Marine Lead Adviser

Marine Lead Adviser in the Natural England Wessex Area Team

Do you have a passion for nature and the environment? Do you want to make a real difference and
secure significant environmental gains in the present and the future? Do you enjoy working in a
team? Can you see yourself advising communities and customers to maximise gains for the Natural
Environment?

We have a vacancy for a Marine Lead Adviser in the Wessex Area Team. The role will deliver our
marine work with a focus in the seas off Somerset and Dorset. This exciting key role is vital
to the delivery of Natural England’s marine vision in this area. You will be working on some of
the most biodiverse marine sites in England and should be ambitious to recover marine nature.

If this appeals to you, a career at Natural England offers rewarding opportunities to secure
environmental improvements and play your part in creating a better future for people and
nature.

The priority work Natural England is delivering includes:

• Establishing a Nature Recovery Network to help wildlife thrive
• Monitoring environmental changes to identify and help reduce the effects of climate change
• Working with farmers and landowners to develop greener food production methods
• Advising on plans for new developments to maximise gains for nature and
• Providing ways for people to better connect with nature, including green social
  prescribing.

We are the Government’s Adviser for the natural environment, playing a vital role in delivering
the Government’s 25 Year Environment Plan, an ambitious vision which brings new opportunities
to protect and enhance and to achieve real outcomes for the environment.

Find out more about the work of Natural England here.

Role description 

The role will cover the subtidal and intertidal marine areas and will involve monitoring marine
ecosystems, the provision of both statutory and discretionary advice to regulators and
developers relating to the potential impacts of planned or licensed activities in and around
marine protected areas, and partnership work to deliver improvements to marine and coastal
habitats. The successful candidate will join the Wessex Coast and Seas Team working flexibly,
collaboratively, and proactively with others to deliver the Team’s marine work plan. The role
could also involve the mentorship, guidance, and leadership of Adviser-level staff.

The successful candidate will be proactive, flexible, adaptable, and creative, with a
commitment not only to creating resilient landscapes and seas through conservation of marine
flora and fauna, but also to meeting Natural England’s vision of connecting people with nature.
A thorough understanding of legislation around marine species and ecosystem conservation is
essential. Candidates will be expected to demonstrate experience of nature recovery work within
the marine environment, their ability to solve complex problems and to enthusiastically build
strong and productive stakeholder relationships.

The Marine Lead Adviser role will cover:

• Protected sites casework: Providing statutory advice to regulatory bodies on the impact of
  plans and projects on across multiple protected sites designations and advising on impacts to
  seascapes and the wider environment.
• Fisheries: Advising fisheries regulators on the impact of fisheries within and outside
  Marine Protected Areas and working with regulators to ensure our inshore fisheries are
  sustainable, well managed, and compatible with nature recovery.
• Marine Protected Area conservation advice and condition assessment: Updating conservation
  advice packages for Marine Protected Areas, assessing evidence on site feature condition, and
  reporting against condition targets set in conservation advice packages.
• Nature recovery: Working on NE and stakeholder-led projects on marine nature recovery,
  covering habitat restoration, improvement, and creation, and contributing to the development
  and implementation of the marine biodiversity net gain approach.
• Marine monitoring and evidence: Building an organised and accessible evidence base which
  meets our standards for marine evidence, by collecting data through the monitoring of Marine
  Protected Areas to both assess their condition and inform their future management, whilst
  contributing to the marine Natural Capital Ecosystem Assessment.
• Income generation: Identifying and delivering on opportunities to improve the potential for
  commercial income to the area team, through the provision of discretionary advice to developers
  to achieve better outcomes for nature and through other work with partners, to secure external
  funding for projects that align with Natural England’s vision.
• Priority place working: Building strong relationships with partners and customers to
  identify and develop opportunities to achieve shared outcomes with different organisations and
  groups, informing and influencing these via the sharing of knowledge and evidence. Leading
  internal marine representation in a multi-disciplinary working group with a place-based focus.
• Developing yourself and others: Participate in relevant internal technical networks,
  showing leadership & sharing best practice with others to support development of strategic
  approaches to challenges, and promote skills development across the wider team.

This role may involve working outside, and regular travel including to sites, with occasional
overnight stays.

Benefits

Wherever possible Natural England accommodates requests for both full-time and part-time hours
and other flexible working patterns to help employees achieve a good work/life balance and
maintain their health and wellbeing.

Natural England provides excellent opportunities for career progression, training and
development tailored to your role. From induction to ongoing learning and development, everyone
in Natural England is supported to develop their skills and capabilities. Everyone has 10 days
to devote to personal learning and development, as well as an additional 3 days to volunteer.

You will have access to Civil Service Pension and benefits arrangements and generous leave
allowances (33 day per year pro rata), as well as flexible working, to help you achieve a
work-life balance that works for you and us.

You will have access to a range of benefits including discounts on shopping vouchers, cycle to
work scheme, and childcare vouchers. You can also join the Civil Service Sport club which offer
discounts on a range of sports and leisure opportunities as well as social events.

Natural England is a fantastic place to work, where difference is celebrated.

We’re committed to fairness and equality for all, so you feel valued for who you are and what
you do. Our shared values help us work together to benefit the communities we serve. Our
thriving employee-led diversity networks support our inclusive culture and contribute to our
Diversity Action Plan.

Locations

Natural England is adopting hybrid working – which means our staff work from a flexible range
of locations, encompassing home, offices (ours and our partners) and relevant sites. All new
staff will be formally linked to one of our 25 offices across England and the expectation is
that all new staff will be able to access their local office to be part of the community of
staff in their geographical area. Full time staff are expected to attend their associated
office for a minimum of one day a week.

Staff members are required to carry out all their duties working in this way and cannot do so
from an overseas location at any time. Travel expenses will be paid if work related travel is
required but does not apply to travel between home and your associated office.

Wessex Area Team roles will be linked with an office in the relevant geographic area. View a
map of our office locations
here.

Pay

It is Natural England policy to employ at the entry point of the salary range.

How to Apply

We welcome and encourage applications from all communities. Natural England is accredited to
the Disability Confident Scheme, which denotes organisations which have a positive attitude
towards disabled people. Disabled applicants who meet the minimum requirements for the role at
the shortlisting stage are guaranteed an invitation to interview.

If you require a reasonable adjustment at interview, or there is anything else you would like
the panel to take into consideration, you should notify us of this at application stage where
possible, or well in advance of your interview.

This vacancy uses competency-based assessment. We’ll assess you against the competencies below
during the selection process:

• Technical Skills (Practitioner)
• Work Delivery (Practitioner)
• Personal Effectiveness (Practitioner)
• Creating resilient landscapes & seas (Practitioner)

When completing the application form you should present relevant examples using the STAR
format. Give us an example of how you have demonstrated the competency (which can be work
related or from another area of your life) and tell us about the Situation, the specific Task
you had to undertake, the specific Actions you took, and the Result (both immediate and in a
wider context) of your doing so.

Please note that STAR format is not required when answering the Technical Skills &
Knowledge competency. Examples should be given in no more than 250 words for each competency.

Competencies

Technical skills and knowledge (STAR format answers not required) 

Essential

• Relevant degree and / or experience of working in the marine/coastal environment.
• An understanding of the ecology for a variety of marine / coastal habitats and species.
• Knowledge of the impacts of activities / pressures on marine and coastal environment.
• Experience of / capability in interpreting evidence in relation to habitats, species,
  activities, condition, etc.
• Experience of data analysis, environmental monitoring, and the use of evidence.

Desirable

• Previous experience of working with marine / coastal stakeholders.
• Knowledge of legislation relating to the marine and coastal environment.
• Driving licence

Work Delivery

• Manage and deliver your work to meet agreed targets and deadlines
• Understand and apply relevant policy, legislation, governance frameworks and strategies to
  your work

Personal Effectiveness

• Share expertise and knowledge with people and networks so that you can develop together
• Use clear and appropriate language, communication styles and techniques that engage your
  audience

Creating resilient landscapes & seas

• Identify appropriate solutions for avoidance, mitigation and compensation of environmental
  impacts and meeting shared outcomes; and identify opportunities for enhancing the natural
  environment
• Understand how natural processes, land / sea management and use impact the conservation and
  management of geodiversity, the marine and historic environments

Wessex team contact

Tim Hall, [email protected], 07760 998 171