Principal Ecologist

Beca Pty. Ltd.; Melbourne; On-site; AUD 140,000 - 180,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Flexible working options

Belonging & Ownership

Parental leave (up to 14 weeks)

Job summary

Beca Pty. Ltd. is expanding its Planning & Environment team in Victoria with a senior leadership role to champion ecological and biodiversity assessments across our Australian markets.

You will shape strategy, build capability and lead client engagements across energy, water and defence sectors, embedding best-practice ecological outcomes into projects and exploring opportunities with the New Zealand team for delivery across Australia and the Pacific.

Qualifications

• Qualified and experienced ecologist
• Strong track record in delivering high-impact ecological projects
• Experience leading and mentoring teams of ecologists and planners
• Ability to develop people and grow capability
• Up-to-date with current environmental legislation and standards

Responsibilities

• Lead and grow Beca’s ecology profile and market presence in Victoria
• Lead account planning and pursuit strategies for project work aligned with strategy
• Lead bid strategy, value propositions, pricing and pitches to clients
• Develop and nurture relationships with clients in energy, water and defence sectors
• Mentor ecologists, environmental practitioners and planners to build a high-performing team
• Coordinate cross-Tasman collaboration with New Zealand team for projects across AU and Pacific

Skills

Ecologist

Technical leadership

Client relationship building

Strategic thinking

People development

Job description

Planning & Environment at Beca

Planning & Environment at Beca Beca’s Planning & Environment team helps clients design and deliver projects that create lasting environmental, social and community value. We integrate planning, approvals, environmental assessment, ecology, heritage, sustainability and environmental management expertise to guide projects from concept to consent and beyond. Our teams support major initiatives across energy transition, water security, transport and social infrastructure, manufacturing, and defence right across Australia and the Pacific. If you want to influence meaningful outcomes at scale, this is the place to do it.

The Opportunity

This is a new senior leadership role to champion and deliver ecological and biodiversity assessments, provide trusted ecological advice, and embed ecological outcomes into multidisciplinary projects across Beca’s markets in Australia. This role is a key strategic investment, identified as part of our wider growth strategy. You’ll have the opportunity to build and shape the Victorian ecology capability and offering, including driving strategic recruitment, capacity building, and technical oversight of our biodiversity focussed work. As a senior member of our Planning & Environment section, you will help shape strategy, grow capability across environmental, ecology and social disciplines, help build Beca’s brand, and take a key client leadership role for relevant clients. This newly created and fast-growing section is focused on helping our clients create measurable environmental, social and community benefits. As a leader in the business, you will set best practice ecological outcomes and biodiversity strategies aligned with national/international environmental standards. As well as providing advice to relevant team members to integrate ecological safeguarding and best practice ecological outcomes into project design, impact assessment, and approvals. A key focus of the role will be in the Energy, Water and Defence sectors where you will:

• Lead and grow Beca’s ecology profile and market presence in Victoria.
• Lead account planning and pursuit strategies for project work aligned with our strategy.
• Lead bid strategy, value propositions, pricing and pitches to clients.
• Develop and nurture positive relationships with clients in these sectors.
• Advise and prepare scopes for clients that address delivery and approvals risks.
• Mentor and develop ecologists, environmental practitioners and planners; foster a high-performing, inclusive culture.
• Build cross-Tasman collaboration with Beca’s New Zealand team for project pursuits and delivery across Australia and the Pacific.
• Build discipline tools, templates and training for consistent high-quality delivery in collaboration with broader ecology capability across Beca.

About You

To be successful in this role you will have extensive experience as an Ecologist/Technical Lead or similar and have worked in Energy, Water or a related industry, with proven consulting experience. You are someone who embraces challenges, promotes innovation and leads with a mindset of continual improvement, as well as connecting the Beca network to bring the best of our business to our clients and the community. You will:

• Be a Qualified and experienced ecologist
• Be a recognised ecology technical leader with a record of delivering complex, high impact projects.
• Have experience in team leadership and/or building
• Have an ability to develop people, grow capability and build an integrated team.
• Remain up-to-date with the latest legislative developments and provide updates on these developments across the team
• Have proven commercial acumen with experience growing client relationships and expanding service offerings.
• Being a technical leader and relationship builder, you have the capability to lead projects and project teams and initiate, manage and develop strategic and operational relationships internally and externally to influence and coordinate people and skillsets to effect change to benefit our communities, people and clients.
• Experience in giving evidence as expert witness would be beneficial.

What We Offer

A career with Beca will provide you with:

• Flexibility & Wellbeing: We recognise that achieving a work-life balance is unique to everyone. Enjoy flexible working options to manage your personal and family priorities, along with dedicated leave for wellbeing and community engagement.
• Belonging & Ownership: Join a diverse and inclusive team where collaboration and creativity thrive, and you can bring your whole self to work. You may also have the chance to take advantage of our unique shareholder opportunities, sharing in our collective success.
• Parental Leave: Take time for what matters most with up to 14 weeks of fully paid parental leave, inclusive of all genders.
• Career Growth & Development: Your growth is our priority! Benefit from continuous learning and professional development through our company training programmes and support for professional accreditation, including pathways to Chartership with Engineers Australia.
• Work alongside industry leaders and gain hands‑on experience to unlock your career potential.

Who is Beca?

Beca is one of the Asia‑Pacific region's largest employee‑owned professional services consultancies. Our team of over 4000 professionals is diverse enough to bring a wide range of perspectives and expertise to every client and challenge, creating resourceful, smart solutions from our collective experience and insights. ‘Creative people together transforming our world’ is our vision. It reflects our culture, our aspirations and our purpose – to make everyday better. Our four values – partnership, tenacity, enjoyment and care – sit at the heart of everything we do, reflecting how we work every day with each other and our clients. At Beca we make everyday better for our clients, our people and our community and your involvement makes it possible. Our size and agility mean you’re not just on the fringes; you’re making a visible difference, partnering to develop and deliver solutions from the ground up. As a people‑focused business, we understand that work‑life balance means a lot of different things to different people and that it’s not always easy juggling work with everything else life throws at us. This is why we are happy to discuss flexible working arrangements for all opportunities in the Beca team.

If you have any questions, you can find out more about our people and projects by visiting www.beca.com

Hello! And welcome to a whole new world of possibilities with Beca. We hope you’re as keen as we are to find out more about each other. We look forward to seeing your application.

Make everyday better Creative people together transforming our world' is our vision. It reflects our culture, our aspirations and our purpose - to make everyday better. But we need problem solvers - the makers, the creators, the planners and practitioners to convert ideas into reality. For over 100 years, we’ve been making a visible difference, developing, and delivering solutions for our clients, our people and our community. Focusing on sustainability, innovation, and digital technologies, to create better and safer outcomes. What makes us different? At Beca, our people are our business. We support curiosity and value great ideas, and are passionate about creating a workplace where people are engaged, feel incredible and can belong. Our employee‑ownership model sets us apart. It’s an opportunity for our people to be invested in the future success of our business, with share ownership available for eligible employees. We also offer a range of employee benefits, designed to reward and recognise the amazing things our people are doing everyday. And our values of partnership, tenacity, enjoyment and care are reflected in the way we work, with our people and with our clients. When you are part of our Beca family, you’ll own your own career path and contribute to a legacy. Join us and discover for yourself how you own your career and can make a everyday better.