New Towns and Homes Accelerator Senior Officer - ( Ref : 6371 )

Do you want to make a real difference, working in a high priority area, securing significant environmental gains in the present and the future? Do you enjoy working in and leading a team? If so, this role may interest you as an opportunity to create a better future for people and nature. The roles are based across England in our Area Teams. Some travel may be required.

Natural England’s Area Teams use a range of mechanisms including land management and planning advice, engagement with stakeholders and direct management of our own land, to achieve the protection and enhancement of biodiversity and landscapes within its area. Natural England’s new Strategy includes making a shift from isolated interventions to nature recovery happening at scale, ensuring our efforts deliver lasting improvement across whole landscapes and seascapes. As part of this, our sustainable development work is helping build better places and ensure nature is designed into development and improve health and wellbeing by building nature into everyday life so people can support, access and benefit from nature, wherever they live.

Natural England is uniquely positioned to shape the next generation of New Towns and help facilitate the government ambition to deliver 1.5 million new homes in the UK. This is an exciting opportunity to reimagine urban development and create nature rich, vibrant, inclusive and sustainable New Towns, and make a strong contribution to the delivery of housing development through the New Homes Accelerator programme, which focuses on unblocking and accelerating large housing developments whilst maximising opportunities for nature recovery.

• Work closely with NE’s national Homes Accelerator and/or national New Towns leads to identify and address specific thematic issues causing delays to large housing development sites and provide proactive advice and support to developers and local planning authorities to expedite the development process.
• Promote the benefits of early engagement with Natural England and the opportunity to revisit solutions and opportunities for the natural environment.
• Build partnerships with customers and stakeholders to resolve complex issues affecting housing proposals. Provide clear, pragmatic, evidence-based advice, seeking opportunities to maximise delivery through our discretionary advice service (DAS).
• Build trusted relationships with local planning authorities, developers and wider partners, using your advice and influence to embed nature and its benefits into design and development.
• Be creative and solution focused, using your knowledge of placemaking, green infrastructure (GI), ecology and landscape to show how development and nature can work holistically to achieve healthy resilient places where people want to live and work.
• Work closely with national specialists and coordinators to provide support and advice to developers, local authorities, master planners and communities in designing New Towns and in support of our Lead Environmental Regulator role with other Arms-Length Bodies (e.g. Environment Agency).
• Use tools such as the GI Standards, GI Design Guide, and Natural England’s strategic mapping to unlock opportunities for multifunctional green and blue spaces, climate adaptation and community wellbeing.
• Engage with environmental issues at a strategic scale to streamline regulation for the benefit of nature and growth, supporting the design and implementation of strategic mitigation schemes which can unlock housing at scale.
• Enable developers to use tools such as GI Standards and Environmental Delivery Plans (EDPs) (as these are developed) to secure planning approvals and gains for people and nature.
• Integrate mechanisms such as Local Nature Recovery Strategies, (LNRS) strategic mitigation schemes, health and inclusion approaches to support high-quality urban placemaking.
• Support and work collaboratively with other sustainable development advisers within the team, including support at external and internal meetings, providing a clear steer and consistent advice on complex issues affecting housing delivery and escalating risk through appropriate channels.
• Contribute to the broader leadership of the area team through active participation in cross-team groups and briefings to NE senior leadership, ensuring consistency in advice on large housing proposals.

• The ability to see the big picture, so you can steer sustainable development work within the context of Natural England’s Strategy and help colleagues understand how their work relates to and supports this.
• The ability to build collaborative relationships with colleagues (both internally and externally) to help make things happen and deliver outcomes.
• The ability to direct, coach and support staff to deliver on sustainable development objectives.
• The ability to resolve problems and manage risks with good judgement and seek innovative solutions.
• Strong planning, prioritisation, and organisational ability to manage complex delivery areas with competing demands.
• Excellent written and oral communications skills.
• Robust and current knowledge of relevant legislation and guidance and how to apply and interpret it to NE’s activities and duties.
• Strong understanding of environmental protection in England and the legislation that underpins it.
• Demonstrable experience of UK ecology with a broad understanding of priority habitats and species.

We welcome and encourage applications from all communities. Natural England is accredited to the Disability Confident Scheme, which denotes organisations which have a positive attitude towards disabled people. Disabled applicants who meet the minimum requirements for the role at the shortlisting stage are guaranteed an invitation to interview.

If you require a reasonable adjustment at interview, or there is anything else you would like the panel to take into consideration, you should notify us of this at application stage where possible, or well in advance of your interview. We now provide primary interview questions in advance for all formal recruitments.

This vacancy uses competency-based assessment. We will assess you against the competencies below during the selection process:

• Technical Skills and Knowledge
• Personal Effectiveness
• Putting People at the Heart of the Environment
• Work Delivery

When completing the application form you should present relevant examples using the STAR format. Give us an example of how you have demonstrated the competency (which can be work related or from another area of your life) and tell us about the Situation, the specific Task you had to undertake, the specific Actions you took, and the Result (both immediate and in a wider context) of your Action.

Please note: STAR format is not required when answering a Technical Skills & Knowledge competency. Examples should be given in no more than 250 words for each competency.

If you are successful at the shortlisting stage, you will be invited to attend an interview via MS Teams or a suitable alternative, where you will be asked to give examples for all competencies as set out in the Job Description.

Please note: Artificial Intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application. However, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action. Please see our candidate guidance for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.

• Good knowledge of Natural England’s Green Infrastructure Framework and Standards, Biodiversity Net Gain and Nature Towns and Cities (Essential).
• Technical expertise and applied experience of the planning system to shape environmental solutions for designated sites, protected landscapes and species (Essential).
• Technical expertise in and experience of planning mechanisms and their application for nature recovery – e.g. Habitats Regulations Assessments, Development Plan process, Sustainability Appraisals, Environmental Impact Assessments (or others). Ability to understand new planning processes and how they might be applied to enable the delivery of enhanced nature recovery (Essential).
• Knowledge of how local authorities work, and/or basic ecological or land management knowledge, is also useful but not essential (Desirable).

• Use clear and appropriate language, communication styles and techniques that engage your audience (Practitioner).
• Make and explain objective decisions which combine your professional judgment and evidence (Expert).
• Be ambitious, identify and adopt ways to make improvements in your team and throughout your organisation and inspire others to act (Practitioner).

• Listen to and understand our diverse partners and customers so that you achieve the best outcomes for them and the organisation you represent (Practitioner).
• Work proactively and collaboratively with stakeholders and partners to identify and secure opportunities to deliver gains for people and nature (Practitioner).

• Understand your role in good governance, and comply with delegations, policies, and procedures (Practitioner).
• Manage and deliver your work to meet agreed targets and deadlines (Expert).