Biodiversity Lead

Salary: Grade: PO6 £52,584 – £55,620
Location: Walthamstow, Greater London, United Kingdom
Contract Type: Full time permanent post, part time job shares also considered, please
specify in your application. Hybrid working with at least 2 days per week in the office / at
other locations in the Borough.
Working hours per week: 36
Reference:1629

About Us: 

Bursting with culture, energy, and opportunity, the London Borough of Waltham Forest is a
fantastic and exciting place to work. 

We are a highly ambitious borough. Driven by culture and the innate creativity of our
residents, we have developed new and innovative ways to build our communities. Our Council is
relentlessly resident-focused, insight-led, digitally driven and commercially minded; a Council
focused on meeting the needs of our existing and future residents. 

London Borough of Waltham Forest is one of the Mayor of London’s Good Work
Standard employers. This accreditation is a proof of our commitment to creating a healthy,
fair and inclusive workplace. This includes fair pay and conditions, workplace well-being,
skills and progression and diversity and recruitment. 

The Council’s preference is for online application. However, if you have a disability and are
unable to complete an online application, please email [email protected] so we
can arrange an alternative application method. 

About the role: 

We’re looking for an experienced biodiversity professional to join Waltham Forest’s Climate
Team to help deliver the council’s vision for a more equitable and greener borough. 

In the role of Biodiversity Lead you will develop and lead a varied programme of work to
deliver nature recovery in Waltham Forest and embed biodiversity into decision making, working
closely with different teams to inspire action across a range of service areas.

As our technical expert on biodiversity and nature recovery you will also be responsible for
overseeing monitoring and reporting against the council’s new statutory duties in the
Environment Act and for strategically supporting our planning team to ensure Biodiversity Net
Gain delivers genuine benefits for nature in the borough.

Climate Action is a top Council priority, as set out in the 2022 Climate Action Plan to
dramatically reduce the carbon emissions in our borough. This is a huge challenge, but we have
strong political support and a clear plan of action. Sitting within a new Climate Team this
role is an essential addition to the team – to ensure effective implementation of projects and
strategies to boost biodiversity, and to ensure nature-based solutions are central to the
delivery of the Climate Action Plan. 

>> Click here to download the Role Profile << 

Key Responsibilities: 

• You will influence change across the organisation and lead the way in sustaining real
  positive change for nature and residents’ access to it
• Provide expertise to collate evidence to support new biodiversity strategies such as a
  Local Nature Recovery Plan and statutory reports.
• Strong leadership and vision will help you initiate and drive complex programmes and
  projects, such as those set out in the Council’s 2022 Climate Action Plan.
• Championing a strong matrix working approach – working closely with key teams: Climate
  Emergency, Neighbourhoods: Parks and Open Spaces, Strategic Planning and Design, Housing, Area
  Regeneration Teams and Regeneration and Sustainability.
• Implement and support effective participatory strategies for land management, working
  closely with external partners and engaging communities and diverse interest groups.

Qualifications and Requirements: 

Biodiversity and Climate Action: You are passionate about biodiversity
outcomes, with experience working within the broad context of political declarations on climate
action and nature recovery targets

Sustaining positive change: Demonstrate successful, collaborative and
sustainable approaches within challenging urban settings and in organisations with both
policy & land management responsibilities.

Successful track record: Be effective at delivering projects and innovating to
break down barriers, learn & continually improve outcomes, including building positive
relationships with key stakeholders and partners

Policy awareness: Possess an in-depth understanding of Biodiversity Net Gain,
and experience of developing or delivering policies to enhance ecological value within new
developments. Be aware of the statutory duties Local Authorities have in relation to
biodiversity and how these can be met in urban environments. 

Influential communicator: Strong people leadership skills to influence and
inspire people. Desirable to have experience in building excellent relationships with Senior
Managers and Members.

Be the expert: Able to share your in-depth knowledge of biodiversity policy
and practice in a relevant way across the council to achieve the integration of biodiversity
within corporate priorities and policies. 

Qualifications: Educated to degree level or equivalent standard. Desirable to
have Full membership of the Chartered Institute of Ecology and Environmental Management (CIEEM)
or be eligible for this.

Terms and conditions: 

The below terms and conditions apply to this role: 

Satisfactory employment references and CIFAS identity checks; 

Satisfactory declaration of interest; 

This post is politically restricted therefore the post holder is disqualified from undertaking
certain political activities under the Local Government Officers (Political Restrictions)
Regulations 1990. 

As a public authority, we must ensure that members of staff in public-facing roles are able to
speak fluent English. This means that they must have a command of spoken English, with
confidence and accuracy, sufficient for the effective performance of their role. This
requirement does not refer to any particular English language qualifications, regional or
international accents, dialects, speech impediments or the tone of conversations. It does not
require staff to speak only in English. 

How to Apply: 

Interested candidates are invited to submit their applications online by pressing the ‘Apply’
button below. This includes a supporting statement that outlines to us how your skills and
experience make you a good candidate for this vacancy. 

We reserve the right to close this vacancy early if we receive sufficient applications for the
role. Therefore, if you are interested, please submit your application as early as possible.

Equal Opportunity Employer: 

Waltham Forest is a diverse borough where diversity is valued and is integral to both, service
delivery and employment of its staff. The Council is proud of its rich mix of communities and
as the largest employer in the area, it works hard to respond to the changing needs of its
population. We use our statutory duties on race, gender and disability equality and best
practice in respect of age, faith and sexual orientation to ensure equality of opportunity in
the workplace. The Council is committed to meeting its 4 equality objectives: – Promoting
equality of opportunity – Opposing all forms of discrimination, intolerance and disadvantage –
Ensuring our workforce reflects the diverse communities of Waltham Forest at all levels. –
Providing fair, appropriate, accessible and excellent Services to all. Respecting Diversity is
a core Council value. 

To support the above and reduce the risk of bias in its recruitment activities, the council is
operating an anonymous shortlisting process, which hides personal information that can identify
individuals until their application has been considered for shortlisting. The council also
operates a scheme whereby, for jobs graded up to and including scale SO2, internal candidates
are considered first. This includes those candidates who self-identify as having a disability
for the purposes of the Disability Confident scheme. For more information, please refer to our
recruitment and selection policy. 

We are keen to support employees to balance their working life with other commitments.
Therefore, wherever possible, we will consider working arrangements that suit an individual’s
personal circumstances whilst still meeting the needs of the Council. If you would like to
discuss the possible flexible working options that might be applicable to this role, please
contact the person named below or feel free to discuss this during your interview. 

For more information on the benefits of working for the Council, please visit www.walthamforest.gov.uk/jobs-and-training/find-jobs-and-other-opportunities/working-us. 

Application Deadline: 10/03/2025
Proposed Interview Date(s): 12th, 13th & 14th March 2025

Click here for further information on the Human
Resources recruitment privacy notice.