We are looking for a motivated graduate or early careers ecologist/environmental scientist to join the Environment Agency’s nuclear new build Habitats Regulations assessment team.
This role is an excellent opportunity to use your skills to help contribute to the UK’s net zero target and tackle the climate emergency and biodiversity crisis.
The Government’s Energy Security Strategy was released in April 2022, which seeks to address both the climate emergency and biodiversity crisis, with a target to deploy 24GW of nuclear power by 2050. This is an exciting time with the development of new nuclear power technologies; the scale of the projects may change in future, but the environmental complexities will remain as will the need for environmental permits and protections.
As a biodiversity technical officer, you will:
- work with and support our technical specialists, who in turn will provide you with support as you develop in your role
- help to provide pre-application advice and guidance to nuclear developers to construct and operate the stations
- help to assess permit applications under the Habitats Regulations and the Countryside and Rights of Way Act
The successful candidate will have knowledge of, and preferably some experience in, the requirements of the Habitats Regulations, Countryside and Rights of Way Act and environmental impact assessments.
Experience and skills
The post would be suited to anyone with an interest and knowledge in environmental protection, the Habitats Regulations, ecology and preferably air quality impacts on the environment.
You will need:
- knowledge of the impact that activities such as water discharges, water abstractions, and aerial emissions have on terrestrial, freshwater and marine ecology and how these impacts could be mitigated
- a good grasp of presenting and interpreting data using GIS and Office365 tools such as Word and Excel
- good communication, relationship-building, and team-working skills
- good work planning skills, including the ability to handle multiple priorities and deliver to tight timescales
Working for us
This is a national role in a dispersed team. You must be comfortable working as part of a dispersed team located across the country. The role will require some train travel with occasional overnight stays.
As an organisation we strive to reflect the communities we serve, we welcome applications from all backgrounds regardless of race, sexual orientation, and religion. We also welcome applications for part-time hours.
You can apply for the role here, more information on working for the Environment Agency is available here