Natural Environment Support Officer in Exeter

This is an exciting opportunity for a motivated graduate who is passionate about nature recovery and eager to apply strong communication and engagement skills to help address Devon's Ecological Emergency. This role will provide flexible operational, coordination and engagement support to Devon County Council's Natural Environment Team, with a particular focus on assisting the delivery of the Local Nature Recovery Strategy (LNRS) and the effective functioning of the Local Nature Partnership (LNP).

Working closely with the LNP Manager and Nature Recovery Manager, you will help maintain strong relationships with partners, support key projects and initiatives, and contribute to ensuring that the aims of the LNRS and LNP are understood, accessible and actionable across Devon's natural environment sector. This role is part of the University of Exeter's Graduate Business Partnership (GBP) scheme and is for full time hours (36.5 p/w) for 12 months initially. You will be employed by the University of Exeter and seconded to Devon County Council's Environment Team. The role includes travel to meetings and workshops across Devon, with a minimum expectation of two days per week in the Exeter office.

About You – You should be a graduate who has a strong interest in the natural environment and a genuine motivation to support nature recovery in Devon, has good written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to communicate clearly, confidently and appropriately with different audiences, and organisation skills including the ability to help plan and coordinate meetings, workshops, events or collaborative activities. You should have interpersonal skills and the ability to build positive working relationships with a wide range of partners, stakeholders and community groups, the ability to manage multiple tasks, adapt to changing priorities and maintain a proactive, solution focused approach, and good attention to detail and a commitment to producing accurate, high quality work.

You should be able to work independently and as part of a team, be confident using digital platforms and tools, including social media, websites and online collaboration tools, be competent in Microsoft Office applications, and have an interest in partnership working and enthusiasm for supporting collaborative projects across sectors. It is desirable if you have experience updating or maintaining websites, creating visual or written content for communications, engagement or educational purposes, skills in graphic design tools (e.g. Canva, Adobe Creative Suite) or confidence producing visual materials, experience or interest in simple video editing or content creation tools, supporting partnership projects, environmental initiatives or cross sectoral collaboration, or knowledge of environmental topics relevant to Devon, such as nature recovery, biodiversity, land management, marine issues or community engagement.

The Benefits to You - You will have access to a wide range of benefits, rewards and recognition from the University, including a generous pension, a holiday allowance of 39 days per year, Totum Card and Salary Exchange Schemes. The University offers extensive support to staff, including a structured Professional Development Review and Wellbeing Service plus 1:1 support from the Internships Team. You will be offered a 'How to Make the Most of Your Internship' guide, bespoke mentoring, and career consultancy opportunities.

Application Closing Date: 1 March

Interviews: 11 March

Please apply by completing the Internship Application Form, following instructions on the form and returning it to The Internships Team as an email attachment by the closing date: 1/3/2026. We do not accept CVs so please make sure you send a completed application form.