6508 - Sustainable Development Senior Officer

Do you want to make a real difference, working in a high priority area, securing significant environmental gains in the present and the future? Do you enjoy working in and leading a team? If so, this role may interest you as an opportunity to create a better future for people and nature.

Natural England’s new Strategy includes making a shift from isolated interventions to nature recovery happening at scale, ensuring our efforts deliver lasting improvement across whole landscapes and seascapes. As part of this, our sustainable development work is helping build better places, and ensure nature is designed into development and investment plans from the outset to strengthen communities and benefit growth.

This role will contribute to Natural England’s sustainable development delivery, with a focus on securing nature recovery and long-term environmental benefits. The roles will need the flexibility to advise on local plans and spatial development strategies as well as high risk and high opportunity development cases. The work will include supporting the development of new strategic approaches to manage environmental pressures and building strong relationships with developers so that nature is planned in from the start to streamline development and reduce risk.
The Thames Solent area covers Berkshire, Buckinghamshire (including Milton Keynes), Hampshire, Isle of Wight, London, Oxfordshire and Surrey. We are the largest local delivery team in Natural England and are responsible for protecting the natural environment across an area of land and coast from the New Forest in the west, to London and Surrey in the east, including the Isle of Wight. This area contains a range of rare habitats which are critical for biodiversity for both the United Kingdom and Europe, With the proximity to centres of population, we have the opportunity to promote greater connection with nature for all the benefits it brings. Travel around this area will be required for the role.

Natural England has an important role in enabling local authorities and other plan-makers across Thames Solent Area Team to embed nature into a range of place-based plans, and you will be central to shaping strong partnerships to drive this ambition. Our Sustainable Development Senior Officers play a crucial part in this role by working together to lead Sustainable Development delivery in the team, providing technical advice and working with partners to identify opportunities to best deliver nature’s recovery.

We are seeking candidates whose strengths lie in collaboration, enjoy working with others and feel passionate about helping to shape improved outcomes for nature. You will work closely with colleagues across the business to maximise opportunities for nature and access to nature in a range of plans and strategies.

You will need to be flexible and opportunistic in the role Natural England plays and be responsive to the needs of our local partners. It’s a fantastic opportunity to use your previous experience and any transferable skills to help develop strategic approaches that ensure that people from a wide range of communities are able to experience the benefits of the natural environment.

Job description

The successful candidate will work alongside other senior staff in similar roles and the role and responsibilities will include:

• Providing a strategic lead for specific high risk, high opportunity casework, with a particular focus on Town and Country Planning Act development proposals. This will involve working closely with colleagues across the team, supporting others delivering technical advice, and drawing down national specialist input as required.
• Providing advice on spatial development strategies and working closely with local planning authorities on high priority local plans to manage risk, ensure nature is designed into development, and secure plan policies that support strong, long term environmental outcomes.
• Building partnerships with customers and stakeholders to resolve complex planning issues. Providing clear, pragmatic, evidence-based advice to developers and local planning authorities, seeking opportunities to maximising delivery through our discretionary advice service (DAS).
• Act as an account manager for Lead Environmental Regulator, managing relationships with developers and working with Defra and other Arm’s-Length Bodies (ALBs) e.g. Environment Agency, to provide joined up advice to developers and enable delivery of integrated outcomes for nature recovery and growth.
• Enabling developers to use tools such as Green Infrastructure standards, Biodiversity Net Gain and Environmental Delivery Plans (as these are developed) to secure planning approvals and gains for people and nature.
• Provide support to other sustainable development advisers within the team, including support at external and internal meetings, providing a steer on complex and challenging issues, and escalating risk through appropriate channels.
• Contributing to the broader leadership of the area team through active participation in cross-team groups and briefings to NE senior leadership and working with other Senior Officers within the wider area team to ensure consistency in advice delivery across all our work areas.