Ecology Manager

Job details

Salary range: £51,515 to £54,702 per annum
Work location: County Hall, Oxford
Hours per week: 37 – we are open to discussions about flexible working
Contract type: Permanent
Closing date: 20th October
Interview date: Week Commencing 11th November

Are you an experienced ecologist who loves to share your knowledge and experiences to promote
data driven decision making? Do you enjoy working with clients to scope, win and deliver
ecological project work?

Have you the skills to ensure your team complete all aspects of both field and data-based
project delivery successfully?

Would you like to join us in a senior position, leading the projects team, growing this side of
our work, and ensuring Thames Valley Environmental Records Centre (TVERC) delivers a wide
variety of interesting and valuable projects for our clients, community and the natural
environments of Berkshire and Oxfordshire?

About Us

Thames Valley Environmental Records Centre (TVERC) is the environmental records centre for
Berkshire and Oxfordshire. TVERC is a partnership organisation between all twelve Local
Authorities across Berkshire and Oxfordshire and the Environment Agency.

TVERC collects, manages, analyses and shares environmental data with a wide range of customers
to enable evidence-based decision-making about the natural environment. People use our services
to make sound decisions about how to develop and manage land sustainably, where to direct
wildlife conservation work and for scientific education and research. See www.tverc.org.

About the Role

The Ecology Manager is a senior role within TVERC and works closely with the Director to help
TVERC deliver its’ goals. This includes providing a high level of technical expertise to our
organisation and stakeholders.

We need an experienced ecologist who can take charge of all TVERC’s project functions and
successfully grow these activities in the coming years. You will build strong relationships
with clients and stakeholders to conceive and secure agreements for ecological project work.
Then make sure these are satisfactorily delivered within scope, budget, and time.

The Ecology Manager is responsible for managing the Biodiversity Projects team. This includes
our Ecological Surveyors who run the Local Wildlife Sites projects and other field work
alongside Projects Officers who focus more on data analysis project work. With your team you
will manage all aspects of delivering a broad and varied programme of projects throughout their
whole lifecycle.

The Environment Bill is one of various initiatives that are driving a growing use of
information about our natural world to shape plans and policy. Opportunity Mapping,
Biodiversity Net Gain and Natural Capital Accounting are important additional growth areas of
work for TVERC. These are adding to our existing functions of monitoring and reporting the
status of Biodiversity and Geodiversity in the two counties. You will be critical to help TVERC
adapt to these opportunities extending our products and services to support the changing needs
of our customers and communities.

Immediately, the Ecology Manager is key for TVERC to support Oxfordshire and Berkshire
implement their Nature Recovery Strategies and handle Biodiversity Net Gain policy coming into
effect. You have an important role to influence the delivery phases of both to ensure they are
successful, well monitored and have a positive impact on the natural world.

About you

We are seeking a senior ecologist who understands the planning system and can demonstrate
success in winning, planning and delivering a variety of environmental field and data projects.
This includes experience of agreeing and managing the project budgets effectively.

Experience of working with a variety of partners and customers from the public, private and
academic sectors would be helpful.

You can manage and develop a small multi-functional team; demonstrate a high level of
professionalism and enjoy sharing your ecological and analytical expertise.

You identify and respond effectively to new opportunities to obtain and use data in the natural
environment sector. Experience of Biodiversity Net Gain in development and Natural Capital
Assessments would be useful.

Data and helping people use it successfully is our world. You are
a competent and confident advanced user of GIS and Data Analysis software tools for analysing
and presenting environmental data.

Finally, it is essential you can communicate effectively, within the team, with our
stakeholders and community to deliver an excellent service to our customers.

Rewards and benefits

It really is true that every single job role here contributes to bettering the lives of the
people in our counties – we want to do this for our employees too.

• Culture of flexible working
• Technology to support agile working where role permits
• Up to 33 day’s holiday p.a. plus bank holidays
• Option to ‘buy’ additional holiday
• Employee Assistance Programme including access to health and wellbeing support
• Membership of the Local Government contributory pension scheme, with an employer’s
  contribution of up to 19.9%
• Enhanced family friendly policies
• Local and national discounts for shopping and travel
• Great learning and development opportunities to support your ongoing development

Would you like to know more?

For an informal discussion about the role, please contact Steve Wilkes (Thames Valley
Environmental Records Centre Director) on [email protected]

Application Procedure

If you are shortlisted, you will be required to complete an exercise and prepare a presentation
in your own time. Then deliver the presentation during the interview.

The details of the exercise and presentation will be shared with candidates if they have been
shortlisted.

Initial interviews will be with a panel from TVERC’s stakeholders, held by in person at County
Hall, Oxford and are expected to last for approximately 1.5 hours.

Our commitment to: Equality, Diversity and Inclusion

At Oxfordshire County Council we are proud of our diverse workforce. Everyone is accepted for
who they are, regardless of age, disability, gender identity, marital status, race, faith or
belief, sexual orientation, socioeconomic background, or on maternity or family leave. We have
a number of staff network groups which provide peer support, education and safe spaces for all.

Our commitment to: Guaranteed Interview Schemes

As a Disability Confident employer, we guarantee an interview for disabled applicants who meet
the essential criteria for the job. We also guarantee interviews to care leavers who have
completed further education and who meet the essential criteria for the job. For those leaving
care without any further education, we guarantee an interview for our apprenticeships. We are
also committed to helping and supporting those transitioning from HM Armed Forces to civilian
life and guarantee an interview for those demonstrating the essential criteria for the role,
within three years of leaving the service.

Our commitment to: Safeguarding

Oxfordshire County Council are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children,
young people and adults. We expect all employees, workers and volunteers
to share this commitment. We will ensure that all our recruitment and selection practices
reflect these commitments.

Our commitment to: Flexible Working

We are open to discussions about flexible working, which can include flexi-time, part time
working, job sharing, nine-day fortnights and annualised hours, depending on the requirements
of the role and the service.

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