Location: Oxford (Hybrid Working Available)
Salary: £43,421 - £46,464 per annum
Hours: Full Time, 37 hours per week
Contract: Permanent
About the Role
An exciting opportunity has arisen for an experienced and passionate biodiversity professional to join a leading Environment and Heritage team in Oxfordshire.
As Senior Biodiversity Officer, you will play a key role in shaping the future of biodiversity, nature recovery and sustainable development across the county. Working closely with planning, highways, infrastructure and environmental teams, you will provide expert ecological advice and help ensure that biodiversity enhancement remains at the heart of development and infrastructure projects.
This is a varied and influential position that offers the opportunity to work on major infrastructure schemes, biodiversity net gain initiatives, strategic planning projects and nature recovery programmes across Oxfordshire.
Key Responsibilities
- Provide specialist biodiversity and ecological advice to support planning and development management activities.
- Advise on highways, infrastructure, minerals and waste developments.
- Lead on Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) delivery, monitoring and reporting.
- Support the development of biodiversity strategies, policies and guidance.
- Represent the organisation at planning committees, public inquiries, consultations and stakeholder meetings.
- Manage ecological consultancy commissions and specialist surveys where required.
- Undertake habitat and species surveys within your areas of competence.
- Develop and maintain strong relationships with local authorities, statutory bodies, environmental organisations and community groups.
- Support the delivery of the Local Nature Recovery Strategy and wider environmental initiatives.
- Supervise and support junior biodiversity staff.
- Contribute to securing funding and delivering biodiversity enhancement projects.
About You
To be successful in this role, you will have:
Essential
- Degree in Ecology, Environmental Science, Conservation, Geography or a related discipline.
- Significant experience providing biodiversity and ecological advice within a planning or development environment.
- Strong knowledge of UK habitats, species and ecological best practice.
- Understanding of Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) processes.
- Knowledge of biodiversity legislation, policy and planning requirements.
- Excellent report writing and communication skills.
- Strong stakeholder management and negotiation skills.
- Ability to manage multiple projects and deadlines effectively.
- Full UK driving licence or ability to travel throughout Oxfordshire.
Desirable
- Membership of a relevant professional body such as CIEEM.
- Experience using Defra Biodiversity Metric tools.
- Protected species licences (particularly bats).
- Knowledge of Habitat Regulations Assessments (HRA).
- Experience using GIS software, including ArcGIS.
What's on Offer?
- Competitive salary.
- Flexible and hybrid working arrangements.
- Opportunity to work on high-profile environmental and infrastructure projects.
- Professional development and training opportunities.
- Supportive and collaborative team environment.
- Opportunity to make a genuine impact on biodiversity and nature recovery across Oxfordshire.
If you're passionate about biodiversity, environmental sustainability and creating positive ecological outcomes, we'd love to hear from you.
INDREC
Pay: £43,421.00-£46,464.00 per year
Work Location: Hybrid remote in Oxford OX1
