Marine Management Co-team Leader

 Short Summary: Post background

JNCC’s Marine Management Team works towards integrating nature into decisions by providing evidence-based advice on the impacts of human activities affecting the marine environment.

The advisory functions of the team are centred on helping government, regulators and developers meet the requirements of managing and therefore minimising impacts of human activities in the marine environment. Most of the team’s work focuses on advising on impacts of offshore oil and gas, renewable energy, aggregate extraction, subsea cabling and fisheries, as well as new and emerging industry sectors such as and carbon capture and storage. We also engage with critical policy areas such as climate change, nature recovery and net gain, and work to identify and address knowledge gaps in providing this conservation advice through research, engagement, and coordination of the UK delegated authorities. This is a critical role that contributes to the Governments dual ambition of halting biodiversity loss and combatting climate change. 

The post holder will take responsibility for JNCC’s role in advice provision on the sectors named above, with a focus on oil and gas including decommissioning, carbon capture & storage and other developing sectors, The overall objective is nature recovery in the context of external pressures and this post provides an opportunity to interact directly with decision makers.  Significant challenges are expected in balancing biodiversity protection (e.g. coherence of the UK MPA network and binding condition targets) with a clear need for UK energy security and decarbonisation.  There may also be opportunity to lead and develop new work areas in the wider context of nature recovery and climate change.  The post holder will be expected to work closely with other Team Leaders to provide overall resilience to the leadership of a dynamic portfolio.

We are looking for someone experienced in leadership with excellent interpersonal skills who can provide clear and visible leadership to a team of specialists with a focus on quality science, technical delivery, and advice provision. They should have proven ability to communicate orally and in writing in a clear and effective manner, including the ability to discuss technical issues with both specialists and non-specialists. They will be expected to develop external and internal relationships and build consensus to deliver common objectives, to manage the expectations of customers (internal and external) around the services provided by the team, and to represent and promote JNCC at senior level within the UK and internationally. In addition, they will be able to solve problems where there is no precedent and to make decisions by pragmatically weighing up complex issues and risks.

Post Duties 

Responsibilities of this post will include:

• Co-lead the Marine Management Team with existing team leaders, working seamlessly in shared team management and corporate responsibilities. Provide resilience across the wider team portfolio both internally and in external representations.

• Ensure the development and skills of the team members are fit for purpose, workloads are manageable, a wellbeing-focused and positive culture is maintained, innovation and creativity are encouraged, and performance is managed.

• Provide intellectual leadership within the team to facilitate an improving evidence base for advice provision across industry sectors. This post will have a long-term portfolio focus on oil and gas (including decommissioning and carbon capture and storage) and will also need to deputise for co-team leads in other areas such as renewables, aggregates and marine spatial prioritisation.

• Manage staff and financial resources and ensure manageable outcome-focused delivery plans.

• Develop and maintain excellent relationships with key stakeholders and customers, ensuring JNCC products and services meet their requirements, including horizon scanning and tracking emerging developments in the industry sector and how JNCC services might be adapted.

• Ensure effective delivery and development of both Government funded and commercially funded work, including managing contracts and seeking opportunities to diversify services.

• Support for and occasional oversight of JNCC’s 24/7 pollution response advisory function (including participation in the on-call roster where necessary – for which an allowance is paid).

• Oversight of the teams work on horizon scanning.

We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:

• Working Together
• Communicating and Influencing
• Seeing the Big Picture
• Making Effective Decisions
• Managing a Quality Service

We'll assess you against these technical skills during the selection process:

• Detailed knowledge and experience of marine conservation issues in UK offshore waters and the ways in which potential impacts from relevant industry sectors can be mitigated and managed.
• Detailed knowledge and experience of UK legislation, policies and assessment processes relevant to the regulation and management of offshore marine industries.
• Experience in establishing, developing and maintaining strong relationships across a diverse range of stakeholders
• Experience with leadership of people, building a positive and inclusive team culture and managing staff development
• Experience of developing strategic plans for evolving established and novel work, and experience of leading the initiation of new work areas/ projects.
• Ability to assess complex environmental policy and evidence needs and translate these into evidence-based projects (research or otherwise).
• Proven experience of contract management and diversification / or service development

Job contact :

• Name :Recruitment Team
• Email :recruitment@jncc.gov.uk

Recruitment team

• Email :recruitment@jncc.gov.uk