Principal Ecologist

Overview

Lanarca is an established and award-winning consultancy company offering bespoke landscape design, ecology and management consulting services to a small portfolio of long-standing private sector clients. We typically work on large-scale projects, where landscape and ecology are central for our clients. As such, the special qualities of our sites lead the decision making, drive the masterplan design – and informing what’s possible.

Our success has been based on building long-term partnerships with our clients, and we work hard to understand them to ensure that our services dovetail with their needs – often working as an extension to their internal teams. This has resulted in us securing long term commissions, many of which are of regional and national significance in our field.

From our Newark and Edinburgh office bases, our practice offers a full range of landscape architectural, ecological and strategic management services across the UK and Ireland, including delivery of services through our conservation detection dog team. We lead design teams and contribute landscape and environmental services inputs to teams led by others, working on large scale, landscape focused projects – where landscape and ecology goals shape and steer each project.

Known for delivering expert service and attention to detail, we respond on every project with bespoke support. Our clients benefit from Director-led services, with hands-on Director involvement at every stage in all our projects, assuring design excellence and the highest quality outputs, delivered within budget and on time.

About you

We are working to deliver an exciting portfolio of long-term, landscape led projects across the UK. As we continue to grow, we are looking to expand our ecology team, bringing in a senior professional to lead and further develop our service. The successful applicant will be looking for an opportunity to work on ecologically complex, at scale projects, where landscape and ecology are both central to and shape project design and implementation.

The role will suit an innovator, keen to work at the cutting edge of sector practice and developments, delivering best-in-class services for our clients which reflect or set national best practice. You’ll also collaborate closely with our conservation detection dog service lead, and in turn, our trained dog team.

The post will be office based (Newark or Edinburgh) but the postholder should expect to spend considerable time on our projects sites, throughout the UK, as we support client portfolios with both planning stage and delivery stage projects.

Main responsibilities

• Client engagement – you’ll drive positive relationships further forward, building on existing strong links and developing new opportunities for growth
• Informed project delivery – you’ll lead on the co-ordination of our ecology services across UK and Ireland project sites, ensuring compliance and providing commercially considered ecology advisory and leadership. You’ll devise and prepare reports, publications and client briefings a wide range of on ecology matters.
• Best practice – never standing still, you’ll horizon scan for opportunities for service enhancement and ensure full compliance with legislation and industry standards
• Multidisciplinary team working – you’ll bring confidence as a collaborator, leading in the co-ordination of integrated design and multi-disciplinary advice, always proportionate and commercially grounded
• Team development – Taking responsibility for continuing professional growth for yourself and our team aligned to business needs, you’ll empower and support colleagues within the ecology team and across the wider business

Experience and qualifications

• Degree or relevant qualification in ecology or related field
• Licence holding – one or more protected species licence
• Post-graduate qualification in relevant discipline desirable
• Track record of delivering complex projects
• Five years or more professional practice experience
• Full UK drivers’ licence and willingness to drive/travel

Personal attributes

• Excellent communicator – verbally and in writing
• Detail oriented – you know when details matters
• Well suited and adapted to working in a fast paced environment
• Team player, adaptable and flexible – solution oriented
• Able to manage multiple tasks across a variety of projects

The salary will be up to £60k.