See job eligibility requirements: Adviser- Citizen Science (Natural Capital and Ecosystem Assessment)

Reference number

270813

Salary

£23,315

Job grade

Executive Officer

Adviser

Contract type

Fixed Term

Length of employment

Until 31st March 2025

Type of role

Environment and Sustainability

Working pattern

Full-time, Job share, Part-time

Number of jobs available

Location

East Midlands (England), East of England, London (region), North East England, North West England, South East England, South West England, West Midlands (England), Yorkshire and the Humber

About the job

Job summary

This position is based nationally

Job description

The team

The Evidence team within the Chief Scientist Directorate provides scientific and evidence leadership, services, and support to help Natural England operate as an evidence-led organisation. The team is responsible for delivering Natural England’s part of the Natural Capital and Ecosystem Assessment (NCEA). The NCEA is a transformative programme to understand the extent, condition and change over time of environmental assets across England’s land and water environments, supporting the government’s ambition to improve the environment within a generation. Data will come from Earth Observation, professional field data collection, citizen science and partner data sets.

Natural England’s NCEA pilot is organised into projects:

Mapping and Earth Observation – Spatial data and maps on natural capital to inform national and local decision making and delivery.
Data mobilisation – Making NCEA, partner and volunteer data available for analysis, integration, and use.
Field data collection – Data on habitats, soils, landscapes, and species to understand the condition of natural capital assets.
Citizen science – Working with citizens and community science to fill gaps, provide local and landscape scale information and engaging the public.
Data integration and reporting – Producing high quality evidence products by analysing and integration NCEA data.
Programme management – Managing Natural England’s NCEA programme.

England Peat Map – Mapping the extent and condition of England’s peatlands

Job description

This role will focus on delivering Natural England’s contribution to the Defra Citizen Science Project. It is one of several projects being undertaken as part of the wider, Defra funded, Natural Capital and Ecosystem Assessment (NCEA) programme. The programme aims to advance the capability and capacity of our monitoring and evidence to inform societal choices impacting environmental and nature recovery.

The Citizen Science Project aims to explore and respond to opportunities and challenges for citizen science to become a more integral part of our strategic monitoring programme. The project also aims to understand how we can advance the capacity and capability of the public to study and record data about nature and the environment, and how our projects and programmes can make more premeditative use of public study to collect this invaluable data.

The post holder will deliver to the objectives of our Citizen Science Strategy, assisting the teams work with colleagues in JNCC (Joint Nature Conservation Committee), EA (Environment Agency), Defra (The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs), and FR (Forest Research).

Key tasks and principal accountabilities:

Working as part of a close working team, the postholder will;

Collaborate with team members and members of other teams across NCEA workstreams to help us coordinate and integrate our work.
Support the planning and development of meetings and workshops.
Support with managing communications with partners and stakeholders.
Provide the team with office support including procurement, scheduling meetings, note taking and filing etc.

Skills and Knowledge

Excellent written and verbal communication – essential
Ability to be organised and prioritise tasks – essential
Experience of working with others to achieve joint outcomes – essential
Experience of working in a fast-paced environment, delivering work within deadlines, and contributing to team targets – essential
Experience and knowledge of citizen science and working with volunteers – desirable
Knowledge of environmental monitoring and new technologies – desirable

The post holder will need to show flexibility to contribute to other work should team priorities or resources change.

This post will involve some national (England) travel to internal NE and Defra meetings, and meetings with stakeholders and contractors.

Competencies

Competence 1

Professional competency

Detail

Communicate Effectively (practitioner)

Description

Use clear and appropriate language, communication styles and techniques that engage your audience
• Listen well and take time to understand the other person’s point of view

Competence 2

Professional competency

Detail

Work Delivery

Description

Manage and deliver your work to meet agreed targets and deadlines
• Handle data responsibly, understand your role in good governance, and comply with delegations, policies, and procedures

Competence 3

Professional competency

Detail

Personal Effectiveness

Description

Be ambitious, identify and adopt ways to make improvements in your team and your organisation and inspire others to act (practitioner)
• Make and explain objective decisions which combine your professional judgement and evidence (Practitioner)

Competence 4

Professional competency

Detail

Technical knowledge and skills (STAR format not required)

Description

Organising internal meetings and minute taking
• Experience planning and organising meetings and/or workshops.
• Strong IT skills (Including Microsoft office)
• Excellent communication skills
Desirable:
• Experience working with charities and voluntary organisations
• Experience of biological surveys or a biological/ecological background

Person specification

Please refer to Job Description

Benefits

Learning and development tailored to your role
An environment with flexible working options
A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity
A Civil Service pension with an average employer contribution of 27%

Things you need to know

Selection process details

Please refer to Job Description

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check.

People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.

Nationality requirements

This job is broadly open to the following groups:

UK nationals
nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
nationals of the Republic of Ireland
nationals from the EU, EEA or Switzerland with settled or pre-settled status or who apply for either status by the deadline of the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (opens in a new window)
relevant EU, EEA, Swiss or Turkish nationals working in the Civil Service
relevant EU, EEA, Swiss or Turkish nationals who have built up the right to work in the Civil Service
certain family members of the relevant EU, EEA, Swiss or Turkish nationals

Further information on nationality requirements (opens in a new window)

Working for the Civil Service

The Civil Service Code (opens in a new window) sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.

We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission’s recruitment principles (opens in a new window).

The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.

Apply and further information

The Civil Service welcomes applications from people who have recently left prison or have an unspent conviction. Read more about prison leaver recruitment (opens in new window).

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