Natural Capital Consultant in Bicester

Nicholsons is seeking a commercially astute land management professional to help rural landowners and developers turn natural capital opportunities into resilient, investable and environmentally credible long-term outcomes. Working alongside our experienced technical team and sector partners, you will advise on land-use choices, commercial viability, environmental risk and delivery, helping clients secure sustainable returns while enhancing the long-term resilience of rural land and businesses.

Join a multidisciplinary practice where natural capital is approached as a practical land-management and commercial proposition:

• Deliver Trusted Advice: Provide clear, evidence-led advice that balances environmental ambition with land-use constraints, investment priorities and deliverable outcomes.
• Collaboration and Growth: Work closely with experienced colleagues, sharing knowledge and supporting a culture of learning, inclusion and development across the business.
• Interdisciplinary Collaboration: Work closely with sister disciplines in ecology, arboriculture, forestry, landscapes and design, contributing to a holistic approach to project challenges and opportunities.
• Commercially Relevant Projects: Advise on land management and development projects that create viable income, manage risk and deliver measurable environmental value.
• Sector Influence: Use Nicholsons' industry relationships to inform emerging practice, contribute to policy discussions and help clients navigate a changing natural capital landscape.

Key Responsibilities:

• Advise landowners and developers on their natural capital baseline, identify commercially and environmentally viable opportunities, and assess how these can be developed through established and emerging ecosystem-services markets.
• Build trusted client relationships and lead the evaluation of land-use options, revenue models, delivery risks and practical routes to implementation.
• Maintain a strong working knowledge of established and emerging markets, including carbon sequestration, Biodiversity Net Gain, flood protection, nutrient neutrality and regenerative agriculture.
• Translate technical and market insight into clear reports, client recommendations, knowledge sharing and training across the wider business.

The ideal candidate will:

• Demonstrate sound professional judgement, creative problem-solving and a record of taking complex land or environmental projects from opportunity assessment through to delivery.
• Bring practical experience in rural estate or land management, with a sound understanding of farm and estate economics, land-use trade-offs, tenure, regulation and the commercial realities facing rural businesses.
• Have a working knowledge of natural capital, environmental land use and the developing policy and market mechanisms that shape investment decisions.
• Have a good understanding of planning policy as it relates to the environment, in particular, in terms of Biodiversity Net Gain, Environmental Impact Assessments and Green Infrastructure.
• Working knowledge of hydrology, including catchment processes, surface-water management, flood risk and the interpretation of hydrological data in rural land-use projects is desirable.
• Have good working knowledge of GIS mapping.
• Have strong communication and stakeholder engagement skills with the ability to build positive working relationships.
• Combine commercial understanding with strong project management, including the ability to test business cases, manage delivery risk and communicate recommendations with authority.
• The candidate could come from an environmental science, forestry, landscapes or land management background.

This is a full-time position, Monday to Friday, 40 hours per week. Apply now to embark on this exciting journey with Nicholsons, where innovation meets nature.