Associate Director Ecology - UK Wide

Jacobs; Wokingham; Hybrid; GBP 60,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

Jacobs is seeking an Associate Director of Ecology to lead a dedicated technical team across the UK. This role involves strategic leadership, client engagement, and collaboration on diverse infrastructure projects, offering excellent career prospects and professional development opportunities.

Benefits

Up to 10% company pension contribution

Reimbursement for professional development

Flexible working patterns

Free employee medical cover

Mindfulness platform access

Qualifications

• Background in terrestrial ecology with extensive industry experience.
• Confident to mentor junior staff.
• Working knowledge of protected species licensing.

Responsibilities

• Setting the strategic direction of the team.
• Providing expert advice to clients and stakeholders.
• Leading the UK terrestrial ecology team.

Skills

Stakeholder engagement

Team leadership

Ecological assessment

Project management

Education

Chartered membership of a professional body

Job description

Jacobs Wokingham, England, United Kingdom

Join or sign in to find your next job

Join to apply for the Associate Director Ecology - UK Wide role at Jacobs

Jacobs Wokingham, England, United Kingdom

1 week ago Be among the first 25 applicants

Join to apply for the Associate Director Ecology - UK Wide role at Jacobs

Get AI-powered advice on this job and more exclusive features.

At Jacobs, we're challenging today to reinvent tomorrow by solving the world's most critical problems for thriving cities, resilient environments, mission-critical outcomes, operational advancement, scientific discovery and cutting-edge manufacturing, turning abstract ideas into realities that transform the world for good.

Your impact

We have an exciting leadership opportunity for an Associate Director of Ecology to develop and shape an award-winning dedicated technical team, build upon the existing extensive project portfolio and lead the team to change. We deliver some of the most challenging, diverse and innovative infrastructure projects. Presently, we are engaged on a variety of large projects including water infrastructure, highway and rail schemes, energy infrastructure for clients such as Anglian Water, National Highways, National Grid, Network Rail, Thames Water, The Environment Agency, Transport Scotland and a number of local authorities.

The successful person will join a respected and ambitious company with excellent career prospects both locally and internationally. We actively support the professional development of staff, through our Global Career Framework, Chartership Academy Programme, Employee Networks and our Community of Practice networks, which connect us to over 600 Jacobs ecologists globally.

We have ecology teams based in offices in Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, Leeds, London, Manchester, Newcastle, Norwich, Peterborough and Winnersh and would welcome applicants to all.

The role will include

• Responsibility for setting the strategic direction of the team - join the management team for the wider terrestrial ecology team and business leadership responsibilities in the wider UK ecology group
• Being the first point of contact - provision of high quality, expert advice to both clients and stakeholders
• Extensive engagement - with clients, customers and environmental regulators.
• Support the growth, development and resilience of the team - through enthusiastic line management, empathic leadership and individuals’ personal development.
• Leading from the front - demonstrate your technical skills, contributing to Environmental Impact Assessment and Habitat Regulations Assessment, providing expert advice and managing the UK terrestrial ecology team
• Develop networks across disciplines - many of our projects are complex in nature and you will be required to work with other disciplines to create effective solutions. Creating an environment accessible to other specialists is essential to our project success
• Contribute to the identification, bidding and winning of work – working with the Water, Energy and Environment business unit Sales team. This will best leverage the capability of the team to win and deliver new and challenging work
• Engagement with Jacobs wider corporate functions - to promote the capabilities of your team is an exciting component to the role, lifting our profile both internally and externally.

We value collaboration and believe that in-person interactions are crucial for both our culture and client delivery. We empower employees with our hybrid working policy, allowing them to split their work week between Jacobs offices/projects and remote locations enabling them to deliver their best work.

Here's what you'll need

• A background in terrestrial ecology with extensive years of relevant industry experience
• Chartered membership of a professional body (or experience to obtain chartership)
• Confident to take on a mentor role to junior staff
• Flexible approach to working, with occasional travel required across the UK and Ireland
• A ‘hands on’ work ethic and good self-awareness
• Ability to adapt to working on a wide range of projects
• Innovative scoping of ecological input to projects
• Working knowledge of protected species licensing and the Biodiversity Net Gain process
• Understanding of project consenting and construction
• Effective stakeholder and regulator engagement
• Experience of planning inquiries and Examinations

In addition to the benefits you’d expect, UK employees also receive

• Up to 10% company contribution into their pension
• Reimbursement towards relevant professional development and memberships
• Support to their local communities through our Collectively program which incorporates matched-funding, paid volunteering time and charitable donations
• Opportunity to buy/sell annual leave.

Wellbeing support and resources

• Free employee medical cover and digital GP service
• Mindfulness Platform
• Dedicated Workplace Support & Counselling Consultations,
• Confidential information & counselling service provided by Optum. Emotional Wellbeing Solutions is a free confidential information and counselling service available 24/7 via phone or online. Experienced consultants are available to discuss finance, legal, family matters and counselling can be provided for personal support
• Online demand fitness platform provided by Daily Burn
• Personalised financial planning and support provided by Origin, with access to dedicated certified financial planners.

Fertility And Family Benefits And Support

• Enhanced parental leave pay
• Fertility healthcare and family-forming benefit provided by Carrot. With Carrot, you can virtually chat with experts, explore educational resources, find a vetted provider, and use employer-sponsored funds to pay for care. Get support with understanding fertility health, preservation (egg, sperm, embryo), assisted reproduction (e.g., in vitro fertilisation), adoption, gestational surrogacy, donor assistance, pregnancy, menopause, and low testosterone.
• A free parental success solution and neurodiversity training benefit provided by RethinkCare Family. The family solution gives you and your family 24/7 access to behavioural health support tools and resources to help parents or caregivers of children raise happy, healthy and resilient children with unlimited access to Board Certified Behaviour Analysts and clinically validated trainings, including support with ADHD & developmental disabilities.
• Bridge the Gap is our parental transition programme which supports working parents before, during and after becoming parents, fostering an environment where employees can bring their authentic selves to work and achieve their full potential.

Work-life balance and flexibility is a key focus area for Jacobs. We’re happy to discuss different working patterns:

• Hybrid working
• Part-time role
• Flexible hours including compressed hours and annualised hours contracts
• Ability to take time off in lieu to rest and recuperate

Our Culture

Our values are safety, integrity, inclusion and diversity. We prioritize supporting one another through a culture of caring, fostering positive mental health and a sense of belonging for all employees. We are committed to embedding inclusion and diversity in everything we do, reflected in our global employee networks such as ACE, Careers, Enlace, Harambee, OneWorld, Prism, Women and Vetnet. We partner with VERCIDA to attract diverse talent and are a Disability Confident employer, welcoming applications from candidates seeking flexible work or who may not meet all listed requirements. For accessibility support, please contact our recruitment team.