6522 - Nature Restoration Fund Higher Data Officer

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.

We’re looking for motivated team players to join a unique, high‑profile cross‑Government Funding Programme—the Nature Restoration Fund (NRF). You’ll be part of a fast‑paced, supportive and creative team committed to influencing policy that will help to deliver sustainable growth and meaningful nature recovery.

Key Tasks and Accountabilities

• Manage and maintain the NRF Data tracker, ensuring up-to-date details and licensing, including opportunities to implement improvements.
• Undertake data analysis tasks.
• Support data licensing work for the NRF programme.
• Ensure data policies align with legal and regulatory requirements and generate reports on data compliance and performance, where required.
• Support on data elements across the NRF programme, including validation and cleaning.
• Lead integration with the project management team and escalate data risks to seniors where necessary.

Skills and Knowledge

• Background and practical experience in handling data and information management (data licensing, management and use), including compliance (GDPR etc).
• IT data analysis skills.
• Ability to work to specified standards, service levels and timeframes.
• Ability to prioritise over the short term to meet deadlines.
• Ability to communicate effectively with others, understanding them and working collaboratively to build strong working/partner relationships.
• Strong digital skills in Excel, SharePoint, etc.
• Experience with relational databases, SQL, Python (desirable).
• Experience in Power BI for creating reports and dashboards (desirable).
• Experience with automation tools (e.g. Power Automate) for improving workflows.
• Familiarity with cloud‑based geospatial platforms (e.g., ArcGIS Online, Enterprise Portal) (desirable).

Benefits

• Full‑time, part‑time and flexible working arrangements.
• Excellent opportunities for career progression, training and development tailored to your role, including ten days annually for personal learning and development, plus three additional days for volunteering.
• Generous leave allowance of 25 days per year (pro rata), increasing by 1 day for each year served up to 30 days (pro rata).
• Access to the Civil Service Pension scheme with a 28.97% employer contribution.
• Range of benefits such as shopping discounts and a cycle‑to‑work scheme.
• Staff can also join the Civil Service Sport club for discounts on sports, leisure activities and social events.

We are committed to fairness, equality and inclusivity. Our employee‑led diversity networks help foster a welcoming environment where everyone feels valued and supported.