- Are you a knowledgeable and passionate advocate for biodiversity, in urban and rural settings?
- Are you experienced in driving forward projects from vision to successful delivery, in a complex environment?
- Do you work effectively with community groups, volunteers and broader partnerships?
If this sounds like you, we have an exciting opportunity to lead Brighton and Hove City Council’s biodiversity work. Reporting to the Head of Net Zero, and working in close collaboration with The Living Coast Biosphere and other partners, you will lead on embedding biodiversity across the council. You will lead on delivering and managing strategic projects that improve biodiversity, are nature-positive, improve climate resilience and are financially sound. You will also lead on compliance with the council’s biodiversity statutory duty.
Interviews to be held: Monday 13th July 2026
There is full information about the role below and attached but, if you would like an informal discussion, please contact Alice Berry, Head of Net Zero on
[email protected]
About the role
This role is ideal for a technically knowledgeable biodiversity specialist, with expertise in embedding biodiversity across an organisation. You will have experience of leading the successful delivery and management of projects that provide multiple benefits, in a complex environment. The council has adopted or is soon to adopt several key plans, projects and strategies that will enable the post-holder to lead impactful biodiversity improvements, including:
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Local Nature Recovery Strategy
- City Downland Estate Plan
- Climate and Nature Action Plan
- Biodiversity Net Gain habitat banks
As Biodiversity Lead, you’ll report to the Head of Net Zero and will:
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Advocate for biodiversity, influencing the council’s nature-positive strategic direction across services;
- Initiate, deliver and manage a programme of biodiversity improvements, linked to the Local Nature Recovery Strategy, the City Downland Estate and other relevant policies;
- Successfully secure and leverage Biodiversity Net Gain habitat banks, voluntary biodiversity credits, grants and other revenue streams to deliver multiple benefits, including biodiversity improvement, climate change adaptation and financial sustainability;
- Provide strategic ecological advice across the council range of sustainability projects across multiple sectors, including large scale infrastructure projects;
- Lead cross-sector collaboration and stakeholder engagement related to ecological improvement, representing the council and advocating for our diverse communities;
- Ensure the council complies with its biodiversity statutory duty and stays abreast of emerging biodiversity legislation / policy.
You will have:
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A degree or equivalent experience in ecology, biodiversity, or a related environmental field, or equivalent level of knowledge gained through experience.
- Strong knowledge of biodiversity legislation, planning processes, and ecological principles.
- Experience of successfully leading and managing complex projects and programmes, securing external funding, and working in partnership with others.
- Excellent presentation, negotiation, and diplomacy skills, to communicate complex ecological information clearly to diverse audiences, and secure stakeholder buy-in.
- Strong organisational and analytical abilities, with the capacity to work both independently and collaboratively
- Proficiency in Microsoft Office and working knowledge of GIS
- A commitment to continuous professional development
This post is suitable for part office/part home working.
Further information about this role, including a detailed list of responsibilities and person specification criteria, can be viewed in the Job Description and Person Specification.
Encouraging a diverse workforce
Our city is known and loved for its diversity. Not only is the mixture of people, culture and skills vital to the economic and social development of the city, it's what makes Brighton & Hove such a great place to live, work and visit. We are committed to developing and retaining a workforce that is representative of the diverse communities we serve so we welcome applications from individuals from all backgrounds. In order to achieve our aims of proportionate representation, we particularly encourage applicants from a BME or White Other background as well as those who identify as disabled or trans.
Find out more about our commitment to being a fair and inclusive place to work where everyone can achieve their potential by reading about our fair and inclusive actions, our anti-racism strategy and the work we are doing to encourage a diverse workforce (brighton-hove.gov.uk).
Why work for us?
As a council, we want to:
- be connected
- be confident
- be innovative and creative
- be diverse and inclusive
- be healthy and psychologically safe
For more information about our values and the benefits of working at the council, visit Why work for us which gives details of our wellbeing support, our benefits including leave and pensions as well as details of our training and development.
How to apply
Please read our Apply for a job at the council pages carefully. They give you all the guidance you need to complete your application as well as information on what will happen after you’ve submitted your application and at interview.
As part of your application, you will need to provide your education and career history and answer some application/shortlisting questions. Your answers to the application/shortlisting questions are the most important part of your application as they will be used in the shortlisting process to assess whether you meet the essential requirements for the role that are set out in the person specification and to decide whether you should be offered an interview. Before you start your application, please read our Shortlisting questions guidance (brighton-hove.gov.uk) as this gives important advice which will increase your chance of success in the shortlisting process.
AI advice for candidates
We are interested in hearing about your experience and skills in your own words. While we value people who know how to use AI, we ask that you minimise using it in your application.
We are keen to hear how your experience and skills align to our values and the skills and experience needed to perform well in our roles with clear real examples from you. To support you in this, we have guidance on using the STAR model which can help you ensure you are telling us your whole story. We also provide clarity on the skills we are looking for in our adverts and in the job description/person specification attached to each job advert.
All the applications we receive are read by at least two hiring managers and we do not use AI in this process. Our experience of reading applications is that those that have heavily used AI contain generic paragraphs that are strikingly similar to other applicants’ responses. This makes it extremely difficult to differentiate between applications, and doesn't give us enough evidence of your individual skills. There is a risk that we will therefore not be able to shortlist you. Instead, we recommend you ensure your application stands out by presenting clear examples of your actual skills and experiences in your own words.
Additional information
Your starting salary will be pro rata if the above position is less than 37 hours or term-time only.
We are a workplace that supports flexibility and employee wellbeing in the way we work whilst providing the best service for our customers. Team and service working arrangements are designed to support both employee work life balance and team collaboration. These would be part of your individual working arrangements alongside any personal preference agreed with your manager in advance of joining. Your contractual location will be the designated council office for your team and travel to and from your contractual location would be at your own expense.
