Assistant Operations Officer

The Role

Background

Great crested newts have declined dramatically in the UK over the last 50 years and although still widespread across lowland England they are no longer common. Despite protection under UK and European wildlife law, numbers are still declining, and habitat loss is their biggest threat.

In 2018 the NatureSpace District Licensing Scheme was launched – set up in partnership with national freshwater and amphibian Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) as well as seven planning authorities across the South Midlands. Since then, the Scheme has expanded nationally and now covers over 60 planning authorities across Bedfordshire, Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, East Sussex, Gloucestershire, Hampshire, Milton Keynes, Northamptonshire, Oxfordshire, Staffordshire, Surrey and West Sussex.

The Scheme allows planning authorities to authorise (under strictly defined terms) activities that affect great crested newts at the same time as they grant planning permission. The District Licensing Scheme has significant advantages for newt conservation and wider biodiversity benefits through a fully funded region-wide conservation strategies that creates high-quality habitat at a landscape scale and delivers long-term management and monitoring for newts, which is delivered via our partners at the Newt Conservation Partnership. The scheme benefits developers because the licensing process for great crested newts is simplified and streamlined.

NatureSpace also works with national infrastructure providers, such as Network Rail, to help them secure and deliver 'Organisational Licences' for protected species with the same conservation deliverables. The schemes are administered by NatureSpace, are regulated and approved by Natural England, and are supported by the country’s leading amphibian and freshwater NGOs – the Amphibian and Reptile Conservation Trust and Freshwater Habitats Trust.

The NatureSpace Operations Team

The Operations Team currently consists of 13 county-based District Licensing Officers, who are employed to support planning authorities in the covered by the District Licensing Scheme (as listed above). The team are responsible for providing impartial comments on planning applications, delivering training to the planning authorities and helping them with the relevant paperwork, monitoring compliance and collating information for reporting annually to Natural England. The team is led by the Operations Manager.

This is a new full-time assistant role within the team and would be line managed by the Senior Operations Officer.

We’re looking for a new member of the team who is well-organised, a good communicator and is able to carry out essential admin and other supporting tasks to improve efficiency. Whilst experience of great crested newts and other ecological skills are welcomed, this is an opportunity for someone to bring a range of other skills, knowledge and experience to the team to help us to continually improve our services, processes and outcomes.

Key responsibilities

• Assisting the Operations Team with a variety of work as necessary, including administration, communications, data entry, organising meetings, taking meeting notes, updating and monitoring progress towards implementation key actions in the team plan and wider company projects as required.
• Providing support and assistance to the Operations Team as and when required, including essential holiday cover and supporting District Licensing Officers during busy times.
• Help with the preparation, review and delivery of training to planning authorities, including organising training sessions and helping to design presentations.
• Help to ensure that important records are kept up-to-date and assist with the Quality Assurance process to maintain high-quality data.
• Help to prepare, review and disseminate guidance to the team and other key documentation.
• Facilitate the sharing of best practice amongst the team and the wider company as a whole.
• Organise team meetings, take notes and follow up on progress towards agreed actions.
• Assist with project management.
• Help to manage contact information.
• Help to ensure that Health and Safety requirements are met within the team.
• Ensure effective internal communications and information-sharing within the company at large.
• Provide support to others within the company as needed, for example, company project admin support, organising meetings or specific work tasks/projects.

Essential skills, knowledge, and experience

• Relevant degree in ecology, environmental management, wildlife conservation, planning, geography or another relevant subject
• Good level of understanding of environmental assessment, biodiversity conservation, protected species and licensing
• Good level of understanding of the role that local planning authorities play in making decisions about new developments in England
• Good IT skills and competent in using Microsoft 365 package, including Word, Excel, Teams, Outlook and PowerPoint
• Effective communicator with good inter-personal skills, able to liaise proactively and confidently with a range of people
• Organised, self-motivated and ability to work independently with day-day supervision
• Able to cope with remote working with limited opportunities for in-person meetings and events throughout the year (e.g. company days)
• Good time management and ability to prioritise work tasks

Desirable skills, knowledge, and experience

• An enthusiasm for wildlife, ecology and conservation in the UK
• Good project management skills and/or experience in supporting a project team
• An understanding of Miro Boards
• Good level of experience in data management and Quality Assurance processes
• UK driving licence

Company culture, employment benefits and location

NatureSpace Partnership is a small (c.47 staff) but busy and rapidly growing company. Being a small organisation, everyone has a big say in what we do and how we do it. Our agility and size mean that your voice will be heard, and you will have the opportunity to directly see the results of your work.

Work/life balance is important to us. We actively support flexible working arrangement so that our work fits in with our lives and we are open to exploring how this role could best work for you.

The successful candidate/s will be joining a friendly, close-working team of home-workers and will have responsibility for managing their workload and working independently as part of a dispersed national team. The post requires high levels of motivation and high standards of self-management. Location is entirely flexible within the UK - this post will be mainly desk-based but some travelling to meetings may be required. You would ideally be located within or up to an hour’s drive from one of the counties that is covered by the District Licensing Scheme (as listed above).

NatureSpace embraces equal opportunities, diversity and inclusion and we welcome applications from all suitably qualified and experienced individuals. To build a team of the most talented employees, NatureSpace is committed to being a flexible employer and we place considerable emphasis on wellbeing and job satisfaction.

We offer a significant benefits package for all staff including flexible working with an extended 4-day working week trial during 2024, time off-in-lieu (TOIL) or overtime pay (in agreement with your line manager), 20 annual leave days (which equates to 5-weeks off per year in light of the 4-day working week, plus bank holidays, weekday birthdays and additional holiday over the Christmas period), an annual performance bonus of up to 20% of your pay, company pension contributions, company private health and life insurance, plus the option to join our electric vehicle salary sacrifice scheme. Applicants must have the legal right to live and work in the UK.

*Note about the extended 4-day working week trial

In 2023, NatureSpace trialled a gold standard 4-day working week. This trial has been extended for a further 12-months from 1st January 2024. While the outcome of the trial has not yet been concluded, it is possible that this would become standard working practice in the future. The current working hours are therefore 32 hours per week, Monday to Thursday.

Closing date for applications: 9am on Wednesday 10th April 2024

Interview dates: You will be notified by Wednesday 17th April 2024 if you have been selected for interview. Interviews are likely to be held week commencing 22nd April 2024

Expected start date: 1st June 2024