County Ecologist

Schools; Chichester; Hybrid; GBP 41,000 - 49,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Local government pension scheme

27 days holiday (plus buy extra)

Flexible working options

Training and mentoring

Staff discounts

Employee Assistance Programme

Job summary

West Sussex County Council seeks an experienced County Ecologist to lead ecological advice, support planning decisions, and help deliver nature recovery across the county. You will work across planning, infrastructure and corporate projects, guiding policy and practical solutions.

You will represent the council, collaborate with partners, and mentor staff, travelling across the county to deliver robust, evidence-based ecological services in a hybrid working environment.

Qualifications

• Extensive ecological knowledge with the ability to apply sound professional judgement to complex issues.
• Confident communicator able to work with colleagues, developers, consultants, communities and partner organisations to deliver practical solutions and positive environmental outcomes.
• Experience in biodiversity conservation, Biodiversity Net Gain and nature recovery.
• Ability to think strategically and make informed decisions in relation to planning and development, biodiversity conservation and nature recovery.
• Excellent communication and influencing skills to explain complex ecological issues to specialist and non-specialist audiences.
• Ability to organise and prioritise workload, manage competing demands and meet statutory deadlines, while maintaining high professional standards.

Responsibilities

• Provide professional leadership and specialist ecological advice across planning, infrastructure and corporate projects.
• Support the determination of planning applications and delivery of infrastructure.
• Contribute to Local Nature Recovery Strategy, Biodiversity Net Gain and statutory biodiversity duties.
• Develop policies, projects and initiatives for West Sussex's natural environment.
• Represent the County Council in meetings, build partnerships, and mentor staff as appropriate.

Skills

Ecology expertise

Planning & biodiversity

Communication skills

Strategic thinking

Mentoring & guidance

Professional integrity

Education

Degree in ecology or related field

Tools

GIS software

Job description

We're looking for an experienced ecologist to provide expert ecological advice to the County Council, support the planning process, and help deliver nature recovery across West Sussex.

The Opportunity

Salary: £41,177 to £48,738 per annum

Working Pattern: Full time, 37 hours per week

Location: County Hall, Chichester and hybrid working

Interview date: w/c 7th December 2026

As the organisation's County Ecologist, you will provide professional leadership and specialist advice on ecology, biodiversity, Biodiversity Net Gain and nature recovery across a diverse portfolio of planning, infrastructure and corporate projects. As the Council's principal ecological adviser, you will help ensure that environmental considerations are effectively integrated into decision-making across the authority.

You will provide authoritative ecological advice to the County Council in its roles as County Planning Authority and Highway Authority, supporting the determination of planning applications, infrastructure delivery and the Council's wider statutory responsibilities. Working closely with colleagues, developers, consultants and partner organisations, you will help identify practical solutions that balance environmental protection with sustainable growth and service delivery.

The role has an important part to play in supporting the delivery of the Local Nature Recovery Strategy, Biodiversity Net Gain and the Council's statutory biodiversity duties. You will contribute to the development of policies, projects and initiatives that help shape the future management, enhancement and recovery of West Sussex's natural environment.

You will represent the County Council at meetings, develop productive relationships with partners and stakeholders, supervise the work of specialist staff where appropriate, and provide professional guidance, mentoring and support across the service. You will work alongside colleagues covering ecology, landscape, arboriculture, archaeology and the historic environment to deliver high-quality professional advice.

The role requires travel to sites and meetings across the county, including occasional visits to remote locations and inspections of buildings and structures. You will need to be comfortable working both in an office environment and on site, while maintaining high professional standards and delivering robust, evidence-based advice.

What are we looking for?

As the successful County Ecologist, you will have extensive ecological knowledge and experience, combined with the ability to apply sound professional judgement to complex issues. You will be a confident communicator, able to work effectively with colleagues, developers, consultants, communities and partner organisations to deliver practical solutions and positive environmental outcomes.

You will also be able to demonstrate the following:

• Strong ecological and environmental expertise, with the ability to analyse complex information, evaluate evidence and provide clear, robust and proportionate professional advice.
• The ability to think strategically, anticipate issues and make informed decisions, particularly in relation to planning and development, biodiversity conservation, Biodiversity Net Gain and nature recovery.
• Excellent communication and influencing skills, with the confidence to represent the County Council's interests and explain complex ecological issues to specialist and non-specialist audiences.
• The ability to organise and prioritise your workload, manage competing demands and meet statutory and organisational deadlines, while maintaining high professional standards.
• Experience of working collaboratively with colleagues, stakeholders and partners, providing support, guidance and mentoring where appropriate.
• Integrity, professionalism and a commitment to delivering a high-quality ecological service.

For more information on the Key Skills as well as the Qualifications and/or experience required, please refer to the Job Descriptions attached.

County Ecologist G10

County Ecologist G11

Working for us

As well as adding real value to our service users and our communities, as an employer we recognise our employees are central in being able to achieve this. To recognise this we want to help support your development and provide a great place to work ensuring you can fulfil your full potential, have access to a range of benefits including:

• Specific to Planning Services: Payment of relevant professional membership fees eg CIEEM
• an excellent local government pension scheme
• generous holiday entitlement of 27 days (plus opportunity to buy additional leave)
• a range of flexible working options, depending on your job role
• maternity, paternity, dependency and adoption leave
• volunteering opportunities
• training and development opportunities, including coaching and mentoring
• a range of discounts giving our staff access to hundreds of offers; groceries, travel, cinema tickets, days out, leisure activities, high street retailers and the opportunity to save over £1,000 a year through our West Sussex Choices benefits platform (see our Staff discounts page if you are a business looking to offer a discount)
• health and wellbeing benefits including access to our Employee Assistance Programme, Mental Health First Aiders and Voluntary Health Cash Plans

For a full list this can be found at our Rewards and Benefits page.

Further information

The reference number for this role is 271

For an informal conversation or for further information regarding the role, please contact Don Baker (Team Manager - Environment & Heritage) at [e-mail].

For issues or queries regarding your application please contact [e-mail].

We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults. This post is subject to 3 years of satisfactory references and health check.

Equity, inclusion, accessibility and diversity is very important to West Sussex County Council. We welcome and encourage applications from people of all cultures, ethnicities, identities, backgrounds and lived experiences, as this helps us build a diverse and talented workforce, that reflects the communities we serve. We ensure our approach to recruitment is flexible and supportive to enable all applicants to be at their best and to ensure they have the best possible chance of success.

Any candidates wishing to apply for this position, who would require sponsorship can determine the likelihood of obtaining a Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS) for the post by assessing their circumstances against criteria specified on the gov.uk website.

We operate a guaranteed interview scheme for applicants that have a disability, are a veteran or are a care leaver. More information can be found on our application help page.