Nature Recovery Officer (Development Programme)

Job description

The team

• Team: Southeast and East Region
• Sub Team: Sustainable Development, Protected Sites, Farm Advice
• Location: Southeast and East of England; Offices in Ashford, Cambridge, Eastleigh, London, Norwich, Peterborough, Reading, Worthing

Join us in shaping a future where nature and people thrive. Whether you’re drawn to hands-on conservation or playing a vital part behind the scenes, your work at Natural England will support lasting benefits for the environment and society.

Our Role

Natural England is the Government’s adviser for the natural environment and the Nature regulator with a wide range of statutory duties and powers. We provide the evidence, expertise and advice to recover Nature and shape better places for people to live. We do this working through and with others.

Strategic Outcomes for Nature

Our strategy is framed through four strategic outcomes. Each of these outcomes reinforces and amplifies the others, and together they address environmental, social and economic actions critical to thriving nature.

• Recovering Nature– Increased scale and quality of places where nature thrives.
• Building Better Places– Greener homes and infrastructure create healthier, more investable places, recognising we live better where nature thrives around us.
• Improving Health and Wellbeing– Build nature into everyday life so people can support, access and benefit from nature, wherever they live.
• Delivering Security through Nature– Nature helps us adapt to the threats of a changing climate and improves our national security, supporting more resilient food production, healthy soils, clean and plentiful water and clean air.

Find out more about the work of Natural England at:

Natural England’s Strategy: Recovering Nature for Growth, Health and Security – GOV.UK

The Role

Natural England is investing in the next generation of nature recovery professionals. The Nature Recovery Officer development programme offers a unique opportunity to gain hands-on experience at the forefront of some of the most important environmental challenges facing England today. Working on real projects alongside experienced specialists, you’ll contribute to nature recovery, sustainable development, protected sites, farm advisory work and place-based delivery, helping create a future where nature and people thrive together.

From day one, you’ll be embedded in live delivery, rotating across key work areas and developing the technical, analytical and partnership-working skills needed to drive nature recovery at scale. You’ll gain exposure to a broad range of work, build a strong professional network, and receive structured learning and development designed to accelerate your growth.

We are looking for ambitious, curious and motivated individuals who are ready to learn in a fast-paced and evolving environment. For those who demonstrate strong performance, adaptability and a commitment to development, the programme has been designed to create a pathway towards higher-level roles within Natural England. While a permanent role is not guaranteed, participants who successfully develop the skills, behaviours and expertise required will be well placed to compete for future opportunities and build a rewarding career helping to shape England’s natural environment.

We welcome applications from recent graduates as well as people looking to bring transferable skills from other sectors. Previous experience of working in the environmental sector is desirable but not essential. What matters most is your enthusiasm for nature recovery, your ability to learn quickly, your willingness to work collaboratively and your commitment to developing the skills needed to make a difference. We recognise that relevant experience can be gained in many different ways, including through employment, education, volunteering, community activities and personal interests. Natural England is committed to improving its diversity so that it represents the full breadth of society, and we welcome applications from all communities and backgrounds.

Key activities associated with this role:

• Apply technical and role-related skills and knowledge to deliver casework, supporting colleagues to develop strong external partnerships working for nature recovery.
• Provide guidance and support to customers and stakeholders.
• Support project and programme delivery.
• Officers sit within Area Teams, line managed by Senior Managers, with functional leadership provided by Higher and Senior Officers.
• The role is delivery-focused, with a direct impact on the ability of Area Teams to achieve both local ambition and corporate performance indicators.
• Officers work independently on a day-to-day basis, applying their technical knowledge, research abilities and judgement in decision-making.
• The role will be office-based but regular travel will be required to attend site visits, meetings and training events within the Area Team geography.
• The role will be responsible for managing their work to agreed deadlines and standards.
• The role has no line management responsibilities and generally works as part of a team.
• The role may have oversight for small scale spend.

Key Tasks/Principal Accountabilities

The Officer role may operate within one of a number of work areas or projects within the Area Team remit:

• Work with farmers and land-managers to build agri-environment agreements which improve the condition of protected sites and deliver nature recovery in the wider landscape.
• Assess proposals for activities that might affect Sites of Special Scientific Interest and /or European designated sites.
• Assess planning consultations for impacts of new development on protected sites and provide appropriate written responses.
• Raise awareness and provide advice to farmers on practical measures to support improved soil health, water and air quality.
• Take responsibility for specific tasks within a project team, such as managing data, organising meetings and supporting research projects.
• Provide conservation advice to other regulatory agencies in relation to protected sites and species.
• Take responsibility for ensuring personal safe working in line with organisational procedures.
• Engage with available training and learning resources to keep up-to-date and continue personal development, agreeing achievable performance goals with their line manager.

Knowledge, Skills & Experience

We recognise that people develop relevant skills through many different routes. We welcome applications from recent graduates, career changers and those who have gained experience through employment, volunteering, education or community activities.

You should be able to demonstrate:

• A degree in an environmental, geographical, scientific or related discipline, or equivalent skills and experience gained through work, volunteering or other activities.
• An interest in nature recovery, environmental improvement and creating sustainable places for people and nature.
• The ability to analyse information, identify key issues and make evidence-based recommendations.
• Strong communication skills, with the ability to explain information clearly to different audiences.
• The ability to build positive working relationships and collaborate effectively with colleagues, partners and customers.
• Good organisational skills and the ability to work independently, manage your workload and meet deadlines.
• A willingness to learn, develop new skills and adapt to different work areas.
• Confidence using common digital tools, such as Microsoft Office applications.
• An understanding of environmental challenges, nature recovery or sustainable development.
• Experience gained through study, employment, volunteering or community activities that demonstrates relevant transferable skills.
• Experience of using mapping, data analysis or information management tools.
• The ability to travel independently to meetings, site visits and training events.

Benefits

At Natural England, we support a healthy work-life balance by offering full-time, part-time, and flexible working arrangements.

We provide excellent opportunities for career progression, training, and development tailored to your role. This includes ten days annually for personal learning and development, plus three additional days for volunteering.

You’ll receive a generous leave allowance of 25 days per year (pro rata), increasing by one day for each year of service up to 30 days (pro-rata), access to the Civil Service Pension scheme with a 28.97% employer contribution, and a range of benefits such as shopping discounts and a cycle-to-work scheme. Staff can also join the Civil Service Sport club for discounts on sports, leisure activities, and social events.

We are committed to fairness, equality, and inclusivity. Our employee-led diversity networks help foster a welcoming environment where everyone feels valued and supported.

Locations

Natural England has adopted hybrid working – which means our staff work from a flexible range of locations, encompassing home, offices (ours and our partners) and relevant sites. All new staff will be formally linked to one of our 25 offices across England, and the expectation is that all new staff will be able to access their local office to be part of the community of staff in their geographical area. Staff are expected to attend their associated office for 20% of their contractual hours.

Staff members are required to carry out all their duties working in this way and cannot do so from an overseas location at any time. Travel expenses will be paid if work-related travel is required but does not apply to travel between home and your associated office.

National team roles can be linked with any Natural England office while Area Team roles will be linked with an office in the relevant geographic area.

View a map of our office locations here: online map of Natural England office locations

Pay

It is Natural England policy to employ at the entry point of the salary range.

Please note: Licensed visa sponsoring organisations are employers authorised by the government to recruit and sponsor overseas workers, enabling them to obtain the appropriate visa to work legally in the country. Natural England is NOT a licensed sponsorship employer.

As part of the Natural England’s application process, candidates are asked to confirm their right to work and remain in the UK. If a candidate says that they meet these requirements, ID is checked, a provisional offer of permanent employment is made and pre-employment eligibility checks commence. Only after these checks are candidates given firm offers of employment.

Natural England is unable to employ individuals who cannot provide the required evidence of their right to work.