A core part of our work is using cost recovery mechanisms to bring in income. This involves setting up contracts with applicants utilising the Discretionary Advice Service, NSIP statutory charging and Service Level Agreements (SLAs).

This is an Operational Higher Officer role delivering and supporting Natural England’s statutory and discretionary advice on priority energy NSIPs with combined marine and terrestrial elements. The role holder will understand marine planning, licensing and consenting and NE’s role in the NSIP process, and will have experience of working on marine NSIPs. They will provide support to the NE Areas and Seas Teams preparing for forthcoming examinations and enabling attendance at hearings.

The successful candidate will:

Work closely with their SRO (Senior Responsible Officer) to develop and deliver NE advice on priority energy NSIPS with a marine component, including but not limited to offshore wind, enabling attendance at examinations and hearings
Review and advise on Environmental Impacts Assessments, Habitat Regulations Assessments (including technical supporting information); working with developers to ensure environmental impacts of developments have been fully addressed in order to achieve the best outcomes for the natural environment
Provision of statutory advice to competent authorities within specified statutory timeframes.
Responding to post-consent consultations on discharge of DCO and Marine licence conditions.
Provision of advice to developers to inform survey and monitoring plans & reports through Natural England’s Discretionary Advice Service
Provision of chargeable advice through Natural England’s Discretionary Advice Service (DAS), to maximise early engagement opportunities to achieve better outcomes for the natural environment
Identify any risks associated with the delivery of this work and ensure they are escalated appropriately.
Support collaborative working between terrestrial and marine colleagues in the Project Teams you support, sharing learning and identifying opportunities for continuous improvement.
Participate in relevant internal technical networks, showing leadership & sharing best practice with others to support development of strategic approaches to challenges, and promote skills development across the wider team

Benefits

Wherever possible Natural England accommodates requests for both full-time and part-time hours and other flexible working patterns to help employees achieve a good work/life balance and maintain their health and wellbeing.

Natural England provides excellent opportunities for career progression, training and development tailored to your role. From induction to ongoing learning and development, everyone in Natural England is supported to develop their skills and capabilities. Everyone has 10 days to devote to personal learning and development, as well as an additional 3 days to volunteer.

You will have access to Civil Service Pension and benefits arrangements and generous leave allowances (33 day per year pro rata), as well as flexible working, to help you achieve a work-life balance that works for you and us.

You will have access to a range of benefits including discounts on shopping vouchers, cycle to work scheme, and childcare vouchers. You can also join the Civil Service Sport club which offer discounts on a range of sports and leisure opportunities as well as social events.

Natural England is a fantastic place to work, where difference is celebrated.

We’re committed to fairness and equality for all, so you feel valued for who you are and what you do. Our shared values help us work together to benefit the communities we serve. Our thriving employee-led diversity networks support our inclusive culture and contribute to our Diversity Action Plan.

Locations

Natural England is adopting 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. Full time staff are expected to attend their associated office for a minimum of one day a week.

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. This role will be based in an Area Team and it would be beneficial to have a working knowledge of the Cumbria, Cheshire or Lancaster areas and be local to Kendal, Penrith, Manchester or Crewe.

View a map of our office locations here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/natural-england-office-locations

Pay

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

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.