Ecologist

Would you like a career-graded post as an ecologist? Would you like to take part in the new requirements for mandatory Biodiversity Net Gain?

About the Role

We are seeking two career-graded Ecologists Grade 9-11 to provide expert advice, monitoring and review for ecology and biodiversity matters, in relation to Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) and protected species throughout the counties of Leicestershire and Rutland.

We are looking for enthusiastic and committed individuals to join our team to develop our approach to the new, additional requirements as a result of mandatory BNG. 

As such, the post holder would provide specialist planning casework advice from pre-application stage through to discharge of conditions. The new postholders will be joining at an exciting time, when we will be commencing a considerable amount of site monitoring work, monitoring net gain which is being created on sites throughout the counties of Leicestershire and Rutland. The posts will be fundamental to developing the link between net gain and new “opportunity areas” identified in our draft Local Nature Recovery Strategy. We will also shortly be developing our recording processes for these newly created, restored and enhanced habitats with our in-house local records centre (LRERC), which is part of the Ecology and Biodiversity Team. 

This advert is for one replacement post and one newly created post, however we have further team growth planned for 2025. This will bring our Ecology and Biodiversity team to a total of ten full-time staff. It would be an exciting opportunity for an enthusiastic new ecologist or a more experienced, senior ecologist to be part of our expanding Ecology and Biodiversity Team. We can make more of a difference than ever before, both to the quality of our natural environment and to increasing its connectivity throughout the counties of Leicestershire and Rutland.

About You

To apply for this post, you must be able to demonstrate:

 a degree or equivalent in a relevant environmental or biological subject;

• OR working towards a degree or equivalent in an environmental or biological subject and be able to demonstrate experience in carrying out ecological field survey work.
• an ability to produce professional work relating to the natural environment, working as part of a team and meeting performance deadlines.
• having experience of working within or with the public sector.
• Being able to offer expert advice to stakeholders or clients in relation to complex ecological or planning ecological matters.
• Knowledge of ecological survey methods and requirements for species and habitats appropriate to the planning system.
• Knowledge and understanding of the principles and application of Biodiversity Net Gain legislation, policy and practice.

You must also have an understanding of, and commitment to, equal opportunities, and the ability to apply this to all situations. 

In addition, we expect you to share our commitment to our values and will ask you to evidence when you have demonstrated them as part of the interview process.

Interested in Flexible Working?

We are keen to support employees to balance their working life with other commitments. Therefore, wherever possible, we will consider working arrangements that suit an individual’s personal circumstances whilst still meeting the needs of the Council. If you would like to discuss the possible flexible working options that might be applicable to this role, please contact the person named below. This may include requests for term-time working, part-time hours, compressed hours, flexible start and finish times, home/remote working, etc. 

Every role within the Council has a defined working style which determines where they can work. The worker category applicable to this post is detailed in the above advert. You can find out more about our worker categories in the Our Working Styles page on our career site. 

For more information or an informal discussion, please contact:

Vanessa Evans Team Manager Ecology and Biodiversity

Telephone: 0116 3057859

Email: vanessa.evans@leics.gov.uk

How to Apply

Leicestershire County Council is an inclusive organisation which is on a journey to embed and celebrate equality, diversity, and inclusion at every level. We warmly welcome and encourage applications from people of all backgrounds, as having a diverse workforce with different perspectives and ideas is fundamental to our values and enriches the services, we offer our communities. We particularly welcome applicants from Ethnically Diverse and LGBTQ+ communities and people with disabilities to create a balanced workforce and one that reflects the communities we serve. Applicants with a disability who meet the criteria listed in the ‘About You’ section above will be offered an interview under the Disability Confident Employer Scheme.

To apply for this job, please visit our careers site using the below link:

https://eism.fa.em2.oraclecloud.com/hcmUI/CandidateExperience/en/sites/lcc/requisitions/preview/3726

You will need to upload a supporting statement as part of your application which explains how you meet the criteria listed in the ‘About You’ section above.