Principal Ecologist

My client is one of the UK’s leading independent environmental consultancies, specialising in environmental assessments, planning, policy advice and sustainability. They are currently seeking a Principal Ecologist located in London.  

As a dynamic and growing business, they are looking for a self-motivated and positive-minded Principal Ecologist to join their friendly team in one of their regional offices. The successful applicant would be involved in all areas of their work, managing a team of ecologists to find ecologically smart, commercially efficient and cost-effective solutions for projects on a variety of scales.  

Day to day, you would be managing individual contracts and supporting staff, drafting high quality reports and reviewing technical work, whilst supporting clients and their design teams to identify solutions to their problems. They are keen to continue to grow their business, and you would therefore support the delivery of the business development strategy by costing and tendering for work, increasing invitations to bid, and finding new ways for the business to diversify and thrive.  

This role would provide you with an opportunity to gain exposure to a wide variety of interesting projects and clients and develop skills in all aspects of consultancy work. They would like to offer you the chance to help shape the future of the business as well as your own career.  

Applications are particularly welcome from ecologists who have botany as a specialism and are, or could be certified at FISC level 4 or above  

The company is defined by their unique culture – one that puts people at the core of everything they do. They strive to create a friendly and supportive working environment, encouraging staff to take advantage of every opportunity for professional development and assisting them in their career progression. Joining the Ecology Consultancy is a chance to be part of close-knit, fun, openminded and driven team that really cares about what they do and prides itself on the quality of their work.

- Hold an appropriate degree qualification;  

- Have a minimum of 8 years’ relevant work experience;  

- Have excellent knowledge of UK and European environmental legislation;  

- Have excellent fieldwork and report writing skills including protected species surveys, EPSM applications, ES chapters and ecological management plans;  

- Be able to critically review own output and possess a minimum 5 years’ experience in reviewing others’ work;  

- Be competent in the survey of and mitigation for 2 or more of the following key protected species: bats, badgers, breeding birds, dormouse, great crested newts, reptiles, and water voles;  

- Hold an EPS and/or conservation licence for one or more of the above species groups, and preferably be a Registered consultant on the class license scheme for one or more of the above species groups:  

- Have proven project and staff management experience;  

- Be confident and able to manage own workload, be proactive in managing projects and be able to delegate to and provide support to junior staff as appropriate;  

- Be proficient in customer service and the ability to deliver and lead training events and workshops, both internally to The Ecology Consultancy and externally to clients and other stakeholders;  

- Hold full membership of the Chartered Institute of Ecology and Environmental Management (CIEEM) and preferably CEcoL ;  

- Have proven qualities of a proactive self-starter with an ability to use own initiative when appropriate;  

- Have a full clean UK driving licence.  

- They also have a specific requirement for an experienced ecologist with experience in high level reptile mitigation.