Consultant Ecologist

Quantock Ecology Ltd – Consultant Ecologist

Salary: £25,000 – £33,000

Contract: Full Time

Hours: 37.5 hours per week permanent

Location: Prockters Farm Office, West Monkton, Taunton TA2 8QN

Quantock Ecology has a new, exciting opportunity for an experienced Ecological Consultant to
join our team to help with our expanding workload. We are looking for a motivated individual to
help continue to deliver a professional, experienced and reliable service. The successful
candidate will be responsible for undertaking ecological surveys, report writing, project
management, providing support to other team members and ideally live within a reasonable
commuting distance to our office. This will be a fantastic opportunity for the right candidates
to build on existing knowledge and skill sets, with career development opportunities. Quantock
Ecology is a small family run business, which specialises in terrestrial ecology working
primarily across the southwest, south Wales and southern Britain.

Duties will include:

• The undertaking or leading of ecological surveys for a range of fauna, including bats,
  birds, badger, great crested newts, reptiles, dormouse, water vole and otter etc.
• The undertaking or leading of habitat surveys, with the ability to differentiate main broad
  and priority habitat types in the field.
• The writing/completion of scientific reports based on the surveys undertaken above.
• The production of method statements/mitigation plans.
• Undertaking Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) assessments.
• Keeping accurate field notes in accordance with the principles of scientific data
  collection, with experience in handling, recording and storing data effectively.
• Taking responsibility for staff management on mitigation projects, ensuring that there is
  sufficient staffing for various projects.
• Provide support to team members and seasonal ecologists.
• Recording data and tasks accurately on our project management software and understanding
  the commercial nature of consultancy projects.
• Work will include evening and dawn bat surveys, paid as overtime or as part of contracted
  hours.

The successful candidate will:

• Have a good understanding of wildlife legislation and be able to communicate this clearly
  to colleagues, clients and contractors.
• Have a degree within a relevant discipline.
• Be self-driven and motivated, with personal achievement goals.
• Preferably have at least two years’ experience working within an ecological consultancy.
• Hold a valid bat survey licence (level 2 or above preferable).
• Hold membership (or be eligible to have membership) with CIEEM or equivalent professional
  body.
• Hold a full UK driving licence.
• Have excellent attention to detail and communication skills.
• Have experience in GIS/QGIS and familiarity with the MS packages (word/excel/outlook etc).
• Have an understanding of how ecology fits in within the planning and construction industry.
• Take personal responsibility for their health and safety whilst at work and conduct work in
  a safe, professional and responsible manner.

Desirable Skills:

• Experience in compiling/submitting European Protected Species Mitigation Licences.
• Experience in undertaking BNG assessments, and a knowledge of the UKHabs classification. 
• Registered consultant under the Bat Mitigation Class Licence system.
• Any experience acting as construction works supervising ecologist (ECoW) or delivering
  ecological mitigation.
• Experience in bat sound analysis software (Kaleidoscope Pro).

What we can offer:

• £25,000 – £33,000 per annum.
• ‘Based from home’ working if desirable.
• Performance based bonuses
• Overtime paid for ‘out of hours’ bat surveys.
• Extremely flexible working through flexi-time.
• 25 days holiday plus statutory holidays pro rata.
• Unlimited training budget.
• Company pension scheme.
• Company health insurance.
• Colleague recognition bonuses. 

Contact Details:

To apply, please send a covering letter along with your CV to Simon Pidgeon (Director) [email protected]

Closing Date: 20/06/2024
Location: Taunton