Principal Specialist – Water Quality - Casework - ( Ref : 6696 )

Job summary

Job description

The Science Team is part of the Chief Scientist’s Directorate (CSD) in Natural England. This Directorate is responsible for Natural England’s Science, Evidence and Analysis Framework and supports its implementation to ensure Natural England is powered by science.

The Science team leads on the development and application of natural, economic and social science and evidence to drive and enable the achievement of environmental outcomes both within Natural England and externally. We work across the organisation and with external partners and government departments.

Join us in shaping a future where nature and people thrive. Whether you're drawn to hands-on conservation or playing a vital part behind the scenes, your work at Natural England will support lasting benefits for the environment and society.

Our Role

Natural England is the Government’s adviser for the natural environment and the Nature regulator with a wide range of statutory duties and powers. We provide the evidence, expertise and advice to recover Nature and shape better places for people to live. We do this working through and with others.

Strategic Outcomes for Nature

Our strategy is framed through four strategic outcomes. Each of these outcomes reinforces and amplifies the others, and together they address environmental, social and economic actions critical to thriving nature.

• Recovering Nature – Increased scale and quality of places where nature thrives.

• Building Better Places – Greener homes and infrastructure create healthier, more investable places, recognising we live better where nature thrives around us.

• Improving Health and Wellbeing – Build nature into everyday life so people can support, access and benefit from nature, wherever they live.
• Delivering Security through Nature – Nature helps us adapt to the threats of a changing climate and improves our national security, supporting more resilient food production, healthy soils, clean and plentiful water and clean air.

Find out more about the work of Natural England at:

Natural England’s Strategy: Recovering Nature for Growth, Health and Security - GOV.UK

Job description

Key Tasks/Principal Accountabilities

As a Principal Specialist within science, you will work collaboratively with specialists across CSD, as well as with operations and strategy colleagues. This role will be focused on providing scientific advice into Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects (NSIPs) and other high risk/high opportunity casework. This is an exciting opportunity to make a strong contribution to Natural England’s engagement with some of the most important development proposals in the country ensuring that nature is included as critical national infrastructure.

NSIPs are major planning schemes that present both challenges and significant opportunities for the natural environment. They cover a wide range of proposals, from wind farms and solar energy to water resources, ports, airports and major new road and rail schemes.

Working with colleagues in both your team and across the organisation you will help ensure that the natural environment is fully considered through the planning process. You will seek to maximize gains for nature from these nationally significant projects. Our aim is to ensure that all development is truly sustainable, not only protecting what we have but also contributing to nature recovery.

This is a new role aimed to:

- speed up Natural England’s response times to priority development
- Increase involvement and engagement at key stages of the process (for example issue specific hearings)
- manage cases and develop solutions and thematic advice to support operational teams in providing proportionate advice.

We are looking for an experienced communicator with a deep specialism and understanding of the planning process and how science and evidence is best developed and applied for positive, pragmatic, outcomes for nature and for people.

Areas which the post holder may contribute to includes:

• Provide expert water quality advice in relation to nationally significant infrastructure/high risk casework and nutrient neutrality
• Develop technical tools and guidance to support nutrient neutrality decision-making
• Working with strategy colleagues to develop guidance and standing advice.
• Building, analysing and applying the evidence base to inform support and advice, identifying any risks associated with the evidence. Including identifying emerging issues and opportunities.
• Representing Natural England as a subject matter expert and build relationships with key experts, stakeholders and, as needed, developers across the sector.
• Work with specialists, national strategy teams, area team colleagues, and partners to ensure that the evidence and monitoring and strategic solutions needed to improve development management projects, is embedded in decision making.
• Build awareness and understanding of your specialism in the context of development management both internally and externally. Ensure that staff understand how your specialism relates to their work and build organisational capability through provision of advice, tools, guidance and training.
• Demonstrate thought leadership across your specialism and within the Chief Scientist Directorate, in order to address complex challenges.
• Resolve problems which may involve developing new approaches, testing options, seeking consensus and interpretation in making recommendations or determining appropriate advice.
• Represent Natural England externally as a recognised expert in your field, including at Public Inquiries, hearings and examinations.

Knowledge, Skills & Experience

The ideal candidate will:

• Be qualified to at least MSc level in a relevant ecological discipline or can demonstrate equivalent experience. (Essential)
• Have an excellent knowledge of water quality science, including sources of nutrients; chemical and hydrological behaviour; impacts on ecology; and the interaction of these aspects with the impacts of climate change. (Essential)
• Have excellent communication skills (verbally and in written form) and can convey complex ideas to a wide range of audiences (Essential)
• Have strong analytical skills (qualitative and quantitative) and knowledge of approaches used to collate best evidence to advise on development impacts e.g modelling, data analysis and survey techniques. (Essential)
• Have an excellent understanding of the scientific literature on hydrology and related specialisms, and the analysis of hydrological data and evidence to inform complex and contentious decision-making (Essential)
• Have a strong understanding of adjacent specialisms in relation to the water environment, founded on principles of natural ecosystem function, with ability to integrate advice across work areas and linked to wider nature recovery outcomes (Desirable)
• Have working knowledge of policies, legislative frameworks and drivers for the water agenda. (Essential)

Benefits

At Natural England, we support a healthy work-life balance by offering full-time, part-time, and flexible working arrangements.

We provide excellent opportunities