Principal Ecologist - BNG and Habitat Bank Delivery - North West (Hybrid) - £45-60k DOE + Car + Benefits
The business
We are working with a fast-growing, purpose-driven environmental business operating at the forefront of the UK biodiversity net gain market. They transform over-utilised and degraded legacy landholdings, quarries, landfills, chemical waste lagoons and similar brownfield sites into landscape-scale nature restoration projects, including habitat banks and renewable energy assets.
They are at the very start of a significant growth phase, moving fast and looking for people who want to grow with them.
The opportunity
They are building an in-house ecology function and this Principal Ecologist will be number two in that team, deputising for the Head of Ecology and leading the ecological function day to day as it grows.
This is not a desk-based metric role. The right person will be looking at large degraded sites and owning everything from initial ecological design and remodelling through due diligence, habitat bank creation and long-term environmental management. The business has a unique capability through a partnership with a soils and aggregate operation, meaning they can reprofile landforms and import soil where needed, giving them a blank canvas that most habitat bank operators simply do not have access to.
The role
- Deputise for the Head of Ecology and lead the ecology team day to day
- Own end-to-end ecological design and delivery of habitat bank projects at landscape scale
- Carry out site assessments, remodelling and design on brownfield and legacy land sites
- Push projects through ecological due diligence and approval processes
- Deal directly and independently with landowners and stakeholders including farmers, planners and developers
- QA BNG metric assessments, quotes and ecological outputs
- Support the build-out of regional ecological teams as the business grows
- Contribute to baseline assessments, habitat management plan writing and junior team management
What they are looking for
- Solid understanding of BNG and habitat bank delivery
- Hands-on experience with the Statutory Biodiversity Metric and real-world BNG decision-making
- Habitat surveying and condition assessment experience, ideally UKHab
- Comfortable at the ecology and planning interface with a good grasp of the legal and policy framework
- GIS competent, QGIS or ArcGIS at minimum
- Strong stakeholder and people skills, confident dealing with landowners, planners and internal teams
- Able to operate independently and take initiative without close oversight
- Wants to own their function and build something, not just execute a brief
- Private sector ecology experience preferred
Package and working pattern
- £45,000 to £60,000 depending on experience
- Private healthcare
- Company car for UK-wide site access
- Hybrid working, North West base with UK-wide travel
If this is of interest please apply on LinkedIn or email
