Senior Soils Adviser – Natural Capital and Ecosystem Assessment

The Role 

The England Ecosystem Survey (EES) is part of the Field Data Collection work package of the
NCEA and will use professional survey as a tool to provide high quality data to assess the
state and condition of biodiversity, ecosystems, and natural capital assets within England’s
habitats and landscapes addressing data gaps, including soils. The soils workstream will enable
NE to assess and capture the condition of soils is nationally and to determine progress against
the 25 Year Environment Plan target to manage soils sustainably by 2030.

Soil natural capital and soil health are a focus in the Government’s 25 Year Environment Plan
(YEP) which presents the ambition that ‘by 2030 we want all of England’s soils to be managed
sustainably, and we will use natural capital thinking to develop appropriate soil metrics and
management approaches.’

This role will support the delivery of the Natural Capital and Ecosystem Assessment (NCEA),
providing leadership and technical expertise to enable the development of a national soil
monitoring system.

We are looking for a candidate who is qualified to degree level in soils science or a related
environmental discipline or have an equivalent level of applied experience (a post-graduate
qualification is desirable). Applicants that do not hold a relevant degree should specify
experience and outputs that demonstrate that they have an equivalent level of knowledge. 

Key tasks: 

• Providing technical expertise and steer to externally commissioned contracts relating to
  NCEA soil monitoring. 
• Gathering data on soil management on monitoring sites – supporting internal and external
  field staff to undertake surveys. 
• Commissioning and contributing to scientific research required to inform the methods that
  will be used. 
• Soils survey Quality Assurance / Quality Control (QA/QC): Resolving issues from surveyors
  and contractors and maintaining an up-to-date QA/QC checklist and assessment form. 
• Contribute to protocol/ field manual development. 
• Assist in training new surveyors. 
• Coordination between soil sampling, soil classification and vegetation team
• Communications with laboratories, particularly around soil biological analyses, and liaison
  with relevant Natural England specialists 
• Data management, analysis & QA 
• Liaising with internal and external stakeholders. 
• Identify existing data sources for land management. 
• Research and development to support EES. 

Additional information:  

Specific responsibilities will develop and change over time, and the post holder will need to
maintain a flexible and adaptable attitude and approach. You may also be required to contribute
to development of other soil monitoring and soil health work within Natural England, including
building capability across Natural England. 

The role will include representing Natural England externally as a recognised expert and
building relationships and links with key stakeholders, Defra, government bodies, academic
institutions and other stakeholder groups and independent experts. 

This role will require occasional travel throughout England and overnight stays will be
required. Natural England will reimburse all costs incurred when travelling on organisational
business – including travel, accommodation, and subsistence. 

The successful candidate will be required to show flexibility in managing and adapting to other
work should team priorities or resources change.