We are a consultancy based in Cambridge (UK), specialising in biodiversity management. We work with leading clients in a diverse range of sectors with the goal of achieving an environmentally sustainable basis for development, by delivering practical solutions for managing biodiversity risk and achieving conservation outcomes. We work on some of the most environmentally complex projects in the world, across sectors including consumer goods and supply chains, agriculture, finance, energy, extractives and infrastructure.

We wish to increase our work in complex supply chains, with an emphasis on the biodiversity impact of individual commodities, as well as life cycle assessment (LCA) approaches.

Person specification

We are seeking a Consultant and Senior Principal Consultant to join our team and focus on our work with supply chain clients, which include many major multinational companies across several sectors. Our ideal candidates have a solid background in natural sciences, are accomplished and experienced in managing and analysing large and complex datasets – and have an in-depth understanding of complex supply chains. We are looking for individuals who are comfortable combining data science, biodiversity expertise, and business acumen to deliver results at scale. This job description is for the Senior Principal Consultant role.

You are an outstanding individual, who is able to make decisions and take a strategic approach to designing and leading projects in diverse situations. At the same time, you are an adept team player, comfortably able to work within multi-cultural teams in different environments and countries. You have had a developing world focus in your work, and understand that human and biodiversity issues cannot be separated.

An ability to think creatively and put oneself in the shoes of our clients is critical. This capacity to understand our clients’ views, coupled with core ecological principles is the making of a TBC consultant. You are politically savvy and able to communicate your ideas succinctly and clearly to non-specialists.

Self-motivation and rigour will be essential. Importantly, you will possess a strong analytical mind with the capacity to transform complex problems into brief, scientifically and politically defensible solutions. You have excellent writing skills, being able to digest, dissect and condense large amounts of information into readable, technically sound summaries. We need versatile communicators who can explain the value of our work, as well as write clear concise reports and papers.

You are already established in supply chain analysis or working within business and biodiversity. You now relish the opportunity to take a leadership role in providing support to our clients as they seek to understand risks and opportunities and to design and implement good-practice mitigation of biodiversity impacts.

Roles

Supply chain tasks

• Evaluating ecological and broader sustainability impacts of value chains for industry clients and specific commodities.
• Managing supply chain and related research and client projects through all stages: concept, scoping and business case, planning, data collection, analysis and presentation, and reporting (and monitoring where applicable).
• Creating and writing reports, indicators and metrics to transform complex data into insight.
• Developing supply chain strategies and associated biodiversity targets for industry clients.
• Helping to shape TBC’s supply chain and agribusiness strategies.

Other tasks

• Technical project work for clients, and building capacity within client teams, which could include design and implementation of baseline surveys, ecosystem services reviews, impact assessment, mitigation design, biodiversity offset feasibility and implementation, and monitoring & evaluation.
• Project management, consisting of technical design and critical review of projects, and ensuring timely delivery of on-budget projects to a high level of quality.
• Relationship building with industry, government, NGOs, international financial institutions and scientific institutions.
• Winning and undertaking work overseas by developing strategic and innovative proposals of work with new or existing clients, and in new and existing sectors, including using your own network.
• Screening new work opportunities according to TBC’s due diligence processes and succinctly communicating risks and opportunities to the senior team.
• Researching emerging technologies, policies and approaches as well as researching and presenting on new sectors and markets for TBC.
• Managing junior staff and contractors, i.e. personnel management in addition to project management.
• Other work, commensurate with the role.

Attributes

Essential attributes

• Seven + years’ practical experience in a relevant field in a developing world context, e.g. agricultural supply chains, biodiversity conservation, natural resource management, socio-economic assessment or environmental (ecological) consultancy.
• Significant experience of supply chain analysis and/or Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of natural/agricultural commodities.
• Knowledge and experience of managing and analysing large and complex data sets.
• Experience of working with ambiguity, imperfect data, identifying sources of uncertainty and working to fill the gaps where needed.
• Strong analytical skills and the ability to apply systems thinking to complex, fast moving problems.
• Familiarity with key environmental issues that impact nature across supply chains (e.g., water, land-use change, biodiversity, pollution, climate change etc.) and an understanding of ecological sustainability challenges and opportunities in global business.
• Experience of managing and delivering complex projects.
• Excellent writing and verbal communication and negotiation skills (including public speaking experience) and demonstrable experience conveying complex, technical concepts and analysis results to a non-technical audience.
• Ability to understand, engage and convince diverse, multinational stakeholders and an acute understanding of human politics and institutional dynamics.
• Experience of supervising or managing individuals and/or small teams.
• An ability to develop new business and maintain and strengthen existing relationships with individuals and organisations from a range of backgrounds.
• Sufficient GIS skills (map making and basic analysis) to communicate with our GIS team.
• A university undergraduate and/or postgraduate degree, ideally in geography, biology, environmental science, environmental management, agronomy, environmental engineering or similar.
• PhD or equivalent in one of the following fields: ecology, natural resource management, agricultural commodities and supply chains, geography, biology, environmental Sciences, environmental Management, agronomy, environmental engineering or similar.

Desirable attributes

• Proven ability in statistics, and familiarity with a statistical analysis software such as R studio.
• Experience of commodity and/or landscape certification programmes.
• A background as a field conservation specialist in developing/emerging economies, understanding how to make conservation theory work in practice with communities and governments
• Experience in one or more of the following sectors: consumer goods, apparel, personal care.
• Familiarity with scientific publishing.
• Advanced GIS skills
• Proven ability to work in French and/or Spanish.

Details

Position details

• Location: Cambridge, UK with potentially significant international travel
• Full-time (near full-time also considered)
• Senior Principal Consultant: £55,000-£72,000 PA (Full time) + benefits (25 days’ holiday, work pension scheme, life insurance and flexible working opportunities)
• Permanent contract.

Application details

Applications by 4 March 2020: Send the following to recruitment@thebiodiversityconsultancy.com

• Curriculum Vitae
• A one-page application letter explaining your interest in the job and showing clearly how you meet our job and person requirements - please remember to include which vacancy you are applying for.
• Two short and succinct (maximum four pages each) extracts of work that you have written within the past two years
• Details of where you saw our job advert.

Interviews: Will be held by phone/Skype or in person.

About The Biodiversity Consultancy (TBC)

We provide technical expertise, policy advice and field capacity to the private, public and NGO/science sectors. We deliver solutions to complex biodiversity challenges such as No Net Loss/Net Positive Impact, international lender and best-practice standards, and biodiversity offsets. We specialise in the environmental lending criteria of major international financial institutions, such as IFC PS6, EBRD PR6, WB ESS6. We conducted the first field pilots of the current IFC PS6, and are now watching these projects deliver both real biodiversity outcomes and business value.

We have leading expertise in quantitative – but clear and simple – metrics for biodiversity. This core capacity lays a foundation for emerging business needs such as measurement of loss and gain of biodiversity in impact assessment, offset design, and monitoring & evaluation. We are now part of Science-Based Targets Initiative, developing SBTs for biodiversity and land use hubs. We use our breadth of expertise to develop corporate and government policy and to build national capacity to run programmes we have initiated. We exercise a due diligence process and only work with clients who demonstrate a real motivation for quality and leadership. Known for pragmatic intellectual leadership, we are a resource for problem-solving and a platform for cross-sector engagement. Examples of our work can be found at: www.thebiodiversityconsultancy.com

We are a small consultancy that places high value on its experienced and expert staff. This is a new position which we hope will be shaped by you. We also welcome input into TBC’s broader strategic direction. We believe that the right individual will grow and flourish in TBC’s stimulating, collaborative and flexible culture. Personal development is important to us and as such we offer a comprehensive, tailored induction and ongoing in-house and external training opportunities.

At heart we are committed conservationists, who believe we can make more of an impact by working with industry. We take significant steps to live our values, from a careful due diligence process with our projects and clients to environmental policies covering the way we work. We invest in the environmental leaders of the future through our internship programme. TBC also donates 12.5% of its profits to environmental causes chosen by staff.