Senior / Principal Ecologist - Bat Technical Specialist

Are you a  BER Registered Consultant  with a desire to put your bat expertise to good use across diverse projects with the support of an experienced team? Have you held a  Natural England Class 2 or above bat licence  and worked on  mitigation licensed projects  recently and are looking to be supported by a team to become a BER Registered Consultant? Are you ambitious to develop your technical skills and career in line with a defined career pathway that follows the route you choose? Do you want to find a work/life balance despite the nocturnal nature of bat work?

About Tetra Tech

Tetra Tech is a leading provider of high-end consulting and engineering services for projects worldwide. We combine the resources of a global, multibillion dollar company with local, client-focused delivery in more than 400 locations around the world. We are Leading with Science® to provide sustainable and resilient solutions for our clients. Tetra Tech Ecology team won the CIEEM Large Consultancy of the Year Award and Large Scale Mitigation Award in 2023.

Our people are at the heart of everything we do. They help our clients succeed, our business prosper and the communities we work in thrive. We need the very best designers, project managers, engineers, surveyors, town planners, environmental specialists and business service professionals to maintain our reputation as a market leader. We do this by taking care of our people; offering fantastic flexible benefits, providing personal and professional development, and giving employees the opportunity to work on exciting and ground-breaking projects.

We don’t want Tetra Tech to be just your next role, we want it to be a step-change in your career and ultimately a move that you are proud to have made.

The Role:

As Tetra Tech builds on its demonstrable track record as one of the leading global environmental consultancies, we are seeking  Bat Earned Recognition  (BER)  Registered Consultants  and those who qualify as  Accredited Agents  to strengthen our existing BER expertise in the team. With ambitions to grow our UK presence to emulate the success of the global business, we are looking for dynamic bat ecologists to join our established network of over 95 ecologists, 5 of which are currently BER Registered Consultants Level 1 to 3.

As a multidisciplinary consultancy, we work closely with colleagues from other teams including Planning, Placemaking, Engineering, Transportation and Asset Management including the identification of opportunities, tendering and project delivery. Our BER Registered Consultants are proactive in developing relationships with colleagues from across the business, liaising with the wider ecology team and other technical teams, and supporting them through all stages of a project.

We pride ourselves on our ability to offer professional ecology advice across a breadth of sectors including residential, defence, energy, government services and transport. With over 95 permanent ecologists, we can draw on the knowledge of our technical experts to develop the best solutions. Examples of bat projects we currently work on include:

·Surveys, BER site registrations and mitigation works for several bat species, including hibernation and maternity roosts across the country;

·Use of advanced bat survey techniques e.g., on sites in Hampshire, Sussex and Dorset to confirm whether rare bat species such as Bechstein’s are present;

·Survey, licensing and mitigation at a range of sites including listed buildings and complex structures with multiple bat roosts present;

·Survey, BER licensing and mitigation for trees on linear infrastructure projects; and,

·Surveys for flood defence works including culverts under Derby city centre.

Given the variety of projects we work on, we are looking for  BER Registered Consultants (level 2 or 3 would be highly desirable) and Class 2 Bat Licensed Ecologists with experience on mitigation licensed projects with tree climbing experience. We are looking for bat specialists who are proactive in developing their own knowledge and understanding of bats as well as being able to share their knowledge to support the development of others. We want people who have strong field experience and ambitions to develop their technical skills in line with project requirements. With support from the regional and national ecology teams as well as the national bat lead, and in line with our defined career framework, they will continue to develop their expertise.

We Lead with Science® and follow the advice of our bat ecologists when investing in top of the range equipment to allow them to deliver their roles successfully. We encourage applications from ecologists who have an interest in technological advancements and who are keen to keep on top of the latest developments and guidance.

Flexible Working:

The role will require site work and some travel dependent on location of projects. However, we operate fully flexible, hybrid working which allows our ecologists to choose where, how and when they work as long as our clients are receiving the high-quality service they expect. We focus on talent and skills, not postcode.

We are happy to discuss flexible working for this role, including the possibility of reduced or compressed hours and flexible start or finish times. We can offer a range of solutions to help you get the most out of your work / life balance. If the timing’s not quite right for you, please do still get in touch as we will always consider deferring the start date for the right candidate.

About the Team

•Multi-award winning Ecology team; recently winning CIEEM Large Consultancy of the Year and Large Scale Mitigation project in 2023.

•Over 95 permanent ecologists across 13 offices working as one cohesive team. 

•Time away from home minimised.

•IT systems allow seamless remote and flexible working, so proximity to an office is not a barrier– we focus on talents & skills, not postcode. Our ecologists can work on the projects that interest them and deliver them to the highest standards.

•Cars or car allowances to every member of the team regardless of grade, including for personal use.

•Established TOIL system to allow time management to suit specific personal needs alongside seasonal demands.

•Career frameworks provide clarity on how to progress.

•We encourage the development of well-rounded ecologists who can talk about all stages of a project. We offer extensive internal and external training and mentoring, including from our inhouse experts along with all team face to face training.

•Bat handling licence incentivisation scheme to thank ecologists who spend time and effort in achieving their licence - we know it's not easy 

•And to show our support of personal development, we award a significant financial bonus to anyone achieving Chartered Environmentalist/Ecologist status through CIEEM.

•We work closely with many other teams, including our own Planners, Archaeologists, Landscape Architects, Masterplanners and Engineers. With a culture of openness, there is always someone within the business who can provide advice and support for almost any query.

At Tetra Tech, we provide a collaborative environment that supports individual performance, innovation, and creativity. We are proud to offer competitive compensation and benefits. Learn more by visiting 

For more information on our company, please visit our website at .

To apply, please submit your CV and cover letter on the Careers section of our website.

We thank all applicants for their interest; however only those selected for an interview will be contacted.

Tetra Tech is committed to creating a diverse environment and is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer. Tetra Tech positively encourages applications from suitably qualified and eligible candidates regardless of sex, race, disability, age, sexual orientation, transgender status, religion or belief, marital status, pregnancy, or parental leave.