Trainee Technical Officer X4

How to apply: Send your CV and a covering letter to careers@naturespaceuk.com by 9:00am on Monday 27th May 2024. Please include the job title that you are applying for in the subject line in the email and let us know if you require any assistance in the application process, so that we can make any reasonable adjustments.

Duration: Full time (32hrs, 4-day week*), permanent contract (with the expectation of the role progressing to Officer grade (£30,900 pa) after one year, subject to satisfactory progression). Part-time or job share would be considered for the right candidate(s).

*We are conducting a gold standard 4-day week trial until 31st December 2024, with possibility to become a permanent change. Full time hours outside of the trial are 40hrs per week, Monday to Friday.

Location: Flexible within the UK, home-based.

The Role

This is an exciting opportunity to join a ground-breaking project that is delivering a step-change in the conservation of great crested newts. The role would suit an early-career graduate looking to join the Technical Team within a friendly and rapidly growing company that is working with planning authorities and NGOs to deliver high-quality conservation outcomes. This is an ‘outward facing’ role dealing directly with developers, Network Rail and their ecologists. The postholder will use GIS to analyse impacts of development on great crested newts, following defined processes and protocols, across two key project areas, Organisational Licensing and District Licensing. Attention to detail and a meticulous approach to assessments, report writing, and recording, as well as the ability to work within strict deadlines, are paramount for this post.

The first year of this post is at the probationary Trainee grade and includes around six months of active training, ongoing mentor-guidance, and subsequent on-the-job learning, with day-to-day support available for all aspects of the work.

NatureSpace are seeking candidates for up to four Trainee Officer posts:

• Trainee Technical Officers - District Licensing (up to three posts)
• Trainee Technical Officer – Organisational licensing (Network Rail)

Key responsibilities:

• Fully engage in training and learn case procedures, data management requirements, effective client liaison and scheme background and industry context.
• Deliver casework within the NatureSpace Technical team, providing accurate quotes, assessments, reports, and certificates to clients in line with the deadlines, standards, and critical requirements of the schemes. All work will be conducted and delivered to the high standards expected of NatureSpace staff.
• Liaise in a professional, confident, and knowledgeable manner with developers, Network Rail representatives (prospective and current clients), project managers, contractors, ecologists and environmental and planning consultants, local planning authority great crested newt officers, ecologists and planners, the Newt Conservation Partnership and NatureSpace colleagues.
• Complete casework administration to agreed standards and processes, including daily maintenance of up-to-date live casework tracking and recording systems and data management, e.g., to record habitat and impact information.
• Undertake or assist with further technical work for the company where required, for example: client meetings to discuss case specific examples, website and other media maintenance and updates, mapping work for publications, presentations, internal IT support etc as required.
• Report to the Technical Team Manager and will have a close working relationships with the Senior Technical Officers, other members of the Technical Team, and with the area-specific ‘Newt Officers’ to ensure assessments are accurate, informed, communicated effectively and work well within the planning and licensing framework.
• Be responsible for managing their own workload and working independently, as part of the national team. There will be high levels of personal flexibility and responsibility given, but equally high standards of self-management (time recording etc) will be required. The Trainee Technical Officer will need to be an organised, motivated and a mature ‘self-starter’ and be able to manage multiple ongoing tasks. Full training and guidance will be provided for all functions, and day-to-day support will be available for all aspects of the work.

Essential skills, knowledge, and experience:

• A relevant degree (e.g., in ecology, wildlife conservation, environmental management, geography).
• Understanding of ecological impact assessment and biodiversity in planning.
• An enthusiasm for ecology and wildlife conservation in the UK. Conservation is at the heart of what we do.
• A detail-focused analyst, able to deliver critical analysis of projects using knowledge of great crested newt ecology and impact assessment.
• An excellent communicator with good inter-personal skills – able to liaise proactively and confidently with all stakeholders.
• Highly literate, able to prepare documents quickly and diligently to a high standard, following defined processes, protocols, and guidance.
• Understanding of protected species legislation and licensing in England.
• Excellent I.T. skills and high competence in GIS, preferably ArcGIS or QGIS.
• Organised, methodical and conscientious – able to juggle and prioritise multiple cases, enquiries and tasks, and work efficiently to meet tight deadlines.
• Self-motivated and independent – able to work flexibly with minimal supervision.
• Willing and able to travel to occasional team events as required

Desirable skills, knowledge, and experience: 

• First-hand field experience with great crested newts – surveying, mitigation methods etc.
• Knowledge and experience of the planning system.
• Knowledge and experience of the railway industry.
• Understanding of data entry and data management.

Company 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 local planning authorities across the South Midlands. Since then, the scheme has expanded nationally and now covers over 60 local 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 which 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 strategy 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 work 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.

Company culture, employment benefits and location

NatureSpace Partnership is a small (c.50 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.

NatureSpace embraces equal opportunities, diversity and inclusion and we welcome applications from all suitable 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.

Closing date for applications: 9am on Monday 27th May 2024.

Interview dates: You will be notified by Wednesday 5th June 2024 if you have been selected for interview. Interviews are likely to be held virtually (via Microsoft Teams) week commencing 10th June 2024.

Expected start date: 1st August 2024