Senior / Principal Ecological Consultant

Landstudio UK; Chester; Hybrid; GBP 60,000 - 85,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive salary

Company bonus scheme

Cycle to work scheme

Death in service benefits

Job summary

Land Studio is seeking a Senior/Principal Ecological Consultant to provide senior technical and project leadership across a varied portfolio of ecological projects in a hybrid, UK-based role.

You will work closely with the Director of Ecology to support team growth, manage complex projects, and embed ecology into landscape and civil engineering design across multiple sites.

Qualifications

• Significant experience in ecological consultancy.
• Strong knowledge of UK ecology, planning and environmental legislation.
• Experience preparing and/or reviewing ecological assessments and reports.
• Experience of Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG), EcIA and HRA.
• Experience with protected species licensing and mitigation.
• Ability to manage projects, budgets, programmes and client relationships.
• Experience reviewing technical work and mentoring colleagues.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Full membership of CIEEM.
• Relevant degree in Ecology or closely related field.
• UK driving licence for business use.

Responsibilities

• Undertake and review technically complex ecological work including PEA, EcIA, BNG assessments and strategies, HRA, licensing and management plans.
• Provide high-quality, pragmatic ecological advice.
• Lead and manage multiple ecological projects from inception to completion.
• Manage project programmes, resources, budgets and scope.
• Lead technical reviews and QA of project deliverables.
• Build long-term client relationships across projects.
• Produce fee proposals and support work-winning activities.

Skills

Ecological consultancy

UK ecology knowledge

Project leadership

Client relationship

Mentoring junior ecologists

Biodiversity legislation

Licensing knowledge

Communication skills

CIEEM member

Driving licence

Education

Degree in Ecology or related field

Tools

Protected species licences

Job description

Senior / Principal Ecological Consultant

Land Studio - (UK based only - Hybrid Part-Remote Considered)

A Different Way to Practise

Across our industry, we've seen a shift towards larger, more corporate structures, where decision-making sits further and further from the people actually doing the work. This can often mean slower, more layered processes, and a more distant relationship between client and ecologist.

At Land Studio, decisions are predominantly made by the people doing the work, not signed off several tiers up a corporate structure. You'll have a direct hand in the growth and direction of the business itself, not just the projects within it. You'll build real, personal relationships with clients that last from first survey to final delivery and post development monitoring and because ecology, drainage engineering and landscape design all sit in-house under one roof, you'll have genuine influence on the design process, collaborating with the team to ensure ecology, drainage and landscape work together, to deliver efficient and optimal outcomes.

If you want your voice to matter, your relationships to be real, and your work to shape the whole picture rather than one corner of it, we'd like to hear from you.

About Us

We are a fully integrated landscape architecture, ecology and drainage engineering design studio working across residential, education, visitor destination and mixed-use projects. Climate change and biodiversity loss are not challenges facing our industry, they are challenges facing the planet. We believe design has a real part to play in addressing them, and every project we take on is a chance to have a genuine, positive impact: enhancing biodiversity, responding to the water cycle, and connecting people with nature in a way that leaves places better than we found them.

We're a growing, independent studio based in a city centre studio in Chester and a satellite studio in Cardiff, and we're looking to add to our ecology team.

About the Role

You’ll provide senior technical and project leadership across a varied portfolio of ecological projects, delivering pragmatic ecological advice and working closely with our Director of Ecology to support the continued growth and development of the ecology team.

Depending on your experience, you’ll have the opportunity to:

• Undertake and review technically complex work, including Preliminary Ecological Appraisal (PEA), Ecological impact Assessment (EcIA), Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) assessments and strategies, Habitat Regulations Assessment (HRA), protected species survey reports, licence applications and ecological management plans.
• Provide high-quality ecological advice that is clear, pragmatic and commercially aware.
• Lead and manage multiple ecological projects from inception through to completion.
• Manage project programmes, resources, budgets and scope.
• Lead technical reviews and quality assurance of project deliverables.
• Build strong, long-term relationships with clients and other project stakeholders.
• Produce high quality fee proposals and support wider work-winning activity through proactive networking and business development activity.
• Mentor and support junior ecologists, helping develop technical capability across the team.
• Provide proactive line management, supporting staff development, performance and wellbeing.
• Contribute to CPD, knowledge sharing, best practice and innovation within the Studio.
• Work collaboratively with our landscape architecture and civil engineering teams to embed ecology into design rather than treating it as an afterthought.

About you

We’re looking for an experienced senior or principal ecologist who combines strong technical knowledge with sound judgement, commercial awareness and a genuine enthusiasm for nature-led design.

You’ll ideally have:

• Significant experience in ecological consultancy.
• Strong knowledge of UK ecology, planning and environmental legislation.
• Experience preparing and/or reviewing ecological assessments and reports.
• Experience of BNG, EcIA and HRA.
• Experience with protected species licensing and mitigation.
• The ability to manage projects, budgets, programmes and client relationships effectively.
• Experience reviewing technical work and providing constructive guidance to colleagues.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Full membership of CIEEM.
• A relevant degree in Ecology or a closely related field.
• One or more protected species survey licence, with great crested newt and bats highly desirable.
• Full UK driving licence, insured for business purposes.

For a Principal-level appointment, we’re particularly interested in people who can demonstrate advanced technical expertise (including holding multiple survey licenses), and significant prior experience of staff management, proactive work-winning, building strong client relationships and the ability to support team growth and development.

How We Work

The role offers a varied mix of office-based, site-based and client-facing work, with our Chester office providing a collaborative base for the team. We also offer part-time, hybrid and flexible working options to support a healthy work-life balance.

What We Offer

At Land Studio, we want our people to enjoy their work, develop their expertise and have a genuine role in shaping the future of the Studio.

We offer a flexible and supportive working environment, alongside a competitive salary, company bonus scheme, cycle to work scheme and death in service benefits. We’re committed to supporting your professional development through internal and external training, regular appraisals to encourage career progression, and funding for relevant additional qualifications where required. We also cover professional membership fees, alongside providing opportunities to collaborate across our landscape, ecology and civil engineering teams.

We were really impressed with Land Studio. They are creative, a delight to work with and captured our vision and their own vision perfectly.

Shahina Ahmad, Principal of Eden Girls' School, Waltham Forest.