whilst working closely with advisers across the area team as well as with national specialists as required, plus partners and stakeholders such as the Environment Agency, Local Authorities, Rivers Trusts, landowners and the water companies.

**Key Tasks**:

- Work collaboratively with stakeholders and partners to support and enable the delivery of integrated biodiversity outcomes and integrated approaches to freshwater dependent habitat management in support of the Government’s 25-year Environment Plan.
- Work to ensure that freshwater delivery is fully embedded across the work of Natural England, specifically leading on one of Cumbria’s SAC rivers.
- Provide technical freshwater related advice as required, to support the maintenance, restoration or enhancement of designated rivers, lakes and floodplain habitats, from strategy through to site-based delivery.
- Coordinate the evaluation of water dependent elements of site condition monitoring, such as geomorphology, river and lake habitats and species, water quality and flow/level, as appropriate to an individual site and its features.
- Provide technical advice on water related casework, including basic hydrological or geomorphological advice on abstraction, water quality, river protection/flood defence and water level/flow issues.
- Contribute to the production of water related plans, working closely with NE colleagues, the Environment Agency, Rivers Trusts and Water Companies - including Diffuse Water Pollution Plans, River Basin Management Plans, statutory water company plans and individual site management plans.
- Work with the EA and other partners on the development of flood risk management programmes and related projects and provide support for Natural Flood Management.
- Identify how land interacts with the surrounding landscape and habitats g. through hydrological linkages
- Assess the risk of proposals impacting upon protected site features, g. following the source, pathway, receptor approach.
- Identify opportunities for development or other proposals to contribute to enhancing natural capital and delivering biodiversity net gain.
- Understand and advise on appropriate management techniques