Habitat Buildability Specialist

About us

At Environment Bank, we’re working together to help restore natural habitats across England. With thousands of acres of new habitat creation already underway, our projects are delivering biodiversity gains and helping vital ecosystems to recover and flourish.

Our diverse team includes ecologists, land managers, habitat specialists, geospatial analysts, planning advisors, account managers, digital creatives, legal experts, and more.

From our site managers to our sales and marketing teams, everyone at Environment Bank is a champion for our values, working towards our goal of reversing biodiversity loss.

Environment Bank is a market-leading organisation in a sector that’s experiencing rapid growth. We’ve already built a highly skilled team of experts and we’re actively looking to expand our team in the coming months.

We’re incredibly proud of all we achieved so far and we’re still growing. If you’d like to be part of a driven organisation that’s making a real difference, find your next role with the team at Environment Bank.

About the role

The Habitat Buildability Specialist sits within a multidiscipline design team and provides specialist habitat creation, enhancement, restoration and management input to ensure that off-site Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) Habitat Bank proposals are technically robust, spatially coherent, and deliverable in principle.

The role focuses on supporting ecologists in the design team to ensure that proposed habitats designed can be realistically established and managed over the required 30-year period. The post supports the design of a wide range of habitats including woodland and scrub, species-rich grassland, wetlands, and associated infrastructure, with an emphasis on feasibility, buildability, risk reduction, and long-term performance at the design stage rather than on-site delivery.

Rather than leading the delivery of one or two specific habitat banks, the role will be regionally based and will support across multiple projects, providing technical input, reviewing designs, and supporting the development of habitat bank proposals and management approaches across the portfolio.

We are looking for a Habitat Buildability Specialist in the North and also the South.

Responsibilities

• Develop and refine Habitat Bank layout designs in line with ecological design principles
• Assess the buildability of habitat proposals at design stage, identifying constraints and design risks early.
• Evaluate site constraints including soils, hydrology, topography, access, land use history, and surrounding land management, and integrate these into design solutions.
• Provide expert advice on habitat feasibility, establishment risk, and long-term condition targets to inform design decisions.
• Review habitat creation, enhancement and management proposals to ensure they are realistic, compliant, and aligned with best practice.
• Prepare habitat creation and enhancement specifications, including methods, materials, tolerances, and establishment requirements, to inform cost planning and budget forecasts.
• Produce and coordinate technical habitat drawings using GIS and/or CAD to feed into detailed design.
• Support the preparation of Habitat Management Plans (HMPs) and Habitat Management and Monitoring Plans (HMMPs) from a design perspective.
• Provide technical input to consenting, including planning applications, afforestation consent, and related approvals.
• Coordinate closely with ecologists, hydrologists, land managers, and other stakeholders to ensure integrated and buildable designs.
• Provide technical mentoring, support, and quality assurance for junior staff.
• Attend site visits to assess and determine the potential for habitat creation and enhancement proposals.

EDI & Belonging

At the heart of Environment Bank are the people who make it all possible. We employ individuals who share our passion for delivering our mission and living our values.

We believe that fostering a diverse, equitable and inclusive workplace makes us more innovative, dynamic and competitive. We welcome individuals from all backgrounds, ethnicities, cultures and experiences. We are committed to creating an environment where everyone is valued and respected, free from discrimination based on race, religion, sexual orientation, age, marital status, disability, gender identity or expression, or any other legally protected status.

Requirements

Essential skills/experience

• Degree-level qualification in a relevant discipline, or equivalent professional experience.
• Strong applied understanding of habitat creation, restoration and management principles.
• A specialism in one or more habitat types (e.g. grassland, woodland, scrub, wetlands, open mosaic habitats).
• Experience of reviewing soil analysis reports and interpreting their implications on achieving different habitat types and conditions.
• Experience contributing to the design of ecological restoration sites
• Experience developing technical specifications that inform procurement strategies, contractor tendering, and cost planning.
• Proficiency in GIS and/or CAD software to develop and review technical habitat layouts (e.g. QGIS, ArcGIS, AutoCAD, or similar).
• Ability to interpret survey data, constraints information, and technical drawings and convert them into coherent ecological designs.
• Good stakeholder engagement and communication skills.
• Strong technical communication and design review skills.

Desirable skills/experience

• Knowledge of Biodiversity Net Gain and the statutory Biodiversity Metric
• Good technical report writing and review skills.
• Experience working in a multidisciplinary design environment.
• Full UK clean driving licence and willingness to travel.

Benefits

As an organisation, we believe that work should be fulfilling, inspiring, and balanced, so we’re creating a space where our team can thrive, both personally and professionally – providing flexible working arrangements, mental wellbeing support, and more.

We offer…

• Performance-based annual bonus up to 10% of salary
• Pension scheme with employer-matched contributions at 6% of salary
• 30 days of annual leave, plus paid bank holidays, birthday, and wellbeing day
• Option to purchase 5 additional days of annual leave after probation
• Hybrid flexible working options
• Regional and departmental team co-working days
• Expenses-paid whole company meet twice a year
• Team fundraising and charity events
• Ongoing career development with training and mentoring
• Medical cash back scheme to cover everyday healthcare costs
• Employee assistance mental wellbeing support
• Enhanced sickness pay allowance