Ecology Officer

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

Other information

Closing date 26th August 2024. Interviews are likely to be conducted w/c 2nd or 9th September.
These will be in person.

Please see the attached job summary for further details about our role.

Please contact Phil Simpkin if you have any questions: [email protected]

For an informal chat about this role in more detail, please contact Eliza Alqassar on 01296
383798.

This post is covered by the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and therefore applicants are
required to declare:

• All unspent cautions and/or unspent convictions

For further information on how long it takes for cautions and convictions cautions to become
spent, please refer to our guide on the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (updated 2023) Nacro

We recognise and reward you

Hard work and success deserves recognition. That’s why we pride ourselves on the benefits we
give our people. We actively encourage a good work-life balance and promote flexible and agile
working arrangements. We provide discounts on various Cafés, restaurants, shops and auto
enrolment onto our generous Pension Scheme. We also offer a salary sacrifice personal car lease
scheme to those who are eligible and have passed their probation period. In addition to the
opportunity to gain membership to Costco, we have discounted gym memberships, travel discounts
with Arriva and much more.

Find out more about working at Buckinghamshire Council.