NE

Higher Specialist - ( Ref : 6883 )

Natural EnglandApplies on LinkedInOther
Hiring from
United Kingdom
Work type
Hybrid
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East Midlands (England), East of England, London (region), North East England, North West England, South East England, South West England, West Midlands (England), Yorkshire and the Humber

Job Summary

This position is based Nationally

Job Description

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

The Role

The Team is responsible for delivering Natural England’s part of the Natural Capital and Ecosystem Assessment (NCEA).

The NCEA is a transformative programme to understand the extent, condition and change over time of environmental assets across England's land and water environments, supporting the government’s ambition to improve the environment within a generation. Data will come from Earth Observation, professional field data collection, citizen science and partner data sets.

Natural England’s NCEA Is Organised Into Projects:

  • Mapping and Earth Observation – Spatial data and maps on natural capital to inform national and local decision making and delivery.
  • England Peat Map – Mapping the extent and condition of England’s peatlands.
  • Field data collection – Data on habitats, soils, landscapes and species to understand the condition of natural capital assets.
  • Citizen Science – Working with citizens and community science to fill gaps, provide local and landscape scale information and engaging the public.
  • Data Engagement and Analysis - Making NCEA, partner and volunteer data available for analysis, integration, and use. Producing high quality evidence products by analysing and integration NCEA data.
  • Programme management – Managing Natural England’s NCEA programme.

You will be helping to deliver this as a part of project 5, by building and maintaining partnerships with key stakeholders. Within Data Engagement & Analysis you will be working with a collaborative team of specialists and analysts who as part of project 5 advise and enable NCEA projects to share and publish their products. You will engage with teams across NE, Defra Group and biological recording infrastructure partners and data providers. Additionally, you will be internally supporting and providing expert advice to project staff and solving problems for the NCEA to improve its data ethics, governance, maturity, and its management of data.

Job Description

Key Tasks/Principal Accountabilities

To make decisions and provide expert advice to support internal and external customers in their specific area of specialism that contributes to the successful achievement of Natural England environmental outcomes. Advise on the development and implementation of Natural England-wide strategy/programme(s) in a specific natural science, social science, or economic area specialism. To plan and carry our research and evidence gathering specific to their area of expertise, both within NE and with partners.

This role has no direct reports.

Specialists work across the organisation, applying their specialist skills and knowledge to support a wide range of work areas and inform Natural England’s decisions and advice.

Responsible for procurement and financial management of projects and research.

Specialists work closely with other organisations, such as Defra, other Government Departments, and external partners on new research to improve the necessary evidence base and to develop guidance on the inclusion of specialist outputs in policy and practice. Will play an active role in internal and external networks, representing Natural England as needed.

  • Under direction of a Senior/Principal Specialist make a significant contribution in own area of specialism to the development and/or delivery of Natural England-wide or regional/area: strategy, programme, or evidence base.
  • Utilise and deploy resources allocated to managing small projects or, in some cases, research in own area (which may include responsibility for research grants/funds).
  • Provide training and coaching to other staff both within own area and across Natural England.
  • Advise on the development of fundamental Natural England programme(s) or provide advice in a highly specialised environmental, social or economic area, often building on existing guidance or thinking.
  • Ensure Natural England’s evidence standards are adhered to.
  • Resolve problems which may involve considering existing guidance or precedent, testing options, the application of judgement and interpretation when making recommendations or determining appropriate advice.
  • Play an active role in internal networks/communities to exchange information and ideas in specific specialist area.
  • Work with external stakeholders to influence wider evidence base development and/or policy agendas in area of specialism towards the direction of outcomes sought by Natural England
  • Providing specialist advice and guidance to colleagues on data governance, management and intellectual property.
  • Supporting legal and ethical use of data and information across NE and with external partners through application and management of data licensing and partnership agreements.
  • Supporting the development and upholding best practice, standards and processes for data management in Natural England and the NCEA.
  • Working closely with colleagues in NE Data Services to ensure consistent practice and lead continuous improvements across the organisation.
  • Contribute to improving quality of and access to evidence through development of guidance and tools for effective data management and licensing.
  • Collaborating with NCEA partners including DEFRA, to ensure NCEA data is accessible across the programme for maximum impact and to deliver NCEA objectives

Knowledge, Skills & Experience

  • Effective communications skills (verbal and written) in communicating their specialism to diverse audiences (staff, scientific/technical groups, non-scientific).
  • Ability to work effectively as part of a team and to explain complex specific environmental, social, or economic specialism concepts in a meaningful way to others including non-specialist and scientific/technical groups.
  • Ability to build effective working relationships with a wide range of colleagues, partners, and stakeholders
  • Knowledge of sharing biological data using the FAIR principles (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable).
  • Previous experience of monitoring and research & development programmes would be advantageous
  • Experience of providing specialist technical advice to colleagues, partners, and stakeholders
  • Ability to analyse information and identify themes
  • Experience of working in a fast-paced environment delivering work within deadlines and contributing to team targets.
  • Good communication skills (verbal and written) with the ability to use clear and appropriate language adapted to the audience.

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 for career progression, training, and development tailored to your role. This includes ten days annually for personal learning and development, plus three additional days for volunteering.

You’ll receive a generous leave allowance of 25 days per year (pro rata), increasing by one day for each year of service up to 30 days (pro-rata), access to the Civil Service Pension scheme with a 28.97% employer contribution, and a range of benefits such as shopping discounts and a cycle-to-work scheme. Staff can also join the Civil Service Sport club for discounts on sports, leisure activities, and social events.

We are committed to fairness, equality, and inclusivity. Our employee-led diversity networks help foster a welcoming environment where everyone feels valued and supported.

Locations

Natural England has adopted 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. Staff are expected to attend their associated office for 20% of their contractual hours.

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.

National team roles can be linked with any Natural England office while Area Team roles will be linked with an office in the relevant geographic area.

View a map of our office locations here: online map of Natural England office locations

Pay

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

You will become an active member of the relevant local leadership community, the group of senior Natural England staff in each of the localities across England who we ask to provide support and co-ordination for the local group of staff.

Please note: Licensed visa sponsoring organisations are employers authorised by the government to recruit and sponsor overseas workers, enabling them to obtain the appropriate visa to work legally in the country. Natural England is NOT a licensed sponsorship employer.

As part of the Natural England’s application process, candidates are asked to confirm their right to work and remain in the UK. If a candidate says that they meet these requirements, ID is checked, a provisional offer of permanent employment is made and pre-employment eligibility checks commence. Only after these checks are candidates given firm offers of employment.

Natural England is unable to employ individuals who cannot provide the required evidence of their right to work.

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. We now provide primary interview questions in advance for all formal recruitments.

This vacancy uses competency-based assessment. We'll assess you against the competencies below during the selection process. Please be aware that we reserve the right for roles that receive a high volume of applications to initially sift applications for one competence only.

  • Technical Skills & Knowledge

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 Action.

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.

If you are successful at the shortlisting stage, you will be invited to attend an interview via MS Teams or a suitable alternative, where you will be asked to give examples for all competencies as set out in the Job Description.

As with all roles in NE, these roles require office attendance of a minimum of 20% of the working time – one day per week for those who work full time, subject to any reasonable adjustments and/or existing contractual homeworking.

Competencies

Competence 1

Professional competency

Detail

Technical Skills and Knowledge

Description

Essential:

Experience of, or ability to swiftly build an excellent understanding of the range of evidence used in Natural England and the business context within which it is used.

Experience of, or ability to swiftly build an excellent knowledge of Intellectual Property Rights and data licensing.

Experience of, or ability to swiftly build an understanding of procurement processes and partnership working agreements.

Strong IT skills - use of PowerPoint, Teams, SharePoint, Excel.

Experience of, or ability to swiftly build an understanding of data governance, information management and data sharing principles.

Desirable:

Experience of biological survey or a biological/ecological background.

Competence 2

Professional competency

Detail

Putting People at The Heart of The Environment

Description

Listen to and understand our diverse partners and customers so that you achieve the best outcomes for them and Natural England (Practitioner)

Nurture trusting partnerships and collaborate to achieve pragmatic outcomes that help deliver Natural England’s vision, mission and aims (Practitioner)

Competence 3

Professional competency

Detail

Personal Effectiveness

Description

Use clear and appropriate language, communication styles and techniques that engage your audience (Basic)

Share expertise and knowledge with people and networks so that you can develop together (Basic)

Competence 4

Professional competency

Detail

Work Delivery

Description

Handle data responsibly, understand your role in good governance, and comply with delegations, policies and procedures (Practitioner)

Manage and deliver your work to meet agreed targets and deadlines

(Practitioner)

Contact information

Rach Tebbs: Rachel.tebbs@naturalengland.org.uk 07767 939214

Lydia Brunt: Lydia.brunt@naturalengland.org.uk 07760373733

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

The Role

The Team is responsible for delivering Natural England’s part of the Natural Capital and Ecosystem Assessment (NCEA).

The NCEA is a transformative programme to understand the extent, condition and change over time of environmental assets across England's land and water environments, supporting the government’s ambition to improve the environment within a generation. Data will come from Earth Observation, professional field data collection, citizen science and partner data sets.

Description

Handle data responsibly, understand your role in good governance, and comply with delegations, policies and procedures (Practitioner)

Manage and deliver your work to meet agreed targets and deadlines

(Practitioner)

Contact information

Rach Tebbs: Rachel.tebbs@naturalengland.org.uk 07767 939214

Lydia Brunt: Lydia.brunt@naturalengland.org.uk 07760373733

Person specification

Please Refer To Job Description

Alongside your salary of £33,780, Natural England contributes £9,786 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides (opens in a new window).

  • Learning and development tailored to your role
  • An environment with flexible working options
  • A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity
  • A Civil Service pension with an employer contribution of 28.97%

Artificial intelligence

Artificial intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application, however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action. Please see our candidate guidance (opens in a new window) for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.

Selection process details

Please Refer To Job Description

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a basic (or equivalent) criminal record check.

People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.

Successful candidates must undergo a basic (or equivalent) criminal record check.

People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.

Nationality requirements

This Job Is Broadly Open To The Following Groups:

  • UK nationals
  • nationals of the Republic of Ireland
  • nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
  • nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (opens in a new window)
  • nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
  • individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020
  • Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service

Further information on nationality requirements (opens in a new window)

Working for the Civil Service

The Civil Service Code (opens in a new window) sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.

We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles (opens in a new window).

The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.

The Civil Service Code (opens in a new window) sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.

We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles (opens in a new window).

The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.

Diversity and Inclusion

The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see the Civil Service People Plan (opens in a new window) and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy (opens in a new window).

The Civil Service welcomes applications from people who have recently left prison or have an unspent conviction. Read more about prison leaver recruitment (opens in new window).

Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available. You may want to save a copy for your records.

Contact point for applicants

Job Contact :

  • Name : Rach Tebbs
  • Email : Rachel.tebbs@naturalengland.org.uk
  • Telephone : 07767 939214

Recruitment team

  • Email : defra-recruitment-enquiries@resourcing.soprasteria.co.uk

Further information

https://networkrecruitment.tal.net/vx/appcentre-7/brand-4/spa-1/candidate/so/pm/1/pl/8/opp/6883-6883-Higher-Specialist/en-GB

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