Senior Conservation Officer - Maternity Cover

Senior Conservation Officer
Reference: DEC20241814
Location: Home based with the option of working from the charity's Brighton office
Salary: £38,389.00 - £41,212.00 Per Annum
Benefits: Pension, Life Assurance and Annual Leave
Contract: Maternity cover for up to 12 months
Hours: Full Time

What is the role about?

Our client, a conservation charity, is looking for a Senior Conservation Officer to lead a small team delivering a wide range of work to save priority species (particularly turtle doves) and habitats (deciduous woodland, coastal and wetland). Key delivery tools include planning casework, advocating good conservation practice across landscapes, working with partners, leading projects, empowering people to save nature, and land management and species advisory work. This role has a vitally important external element, building positive relationships with key partners and stakeholders so that collective policies and messages are understood and furthered.

Significant development and people pressure in the South-East is a threat and an opportunity; therefore, engaging with development and strategies to protect nature from detrimental development, mitigating recreational disturbance, and driving people-powered nature recovery will be key. The charity is committed to increasing equality, inclusivity, and diversity. The contract is a full-time maternity contract for up to 12 months. It will be home-based with the option of working from the charity's Brighton Office and will require travel to meetings and site visits.

Key activities and areas of competency will include:

• Lead the Conservation Team work programme to ensure the delivery of an ambitious work programme, maintaining focus on priority species and habitats.
• Support the delivery of the charity's conservation programme delivery in the Solent Coast & Arun Valley focus areas.
• Leading and supporting on priority casework within the area, as well as relevant policy and strategy consultations, working closely with colleagues to contribute to the Site Conservation outcomes of the Saving Nature Strategy.
• Involvement in individual projects, working collaboratively with the charity's colleagues, particularly reserve staff, as appropriate, including projects and the charity's delivery in wider partnership projects.
• Building positive relationships with landowners/managers and with key partners and other stakeholders so that collective policies and messages are understood and habitat and species restoration furthered across the area, focusing on the charity's priority landscapes.
• Identifying opportunities and working collaboratively to steer new policy implementation (e.g. Local Nature Recovery Strategies, Biodiversity Net Gain) to deliver ambitious nature recovery.

Essential skills, knowledge and experience:

• Sufficient understanding of the species and habitats; landscape scale conservation; land use and management; planning systems and relevant policy and legislation of the region or country in which this role is based to advise on appropriate responses and interventions.
• Sufficient knowledge of a range of delivery mechanisms for conservation work relevant to the operational area to advise on appropriate responses and interventions.
• Ability to form effective teams (both internally and in external partnerships) and work effectively as a team player.
• Excellent communication skills (verbal, written and presentational) – including an ability to speak confidently and cogently in public to a variety of audiences.
• Having confidence in advocating a position to individuals who have different views, e.g., professional, persuasive, engaging, and confident.
• Ability to liaise with and support different internal stakeholders.
• Ability to rapidly analyze significant quantities of information, prioritize, and balance a diverse workload often to tight deadlines.
• Competent user of core MS Office programmes.
• Ability to incorporate a people-based approach to conservation in the area, including positive community engagement for projects and empowering people to protect and restore nature.
• Experience of managing staff or volunteers and setting clear work priorities.
• Experience of productive partnerships.
• Degree level qualification in a relevant subject or ability to show equivalent work experience.

Desirable:

• Understanding of water quality, coastal processes and water management.
• Experience of negotiating with the public or private sector, to deliver biodiversity benefits, through both regulatory and voluntary means, especially planning casework.
• Effective project management skills.
• Experience of major site conservation casework, e.g., to public inquiry stage.
• Experience of working to survey, protect and/or manage important sites, species or habitats.

The closing date for this vacancy is 17th March, however, as the charity is actively recruiting for this position, they reserve the right to close the vacancy once sufficient applications have been received.

Interviews will be held virtually at the end of March.

Interested?
Please click the job board apply button to be taken to the next stage where you can find out more information and complete your application by following the instructions (you may need to scroll down).

As part of this application process, you will be asked to complete an application form including evidence on how you meet the skills, knowledge, and experience listed above.

The charity is committed to developing an inclusive and diverse organisation, in which everyone feels supported, valued, and able to be their full selves. To achieve their vision of creating a world richer in nature, the charity needs more people, and more diverse people, on nature’s side. People of colour and disabled people are currently underrepresented across the environment, climate, sustainability, and conservation sector. If you identify as a person of colour and/or disabled, they are particularly interested in receiving your application.

The charity is an equal opportunities employer. This role is covered by the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974.

This role is not eligible for UK Visa Sponsorship - the successful applicant will need to have a pre-existing Right to Work in the UK in order to be offered an employment contract.

No agencies please.