Principal Ecologist | Roles in Sussex, Wakefield and Lichfield

Are you an experienced ecologist with a strong business acumen looking for a new challenge?

As a dynamic and growing business, we are looking for a self-motivated and positive-minded Principal Ecologist to join our friendly team in one of our regional offices. The successful applicant would be involved in all areas of our work, managing a team of ecologists to find ecologically smart, commercially efficient and cost-effective solutions for projects on a variety of scales.

Day to day, you would be managing individual contracts and supporting staff, drafting high quality reports and reviewing technical work, whilst supporting clients and their design teams to identify solutions to their problems. We’re keen to continue to grow our business, and you would therefore support the delivery of our business development strategy by costing and tendering for work, increasing invitations to bid, and finding new ways for the business to diversify and thrive.

This role would provide you with an opportunity to gain exposure to a wide variety of interesting projects and clients and develop skills in all aspects of consultancy work.  We would like to offer you the chance to help shape the future of our business as well as your own career.

 To be considered for the role, you will:

• Hold an appropriate degree qualification;
• Have a minimum of 8 years’ relevant work experience;
• Have excellent knowledge of UK and European environmental legislation;
• Have excellent fieldwork and report writing skills including protected species surveys, EPSM applications, ES chapters and ecological management plans;
• Be able to critically review own output and possess a minimum 5 years’ experience in reviewing others’ work;
• Be competent in the survey of and mitigation for 2 or more of the following key protected species: bats, badgers, breeding birds, dormouse, great crested newts, reptiles, and water voles;
• Hold an EPS and/or conservation licence for one or more of the above species groups, and preferably be a Registered consultant on the class license scheme for one or more of the above species groups:
• Have proven project and staff management experience;
• Be confident and able to manage own workload, be proactive in managing projects and be able to delegate to and provide support to junior staff as appropriate;
• Be proficient in customer service and the ability to deliver and lead training events and workshops, both internally to The Ecology Consultancy and externally to clients and other stakeholders;
• Hold full membership of the Chartered Institute of Ecology and Environmental Management (CIEEM) and preferably CEcoL ;
• Have proven qualities of a proactive self-starter with an ability to use own initiative when appropriate;
• Have a full clean UK driving licence.

We also have a specific requirement for an experienced ecologist with experience in high-level reptile mitigation.

Applications are particularly welcome from ecologists who have botany as a specialism and are, or could be certified at FISC level 4 or above.

The Ecology Consultancy & The Temple Group

The Ecology Consultancy with Temple and Arbeco form The Temple Group.

The Temple Group is one of the UK’s leading independent infrastructure and property consultancies, specialising in environment, ecology, arboriculture, planning and sustainability. Using our extensive experience and breadth of skills, we provide a bespoke professional service to our clients so that they can make the right decisions and achieve the best outcomes. We have over 20 years’ experience of providing our expertise on a wide range of projects and aim to build strong relationships with our clients who value our ethical approach.

For further details on the three businesses that make-up The Temple Group see: Ecology Consultancy – www.ecologyconsultancy.co.uk ; Temple – www.templegroup.co.uk; Arbeco – www.arbeco.co.uk .

The company is defined by our unique culture – one that puts people at the core of everything we do. We strive to create a friendly and supportive working environment, encouraging staff to take advantage of every opportunity for professional development and assisting them in their career progression. Joining the Ecology Consultancy is a chance to be part of close-knit, fun, openminded and driven team that really cares about what they do and prides itself on the quality of their work.

What’s in it for you?

• Competitive salary on a scale commensurate with experience (plus £2,000 for London Weighting if applicable);
• TOIL (time off in lieu) policy and flexible approach to working hours to ensure a healthy work-life balance.
• 26 days annual leave (& bank holidays) plus an additional day for each year of service up to 29 days
• Enhanced maternity pay;
• Opportunities for career development and training;
• Auto enrolment pension scheme (after 3 months’ service);
• Cycle to work scheme;
• Socials, games nights and volunteering days through our staff engagement and development initiative;
• Fun, friendly, and forward-thinking co-workers;
• A dog-friendly office.

If this is the role for you: Please apply by emailing your CV and a covering letter to: careers@ecologyconsultancy.co.uk.