Senior Ecologist (Keystone Environmental)

Origin Environmental; Tetbury; Hybrid; GBP 30,000 - 60,000; Full time

Job summary

An established industry player is seeking Senior Ecologists to join their dynamic Ecology Team in the picturesque Cotswolds. This role offers a unique opportunity to manage diverse ecology projects, ensuring compliance with UK and European legislation while mentoring junior staff. With a focus on innovation and practical implementation, you will contribute to impactful conservation efforts and habitat restoration projects. The company prides itself on fostering a collaborative environment, offering competitive salaries, hybrid working options, and a range of employee benefits that promote both professional growth and personal well-being. If you are passionate about ecology and want to make a difference, this position is for you.

Benefits

25 days annual leave plus bank holidays

Option for hybrid working

Company vehicles for meetings and site attendances

Quarterly staff appreciation events

Community incentives and volunteering opportunities

Continued growth and career progression

Company pension and sick pay

Private medical insurance

Access to internal Mental First Aid Qualified staff

On-site parking

Qualifications

• Experience in project management and technical report writing at a senior level.
• Strong knowledge of UK and European legislation and planning systems.

Responsibilities

• Manage small to medium scale ecology projects and lead complex surveys.
• Write technical reports and assist with client liaison and budget management.

Skills

Project management

Technical report writing

Species Identification

Habitat Management

Teamwork

Job description

We are seeking Senior Ecologists to join our Ecology Team in Gloucestershire.

This position is based at our head office location just outside Tetbury in the heart of the Gloucestershire Cotswolds. The office is situated not far from Stroud, recently voted the best place to live in the UK.

Your primary responsibilities would be:

• Project management of small-medium scale projects
• Technical report writing (at senior level)
• Assisting with client liaison, quotes, and budget management
• Resource and workload planning
• Leading complex surveys, including supervision of in-house and external staff
• Supporting and contributing to the Ecology Team’s vision and objectives

Core requirements:

• Project management experience
• Technical report writing experience (at senior level)
• Ability to identify risks and opportunities, avoiding/minimising the former and capitalising on the latter
• Experience of leading, mentoring and organising surveyors
• An excellent working knowledge of UK and European legislation and the planning system
• Ability to balance and manage priorities, and maintain good working relationships with clients and colleagues whilst working under pressure
• Fee proposal capabilities

Additional beneficial experience:

• An area of specialism (aquatic, botany, ornithology, invertebrates and bats of particular interest)
• Holder of one or more survey and/or development licences
• Sound experience of using the BNG metric
• Experience of design and implementation of practical, innovative, and achievable mitigation strategies for protected species
• Capable of higher-level technical writing (e.g. ES ecology chapters)

What Sets us Apart and What Does the Future Hold for Keystone

The business has been successfully running for 20 years, adapting to change, and maintaining growth turnover and commercial stability. It operates across all industry sectors on projects at all scales including some of the UK’s largest infrastructure projects. In addition, the company takes on specialist conservation driven projects and is rapidly expanding its BNG services, which builds on an enviable track record of success in habitat creation, restoration, and mitigation from both a design and practical implementation perspective. The projects are delivered nationally from the head office in Gloucestershire.

Keystone differs from other consultancies in that it includes an in-house Habitats contracting team, which means the ecologists truly benefit from the practical knowledge of what mitigation, habitat creation, restoration and management schemes work, and ecologists can see the fruits of their labour translate into reality on the ground.

The team has a professional family feel and strives to ensure that fun is part of working life whilst ensuring the outstanding company reputation for excellence in all fields is maintained. Quarterly staff appreciation days are routinely held.

What We Provide

• Competitive salary pending experience
• 25 days annual leave plus bank holidays
• Option for hybrid working
• Company vehicles for meetings and site attendances
• Quarterly staff appreciation events
• Community incentives and volunteering opportunities
• Continued growth and career progression including annual CPD & training budget
• Company pension and sick pay
• Private medical insurance
• Access to internal Mental First Aid Qualified staff
• Idyllic office location in the Cotswolds with on-site parking

Seniority Level: Mid-Senior level

Industry: Environmental Services

Employment Type: Full-time

Job Functions:

• Consulting
• Other

Skills:

• Habitat Management
• Surveys
• Species Identification
• Teamwork