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Natural England; Worthing; Hybrid; GBP 55,000 - 75,000; Full time

Job summary

Natural England in Worthing is seeking a Senior Officer for the Protected Sites/Farm Advice team to support SSSI actions on track and contribute to achieving Favourable Condition across Protected Sites.

The role combines ecological land management expertise with proven ability to work with farmers and land managers to deliver Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier schemes, and to support landscape-scale nature recovery and enforcement activities.

Job description

6769 - Protected Sites/Farm Advice hybrid role - SSSI Actions on Track Senior Officer - Worthing

This role sits within our Protected Sites team and is an exciting opportunity to make a real difference for nature recovery. Our primary goal is to achieve and maintain Favourable Condition across Protected Sites.

The team leads on delivering Favourable Condition for Protected Sites. This includes work on Protected Site Strategies, delivering SSSI Actions on Track, SSSI monitoring, consent/assent casework, SSSI designation and enforcement activities. Whilst these work areas support the achievement of favourable condition, our central focus is building strong relationships with land managers, partners, and colleagues across Natural England to secure practical, long term solutions for SSSIs.

The key focus of this role is the Environment Improvement Plan (EIP) commitment that 50% of SSSI features should have actions on track to achieve favourable condition by 2030 (with 32% delivered by March 2027). Favourable condition on SSSIs will be achieved through actions delivered by Natural England, land owners/managers and external partners.

We are looking for someone who has the ecological expertise in the land management required to achieve Favourable Condition, combined with a proven ability to work with farmers and land managers to deliver Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier schemes.

We are seeking someone passionate about nature recovery, who can work collaboratively with colleagues, land managers and partners to find pragmatic solutions and secure positive outcomes for protected sites.

The role involves regular travel across Sussex and Kent and plays a central role in supporting Natural England’s work on Protected Sites and landscape-scale nature recovery. You will also be responsible for coaching and developing colleagues to be able to deliver combined Protected Sites and Farm Advice to farmers and land managers.

The role requires strong organisational and communication skills, knowledge of nature recovery, land management, and landscape-scale conservation approaches, as well as experience of working with partners and land managers.