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- Tasks: Lead the delivery of development plans to support nature recovery and sustainable growth.
- Company: Join Natural England, the government’s adviser for the natural environment.
- Benefits: Enjoy a fulfilling role with opportunities for professional growth and impact.
- Why this job: Make a real difference in shaping greener, healthier places for communities.
- Qualifications: Strong leadership, strategic thinking, and stakeholder engagement skills required.
- Other info: Be part of a dynamic team driving major planning reforms for a sustainable future.
The predicted salary is between 36000 - 60000 £ per year.
Join us in shaping a future where nature and people thrive. Whether you're drawn to hands-on conservation or playing a vital part behind the scenes, your work at Natural England will support lasting benefits for the environment and society.
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
- 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.
The Team
This is an exciting opportunity to join a busy team at the forefront of delivery, as Natural England seeks to deliver major government planning reforms, supporting our ambition for a healthy natural environment that underpins sustainable growth, supporting greener homes and infrastructure that create healthier nature-rich places for people to live, learn, work and play.
The Major Planning Casework Team sits within National Delivery and provides national leadership, coordination and support for Natural England’s engagement with major planning casework, including development plans, nationally significant projects and other complex, high risk casework. The team works across the organisation and external partners to ensure planning systems support nature recovery and achieve Natural England’s ambition for thriving nature for people and planet.
Development plans (Local Plans and Spatial Development Strategies) represent some of Natural England’s most strategically important planning work, shaping the future of places before development proposals come forward. National Delivery plays a critical role in overseeing a pipeline of development plan work delivered by area teams, ensuring we provide high quality, timely, advice, prioritising our resource and enabling growth and nature recovery through strategic advice.
The Role
This is a new leadership role providing national oversight, operational coordination and strategic direction for the delivery of Natural England’s development plan work within National Delivery.
The postholder will:
- Champion development plan work as a key mechanism for nature recovery, promoting the value of proactive plan shaping internally and externally.
- Lead national oversight of a pipeline of Local Plans and Spatial Development Strategies (SDS), ensuring Natural England has a clear, coherent understanding of scale, timing, risks and opportunities across England.
- Ensure prioritisation and resourcing of development plan casework across Natural England, making sure that specialist time is deployed where it adds most value.
- Provide leadership and assurance on development plan delivery, ensuring consistent approaches, high quality advice, and effective risk management across the delivery.
- Act as the national coordination point, working with Area Team leads, specialists, Operations Managers, and Strategy colleagues to ensure that the organisation is aligned and that development plan commitments are delivered.
- Support and guide Area Teams, providing escalation routes, setting expectations and enabling teams to deliver high impact, evidence led advice on plan.
- Drive improvements to operational systems, including forward planning, tracking tools, prioritisation frameworks, and national standards for development plan casework.
The role requires strategic operational leadership, excellent judgement, strong stakeholder engagement skills, and deep understanding of the opportunities plan making offers for nature at landscape scale.
6389 - Principal Officer - Development Plan Delivery employer: Natural England
Contact Detail:
Natural England Recruiting Team
StudySmarter Expert Advice 🤫
We think this is how you could land 6389 - Principal Officer - Development Plan Delivery
✨Tip Number 1
Network like a pro! Get out there and connect with people in the industry. Attend events, join online forums, or even reach out on LinkedIn. You never know who might have the inside scoop on job openings or can put in a good word for you.
✨Tip Number 2
Prepare for interviews by researching the company and its values. Understand how your skills align with their mission, especially around nature recovery and sustainable growth. This will help you stand out as someone who truly gets what they’re about.
✨Tip Number 3
Practice makes perfect! Do mock interviews with friends or family to get comfortable with common questions. Focus on articulating your experience in a way that highlights your strategic thinking and leadership skills relevant to development plans.
✨Tip Number 4
Don’t forget to apply through our website! It’s the best way to ensure your application gets seen. Plus, we love seeing candidates who are proactive and engaged with our mission of supporting thriving nature for people and planet.
We think you need these skills to ace 6389 - Principal Officer - Development Plan Delivery
Some tips for your application 🫡
Know the Role Inside Out: Before you start writing, make sure you really understand what the Principal Officer role is all about. Dive into the job description and highlight key responsibilities and skills. This will help us see how your experience aligns with what we're looking for.
Tailor Your Application: Don’t just send a generic application! We want to see how your unique skills and experiences relate specifically to the development plan delivery. Use examples from your past work that showcase your ability to champion nature recovery and lead teams effectively.
Be Clear and Concise: When writing your application, clarity is key. Use straightforward language and avoid jargon where possible. We appreciate well-structured applications that get straight to the point while still showcasing your personality and passion for the role.
Apply Through Our Website: Make sure to submit your application through our website. It’s the best way for us to receive your details and ensures you’re considered for the role. Plus, it’s super easy to do!
How to prepare for a job interview at Natural England
✨Know Your Stuff
Make sure you’re well-versed in Natural England’s mission and the specifics of the role. Familiarise yourself with their strategic outcomes, especially how they relate to development plans and nature recovery. This will show your genuine interest and understanding of the organisation's goals.
✨Showcase Your Leadership Skills
As this role involves national oversight and coordination, be prepared to discuss your previous leadership experiences. Think of examples where you've successfully led teams or projects, particularly in planning or environmental contexts, and how you navigated challenges.
✨Engage with Stakeholders
Highlight your experience in stakeholder engagement. Be ready to share specific instances where you’ve collaborated with various partners or teams to achieve a common goal. This is crucial for demonstrating your ability to work across different areas within Natural England.
✨Prepare Questions
Have thoughtful questions ready for your interviewers. Ask about the current challenges facing the Major Planning Casework Team or how they measure success in development plan delivery. This shows that you’re proactive and genuinely interested in contributing to their mission.
