The Environment Act has increased the statutory biodiversity duties for Local Authorities and the Ecology Officer (BNG) will play an integral role within the Biodiversity & Greenspaces Team to help deliver the biodiversity duties of the Council. Working closely with colleagues within the Biodiversity Team and other Departments such as Planning, Rural Estates, Flood Risk, Highways and Education on the assessment of council owned land for Biodiversity Net Gain, habitat banking and local nature recovery projects.   As well as working with District Council’s across the County. 

The projects across the Council are diverse, ranging from County Council owned nature reserve management, natural flood alleviation schemes (nature-based solutions), improving biodiversity on highways verges, assessment of council owned land for Biodiversity Net Gain Habitat banking and nature recovery projects. The Council are looking to expand their in-house ecology capabilities and this role will be fundamental to growing the ecological services that the Council provides.  

This is a fixed 2 year fixed-term post until April 2026.There may a possibility of extending it beyond this date depending on funding. 

For more information or to chat about this opportunity please contact Phil Clark the Biodiversity Manager on 07826 858286 or email philip.clark@cambridgeshire.gov.uk 

Interviews will take place in-person at our offices in New Shire Hall during the week beginning the 22nd of April 2024.  

We value our colleagues in Cambridgeshire County Council and have developed a number of benefits:

• Flexible working
• Flexible Bank Holidays
• A comprehensive wellbeing package
• Our Cambs Rewards employee discounts
• A comprehensive pension scheme
• IDEAL staff equality, diversity and inclusion network.
• Camweb our staff intranet helping to keep you informed
• An employee recognition scheme

As a member of the Biodiversity and Green Spaces Team, your main role will be to help meet the County Council's new biodiversity responsibilities. You will collaborate with other members within the Historic & Natural Environment Service as well as other departments such as Planning, Climate Change, Rural Estates, Flooding, Highways and Land and Property.   

Key aspects of this role will include:   

• Supporting the council’s biodiversity strategy and other policies (such as BNG) and collaborative/partnership working on strategic projects (e.g., highway verges)
• Advising on ecological aspects of planning applications (as well as pre-application responses)
• Undertaking ecology surveys and reporting
• Providing in-house ecological advice
• Assisting the team with delivery of the Local Nature Recovery Strategy (LNRS). For example, data review and reviewing statements for ‘biodiversity priorities’ for Cambridgeshire

The role requires travel to locations across Cambridgeshire so you must either hold a full and current driving licence and have access to personal transport or meet the mobility requirements of the role through other reasonable and suitable means. The Council offers a pool car service with cars based at the main offices throughout Cambridgeshire. This means that cars can be booked and used for site visits and meetings. 

To be successful in this role we are looking for someone who: 

• Is confident in assessing complex technical ecological information
• Can demonstrate an understanding of ecological planning issues as your work will include prioritising responses to planning applications, compiling reports, and providing planning advice 
• Is confident in providing habitat management advice for the County Council’s owned nature reserves and other biodiversity sites to contractors and the nature reserve Friends Groups
• Is confident in working with local communities and advising colleagues on the Council’s major projects
• Has experience in developing and implementing new policies
• Can make informed and independent decisions with minimal supervision
• Is pro-active and shows initiative to develop new ideas
• Can manage workload effectively to meet strict deadlines while being a part of a dynamic and busy team
• Is computer literate with experience in GIS systems and using databases

Cambridgeshire is a great place to work and live with a diverse population, an urban centre in Cambridge, historic Isle of Ely, Huntingdon and St Ives as well as more rural landscapes.

Our four values are central to our culture, driving everything we do.

We are proud to serve the diverse communities of Cambridgeshire and want our workforce to be reflective of this diversity, which we firmly believe benefits our colleagues, the organisation and our communities. If you don’t meet every single requirement in the job role but think this could be you, please don’t be put off.   We are committed to building a workplace that is compassionate and inclusive as well as diverse, so if you think you could be a good candidate for this role please consider applying and speak to the recruiting manager if you have any questions.

Our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Strategy, along with our employee network 'IDEAL' and self-organised peer support groups help us to foster an inclusive, supportive and safe working environment where people feel valued, respected, and empowered.  We collect relevant diversity data for monitoring as part of the recruitment process to understand the diversity of our applicants and monitor any trends throughout the recruitment processes so that we can take meaningful action.

We are proud to be a Disability Confident Employer. We fully support providing reasonable adjustments throughout our recruitment process, as well as when you join us, and we encourage candidates to contact the Hiring Manager, whose details can be found in the advert, to discuss any adjustment needs. Some examples of adjustments could include additional time to complete an assessment or printing a document on pastel coloured paper with larger font size and line spacing. We would value talking about what might be possible to enable you to join us and thrive, so if there is something that would help you to do your best during your journey with us, please get in touch.

Visit our jobs and careers section to find out more about our wide range of learning and development opportunities; apprenticeships; our wellbeing package; staff benefits; our commitment to equality, diversity and Inclusion. 

https://www.cambridgeshire.gov.uk/council/jobs-and-careers