Ecologist/Ornithologist (DCO/HRA) - Associate / Technical Director - Nationwide in London

Working for Wood: With 40,000 professionals across 60 countries, Wood is truly international and we embrace and nurture the diversity of our people in this extended team. Our shared vision of a better tomorrow is driven by our shared purpose and the goals we set ourselves in delivering Wood's contribution to global sustainable development. Within the UK, Wood has one of the largest biodiversity, EIA and planning practices. Our UK biodiversity team is comprised of around 70 diverse and passionate specialists who take pride in delivering a wide range of high-quality ecological services on complex projects across a diverse range of sectors in UK and international markets, including low carbon and hydrogen, transport, renewables, nuclear, power, waste, minerals and property.

We have a fantastic opportunity for an experienced Associate Director/Technical Director to join our existing biodiversity team. This is a post of strategic significance to our team as we expand our project portfolio and our ambitious growth objectives. The role represents an exciting opportunity to manage and deliver biodiversity inputs into our expansive range of NSIP projects and to be part of the successful growth agenda, by working as a team to secure new interesting and challenging projects. We pride ourselves in operating at the leading edge of professional practice, with a reputation for innovation and technical excellence. Open to applications nationwide, we are looking for an ambitious, driven and experienced practitioner who is focused on finding solutions and who is passionate about delivering technical excellence.

We are seeking a candidate who can provide clear and innovative ecology and/or ornithology advice and who is capable of leading on the biodiversity elements of major development projects, during both project delivery and business development phases. The successful applicant will enjoy the benefits of working within a caring ‘people first’ team which champions Wood’s commitments to diversity, inclusion and equality.

The role will involve:

• Providing clients with accurate, innovative and proportionate biodiversity technical and consenting advice in relation to DCOs and significant infrastructure projects in the UK and worldwide.
• Providing technical leadership across the biodiversity team to deliver inputs across all project lifecycles from bidding/feasibility/optioneering, extensive field survey programme, detailed design and assessment.
• Acting as technical lead for the production of ecological assessments from project inception through to project completion, including authoring biodiversity chapters of Environmental Statements and HRA with the associated quality, schedule and budget management responsibilities.
• Representing Wood and its clients to key stakeholders, including wide-ranging technical engagement and consultation with regulators, local authorities, NGOs and the general public.
• Mentoring, coaching and supporting junior staff. We are passionate about continual professional development and look to our senior staff to provide on-the-job coaching, mentoring and support to ensure our team members grow and develop to achieve their aspirations and meet our client needs.
• Networking across the wider UK consultancy business, developing relationships with other technical disciplines in the pursuit of enhancing our offer to the market and in striving to continually innovate approaches, techniques, and solutions for our clients.
• Acting with autonomy to deliver thought leadership that will drive and develop market-leading technically excellent services and identifying new opportunities across the market to sustain continued growth and expansion in the team.

The successful candidate will have:

• A significant body of experience at a senior/director level within an organisation delivering major infrastructure projects within the UK and ideally overseas.
• Demonstrable track record in the leadership of biodiversity contributions (including HRA) to DCO projects, ideally with Expert Witness/Examination experience.
• Team leadership experience, including within the project context and wider technical discipline leadership.
• Demonstrable and detailed knowledge of the marketplace and market trends for biodiversity services and insight into how to adapt to meet these challenges.
• A willingness, appetite and enthusiasm for new challenges and for being central to the growth and continual technical development of our biodiversity team.
• Ideally will have an industry recognised status.
• Experience of Habitat Classification / Biodiversity Net Gain.

Competitive director level salary, flexible working, company car or cash alternative (includes personal use), competitive 25 days holiday (in addition to bank holidays) with options to buy/sell additional days leave, flexible benefits scheme including health insurance for self and dependents, enhanced maternity and primary carer allowances, life insurance, dental insurance, cycle to work scheme and generous pension scheme contributions.

Wood is a global leader in engineering and consultancy across energy and the built environment, helping to unlock solutions to some of the world’s most critical challenges. We provide consulting, projects and operations solutions in more than 60 countries, employing around 40,000 people.

We are an equal opportunity employer that recognises the value of a diverse workforce. All suitably qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment on the basis of objective criteria and without regard to race, colour, age, religion, gender, national origin, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, protected veteran status, or other characteristics in accordance with the relevant governing laws.