Vacancies

Environmental and biodiversity net gain consultant

Position:  Environmental, Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) consultant

Salary:  £25,000 – £50,000 depending upon experience and qualifications plus performance related bonus

Working Hours:  0900 – 1730 Monday to Friday*
* Ideally, we are looking for a full time professional but would consider part time for the right candidate.

Holiday:  20 – 25 days + bank holidays depending upon experience and qualifications

Main Place of work:  Rayleigh SS6 9QG with potential for hybrid working arrangements

About us

Established in 1988, we are a thriving firm of RICS and RTPI property professionals, specialising in land, property, and development.  We have offices in Rayleigh and Chelmsford. We are professional, ethical and are proud to be considered the leading firm of rural surveyors in the county.   This job offers the right candidate an exciting career opportunity with a welcoming, collaborative, and supportive working environment, where good work is recognised and rewarded.

About the role

  • Working on continuously evolving solutions for securing offsetting sites in response to the move towards sustainable development and the zero net loss of biodiversity requirements of land and renewable energy developers.
  • Advising and brokering environmental and biodiversity offsetting schemes countrywide, negotiating contract agreement terms whilst considering changing planning process timelines, cost sensitivity of developers and delivery of credible solutions.
  • Identifying suitable offsite offsetting locations and providers.
  • Negotiating compensation and terms associated with management agreements and the provision of offsite mitigation strategies.
  • Continuing to enhance and deliver management agreements and solutions to meet industry wide environmental offsetting requirements.
  • Expanding the professional network.
  • Taking ownership of management agreements and legal documentation to meet planning conditions and obligations.
  • Ensuring successful delivery of existing 10+ year management agreements including the annual audit process and management of any potential delivery issues.
  • Providing valuable insights on natural capital to professional networks through presentations, exhibitions, focus groups, Q&As and written contributions for wider business and community groups.
  • Providing advice to multiple stakeholders on how best to meet the new environmental policy requirements they are subject to.
  • Clearly communicating the rationale behind the commercials, potential risks and impacts associated with the offsetting solutions in order to determine project viability for a range of parties, including landowners and developers.
  • Advising private and public land portfolio managers on funding opportunities for environmental and offsetting schemes, ensuring this aligns with the clients own short and long-term business objectives, structure, and risk appetite.
  • Supporting other departments including the Renewables, Development and Planning teams in any of their environment related queries.

Ideal Candidate

An environmental or property professional with experience of working within one or more of the following sectors:

Land agency, sustainable land management and nature recovery, agriculture, farm business management, development, planning, environmental mitigation requirements such as BNG and species mitigation strategies.

Preferred Skills

Strong negotiation skills

An understanding and knowledge of:

  • sustainable land management and nature recovery
  • the agricultural sector and farm business management
  • the planning application process and environmental mitigation requirements such as BNG and species mitigation strategies

Influencing skills and the ability to build effective networks and positive working relationships with multiple stakeholders including new and existing clients, developers, and ecologists.

Strong written and verbal communication skills, comfortable presenting technical topics to those whom the content is new to.

Able to prioritise and problem solve in order to turn documentation around at short notice to meet planning and seasonal timelines.

Comfortable challenging the status quo and able to propose and develop solutions accordingly.

Recent and on-going  projects

  • Farmland bird mitigation strategies for solar farms countrywide.
  • BNG offsite agreements for developers ranging in size from circa 10 BNG units to 100 mixed units and priority habitat.
  • Reptile relocations.
  • Responses to government consultations on agricultural and environmental topics as part of wider focus groups.
  • Supporting Landscape Recovery funding bid applications and schemes.
  • Collaborating with Defra, Natural England (government bodies), Wildlife Trusts and landowners to determine appropriate market value for environmental management and offsetting schemes.

How to Apply

To apply for the position, please email your CV with a covering letter to Caroline Homewood at  c.homewood@whirledgeandnott.co.uk.  In the subject box of your email please quote reference AG8551/Environment

 

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