Sustainable Development Senior Officer

Natural England; United Kingdom; On-site; GBP 40,000 - 50,000; Full time

Job summary

An environmental agency in the United Kingdom seeks a skilled advisor to lead on high-risk development proposals. The role involves advising local authorities and developers, ensuring nature is integrated into planning policies. Candidates should demonstrate strategic thinking and stakeholder engagement skills to navigate complex environmental challenges. Flexibility for travel within England is necessary, as the position collaborates with various stakeholders to secure sustainable development outcomes.

Qualifications

• Experience with Town and Country Planning Act development proposals.
• Ability to provide clear, evidence-based advice to stakeholders.
• Expertise in managing complex planning issues.

Responsibilities

• Lead high risk, high opportunity casework related to development proposals.
• Advise on spatial development strategies and manage local planning policies.
• Build partnerships with stakeholders to resolve planning issues.

Skills

Strategic thinking

Stakeholder engagement

Environmental expertise

Planning advice

Job description

Join us in shaping a future where nature and people thrive. Whether you’re drawn to hands‑on conservation or playing a vital part behind the scenes, your work at Natural England will support lasting benefits for the environment and society.

Natural England is the Government’s adviser for the natural environment and the Nature regulator with a wide range of statutory duties and powers. We provide the evidence, expertise and advice to recover Nature and shape better places for people to live. We do this working through and with others.

Our Role

Natural England is the Government’s adviser for the natural environment and the Nature regulator with a wide range of statutory duties and powers. We provide the evidence, expertise and advice to recover Nature and shape better places for people to live. We do this working through and with others.

Strategic Outcomes for Nature

Our strategy is framed through four strategic outcomes. Each of these outcomes reinforces and amplifies the others, and together they address environmental, social and economic actions critical to thriving nature.

• Recovering Nature – Increased scale and quality of places where nature thrives.
• Building Better Places – Greener homes and infrastructure create healthier, more investable places, recognising we live better where nature thrives around us.
• Improving Health and Wellbeing – Build nature into everyday life so people can support, access and benefit from nature, wherever they live.
• Delivering Security through Nature – Nature helps us adapt to the threats of a changing climate and improves our national security, supporting more resilient food production, healthy soils, clean and plentiful water and clean air.

Find out more about the work of Natural England at Natural England’s Strategy: Natural England’s Strategy: Recovering Nature for Growth, Health and Security - GOV.UK

The Team

Do you want to make a real difference, working in a high priority area, securing significant environmental gains in the present and the future? Do you enjoy working in and leading a team? If so, this role may interest you as an opportunity to create a better future for people and nature.

The roles are based across England in our Area Teams. Some travel may be required.

Natural England’s Area Teams use a range of mechanisms including land management and planning advice, engagement with stakeholders and direct management of our own land, to achieve the protection and enhancement of biodiversity and landscapes within its area.

Natural England’s new Strategy includes making a shift from isolated interventions to nature recovery happening at scale, ensuring our efforts deliver lasting improvement across whole landscapes and seascapes. As part of this, our sustainable development work is helping build better places, and ensure nature is designed into development and investment plans from the outset to strengthen communities and benefit growth.

These roles will contribute to Natural England’s sustainable development delivery, with a focus on securing nature recovery and long‑term environmental benefits. The roles will need the flexibility to advise on local plans and spatial development strategies as well as high risk and high opportunity development cases. The work will include supporting the development of new strategic approaches to manage environmental pressures and building strong relationships with developers so that nature is planned in from the start to streamline development and reduce risk.

Job description

The Role

The successful candidate will work alongside other senior staff in similar roles and the role and responsibilities will include:

• Providing a strategic lead for specific high risk, high opportunity casework, with a particular focus on Town and Country Planning Act development proposals. This will involve working closely with colleagues across the team, supporting others delivering technical advice, and drawing down national specialist input as required.
• Providing advice on spatial development strategies and working closely with local planning authorities on high priority local plans to manage risk, ensure nature is designed into development, and secure plan policies that support strong, long term environmental outcomes.
• Building partnerships with customers and stakeholders to resolve complex planning issues. Providing clear, pragmatic, evidence‑based advice to developers and local planning authorities, seeking opportunities to maximising delivery through our discretionary advice service (DAS).
• Act as an account manager for Lead Environmental Regulator, managing relationships with developers and working with Defra and other Arm’s‑Length Bodies (ALBs) e.g. Environment Agency, to provide joined up advice to developers and enable delivery of integrated outcomes for nature recovery and growth.
• Enabling developers to use tools such as Green Infrastructure standards, Biodiversity Net Gain and Environmental Delivery Plans (as these are developed) to secure planning approvals and gains for people and nature.
• Provide support to other sustainable development advisers within the team, including support at external and internal meetings, providing a steer on complex and challenging issues, and escalating risk through appropriate channels.
• Contributing to the broader leadership of the area team through active participation in cross‑team groups and briefings to NE senior leadership and working with other Senior Officers within the wider area team to ensure consistency in advice delivery across all our work areas.