6559 - Higher Officer, Sustainable Development in Crewe

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.

Our Role

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 purpose of this role is to provide advice on Local Plans and associated strategic planning documents, the Green Infrastructure Framework, and as required development management casework within the area team. Natural England aims to provide early, and proactive advice based on the best available evidence. You will work closely with external partners to reach solutions which deliver sustainable growth while securing positive environmental outcomes.

We are looking for someone with knowledge of the planning system and processes however they must also be keen to develop their skills in a fast‑paced role which will have the opportunity to work on high‑profile plans and projects. We also need someone who can demonstrate that they can build and develop positive relationships with colleagues and external partners as this will be fundamental to successful delivery.

This role will work closely with Sustainable Development Senior Officers in the team and will have the opportunity to shadow more complex work. This role will be based in Natural England’s Cheshire to Lancashire Area Team and will help to deliver Natural England’s vision for Nature Recovery and Building Better Places through supporting our sustainable development work. The Area Team covers four counties of Cheshire, Greater Manchester, Liverpool City Region and Lancashire. It includes the uplands of Forest of Bowland and West Pennines through the diverse lowlands of Cheshire to the rich coastal habitats of the Irish Sea coast and its wealth of estuaries, and the large conurbations of Liverpool and Manchester. Flexible working options are supported, and regular travel within Cheshire to Lancashire is required for site visits and meetings.

Key Tasks / Principal Accountabilities

• Deliver timely, high quality, pragmatic and legally sound advice to planning authorities and developers in the area team geography, focussing on provision of advice on Strategic Planning (Local Plans) associated Habitats Regulations Assessments and Green Infrastructure.
• Support Senior Officers in the delivery of High Risk and High Opportunity casework, as required, building your expertise to deliver quality‑assured and robust advice on major plans and projects and through escalating risk through appropriate channels.
• Build partnerships with customers and stakeholders to resolve complex planning issues in order to support nature recovery, often through use of chargeable services that support better environmental outcomes.
• Proactively work with partners on opportunities that take forward NE nature recovery goals including use of biodiversity net gain, provision of high quality green and blue infrastructure, and creating opportunities for better connections between people and nature.
• Play a leading role in promoting and supporting the implementation of Natural England’s Green Infrastructure Framework within the team.
• Apply the highest standards of record keeping and decision making to demonstrate that legislation, policy and governance frameworks are followed, and consistent advice is delivered to customers.