Senior Ecologist

Job title: Senior Ecologist

Salary: Grade 5 £32,662 to £37,672 per annum

Location: Cambourne/Cambridge/Hybrid

Contract type: Permanent

Hours: Full time 37 hours per week

Closing date: 22 May 2023 9am

The successful candidate will be joining one of the largest shared planning services in the country and in the dynamic area of South Cambridgeshire and Cambridge City where development pressures are high, but where the aspirations of Councillors to protect and enhance our biodiversity are also high. Both Councils declared a Climate Emergency in 2019, with South Cambridgeshire District Council adopted a Doubling Nature Strategy in Feb 2021, and also sees itself as a “green to the core” Council.

You would sit within a well-resourced, experienced, and motivated team who ensure that planning and development do not damage our remaining biodiversity but enhance it. You would be working as part of the Greater Cambridge Planning Service, a joint offering of South Cambridgeshire and Cambridge City, coming together to make a difference to spatial planning and biodiversity.

To successfully deliver this role, we would need you to provide expert advice and guidance on planning applications and be able to demonstrate the following attributes:

Essential

A degree in Ecology or a related subject.

A minimum of 3 years’ experience as Consultant Ecologist or Local Government Ecologist and knowledge of Ecology within the UK planning system, specifically:

Biodiversity Net Gain and the Use of the DEFRA Metric

National Planning Policy Framework

Habitat Regulations Assessments and Appropriate Assessments

Environmental Impact Assessment Scoping and Screening opinions

Environmental Statements for applications that qualify for EIAs

Experience of conducting protected species surveys

Experience of evaluating reports efficiently

GIS skills

Key Judicial Review decisions and how they affect the way planning application are dealt with by the planning system (Woolly vs Cheshire East Borough Council, and Morge vs Hampshire County Council for example).

Ability to handle large workloads and work to deadlines

Experience of writing reports for a non-expert audience

Ability to make key decisions quickly and efficiently

Time management skills

Able to work alone and as part of a team

Excellent communication skills

Desirable

5 years (or more) experience as a Local Government Ecologist

Local knowledge of the Greater Cambridge area

Professional membership of CIEEM or equivalent

Knowledge of District Level Licensing for great crested newts

We anticipate that this post will begin as soon as possible.

We positively encourage flexible working arrangements across our Cambourne and Cambridge City locations, and hybrid working.

From January 2023 until May 2023, we are taking part in a 4-day working week trial. A 4-day week is when full-time staff work one less day per week (4 days instead of 5) but still get paid the same salary. It is not the same as compressed hours, which is working the traditional 37-hour week over four long days. A 4-day week for a full-time employee at the Council will consist of 30 hours. For part time staff, the amount of hours reduced would be calculated via a pro-rata reduction. A helpful way of explaining this arrangement is that staff will need to get 100% of their work done, in 80% of the time, for 100% of their salary. The purpose of this trial is to better support the health and wellbeing of our colleagues, while still delivering an excellent service to our residents. For more information please visit our website.

For an informal discussion about the role, please contact Daniel Weaver Principal Ecologist on 01954 713402.

Closing date: 9am Monday 22 May 2023

Interview date: week beginning 5 June 2023

Full details – https://www.scambs.gov.uk/jobs/current-vacancies/senior-ecologist/

Apply here – https://scambs-framwork.egovhub.net/JOBAPPLICATIONFORM/launch