Ecological Consultant - East Anglia in Ipswich

Our core purpose is to enable nature and business to thrive together. Our brand mission is to be chosen by clients as their preferred specialists and regarded by people in our industry as the company to work for. We aim to be the most innovative, pragmatic and fast‑growing environmental consultancy in the UK. With offices across the UK, our experts are committed to delivering exceptional outcomes to our clients across a range of environmental services and ecological contracting.

We’re looking for an Ecological Consultant to join our dynamic and busy terrestrial ecology team in East Anglia. As an Ecological Consultant at Thomson your role will be varied – you’ll spend plenty of time out on site as well as working on reporting, client communication, project management and delivery. Travel and overnight stays are often part of the job, particularly during peak survey season, so this role would suit someone who enjoys being out and about and working across a range of locations. We’re looking for someone with strong communication skills and the ability to build lasting relationships with clients and colleagues alike. In return, you’ll have the opportunity to develop your technical expertise, work on meaningful projects, and grow within a supportive and passionate team.

If you’re ready to take your ecology career to the next level with a company who enables nature and business to thrive together, we’d love to hear from you!

Salary From £28,000 depending on skillset.

What Success in the Role Looks Like

• Delivering high‑quality field surveys safely, efficiently and in line with best practice and relevant legislation.
• Producing clear, accurate and well‑structured reports that meet both client needs and technical standards.
• Managing your workload confidently, keeping projects moving and communicating progress.
• Building strong working relationships with your Thomson colleagues and clients.
• Working towards your career goals, with support from your manager to develop both your technical expertise and consultancy skills.
• Contributing to a positive team culture, sharing knowledge, supporting others during busy periods and being willing to learn.
• Helping identify opportunities to improve our service and deliver great outcomes for both nature and our clients.

Requirements

• Proven previous experience in a similar role, ideally within a commercial consultancy.
• Strong field skills in one or more specialist areas.
• Working knowledge of relevant legislation, policy and survey best practices.
• Excellent communication skills, including the ability to write clear, concise reports.
• A positive attitude and a strong desire to develop and succeed.
• A valid driving licence and vehicle that can be insured for business use.
• The ability and willingness to travel and stay away at survey sites in various locations around the UK.
• To be located within 1 hour’s commute from our East Anglia (Ipswich) office.
• A degree or postgraduate degree in ecology or a closely related subject.
• Membership to the Chartered Institute of Ecological and Environmental Management (CIEEM).

It would be advantageous if you also had the following:

• Experience of project management, including forming and issuing quotes to clients.
• One or more protected species licences e.g. GCN, bat or dormouse.
• Ornithological skills.
• Botany skills.

We would particularly like to hear from people with bird, bat and/or badger skills. All applicants must have the Right to Work in the UK.

Working at Thomson

At Thomson, we strive to be the very best at what we do, both in the eyes of our customers and our colleagues. We believe in One Thomson; we draw on and value every individual’s unique skills and experience to come together and support each other in delivering an exceptional service. Our people are our greatest asset. We want Thomson to be a great place to work, where everyone feels supported to be the best they can be. We are proud of our friendly, supportive, “nothing is too much trouble” culture. We live and breathe our RISE (Respect, Integrity, Support, Excellence) values. Your opinions matter to us; we are constantly evolving. We promote a healthy work‑life balance to ensure we have an engaged, productive and happy team. We are flexible and committed and welcome new challenges. We recognise the importance in training and developing our team as well as offering a competitive pay and reward package. Involving ourselves in our local communities is important to us and we are proud of our continued achievements in fund‑raising for charity. We work hard but have fun too. We are passionate about career development so we make sure we nurture talent. Our people benefit from access to a diverse range of industry‑accredited external training, as well as in‑house training opportunities led by our specialists. The variety of projects we deliver across the breadth of environmental services encourages cross‑team working and collaboration. We can offer you the opportunity to contribute to and lead on high‑profile, once in a lifetime projects.

You’ll enjoy all the benefits we have to offer which include: 25 days annual leave, healthcare cash plan, enhanced stakeholder pension scheme, life insurance, discounted gym membership, paid professional memberships, clothing allowance, outstanding performance rewards, long service awards, free parking and regular local and company social events.

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion

As an equal opportunities employer, Thomson is committed to the equal treatment of all current and prospective employees and does not condone discrimination on the basis of age, gender reassignment, being married or in a civil partnership, being pregnant or on maternity leave, disability, race including colour, nationality, ethnic or national origin, religion or belief, sex, sexual orientation. We aspire to have a diverse and inclusive workplace and strongly encourage suitably qualified applicants from a wide range of backgrounds to apply to and join Thomson.