Senior Specialist - ( Ref : 6884 )

Natural England; Greater London; Sur place; GBP 65 000 - 90 000; Plein temps

Résumé du poste

Natural England invites applications for a Senior Specialist to lead data governance, improve data access and collaborate with national partners. You will help mobilise evidence and ensure responsible use of environmental data across projects.

In this role you will build partnerships with organisations such as NBN Trust and CEH, support strategic data initiatives, and contribute to the NCEA programme by shaping policy, practice and data licensing frameworks.

Qualifications

• Detailed knowledge of responsible data use and data management processes.
• Experience applying data governance to improve evidence quality and access.
• Ability to communicate complex data insights to diverse audiences.
• Experience leading evidence-driven project delivery and partnerships.
• Experience building and maintaining networks with external organisations.

Responsabilités

• Understand Natural England priorities and learn evidence needs to plan data sharing across projects.
• Lead team members through challenging data requirements with clear communication.
• Improve data access, quality and management by creating guidance, tools and training.
• Build partnerships with organisations such as National Biodiversity Network Trust and UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology.
• Collaborate with teams across Natural England and Defra to implement best data practices.
• Shape future strategy for biological data recording with partners and regulators.

Connaissances

Data governance

Stakeholder engagement

Data licensing

Project delivery

Communication skills

Description du poste

Natural England’s NCEA Is Organised Into Projects

• Mapping and Earth Observation – Spatial data and maps on natural capital to inform national and local decision making and delivery.
• England Peat Map – Mapping the extent and condition of England’s peatlands.
• Field data collection – Data on habitats, soils, landscapes and species to understand the condition of natural capital assets.
• Citizen Science – Working with citizens and community science to fill gaps, provide local and landscape scale information and engaging the public.
• Data Engagement and Analysis - Making NCEA, partner and volunteer data available for analysis, integration, and use. Producing high quality evidence products by analysing and integration NCEA data.

You will be helping to deliver this as a part of project 5, by building and maintaining partnerships with key stakeholders. Additionally, you will be internally supporting and providing expert advice to project staff and solving problems for the NCEA to improve its data ethics, governance, maturity, and its management of data.

Key Tasks/Principal Accountabilities

To support delivery of Natural England’s part of the Natural Capital and Ecosystem Assessment (NCEA) programme, Defra's largest research and development programme which seeks to generate and mobilise a baseline assessment of our natural assets by 2029. Achieve this by applying a deep knowledge of a specific and complex specialism and understand the broader context of the application of this specialism in delivering Natural England’s strategic objectives, as well as NCEA programme objectives. Maintain and build knowledge from external sources and networks to ensure expertise remains current. Make clear decisions and provide expert advice to internal and external customers in their area of specialism, that is key to successful achievement of Natural England environmental outcomes and the delivery of the NCEA. Identify evidence gaps and the research required to address these. Influence the development and implementation of Natural England and NCEA-wide strategy and programmes, by using your deep specialism in the mobilisation and use of relevant environmental data and evidence.

Key Responsibilities

• Understand Natural England’s priorities: You’ll learn about the short- and long-term priorities for Natural England’s work and its evidence needs. This will help with planning and solving data-sharing problems across different projects and teams.
• Leadership: You’ll lead members of your team and wider Natural England through challenging and novel evidence requirements, requiring effective and clear communication skills
• Improve data access, quality and management: You will help improve organisational capability by creating guidance, tools, and training for the managing, sharing, and licensing of impactful data.
• Build partnerships: You will build and maintain strong collaborations with priority partners involved in collecting and sharing environmental evidence, including national organisations such as National Biodiversity Network Trust, UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, and local environmental groups.
• Collaborate with teams: You’ll work closely with teams across Natural England, Defra, and other NCEA Partners, to ensure everyone follows best practice, continuously improving the way we handle data and utilise evidence across the organisation.
• Shape future strategy: You will help influence how biological data recording is managed in the future, working with Defra, other government departments, and external organisations.

Key Performance Measures

• Agreements, projects, programmes and advice delivered to agreed budgets and timelines.
• Outcomes support NE Strategy and Action Plan, and Science Evidence and Evaluation Strategy.
• Outputs deliver identified benefits / meet identified customer or improvement needs
• Influencing work delivery and focus of external partners.
• Investment in own capability and well-being.

Key Relationships

Senior Specialists work across the organisation, applying their specialist skills, experience, and knowledge to a wide range of subject areas, strategies, and programmes. Senior Specialists work closely with other organisations, such as DEFRA, other Government Departments, and external partners to identify new research to improve our evidence base. They provide evidence-based challenge to shape and influence policy and practice.

Knowledge, Skills & Experience

• Detailed knowledge of responsible data use, including data management processes, and implementing improvements to drive innovation and achieve best practice.
• Experience of project delivery, including managing budgets, procurement, and contract management.
• Experience of the range of monitoring techniques and environmental evidence used across the environmental sector, and their policy context.
• Experience working closely with Intellectual Property Rights or Data Licensing and adherence to data’s terms of use.
• Ability to apply effective communications skills (verbal and written) in communicating about their specialism to multiple audiences (staff, public, stakeholders, scientific/technical groups).
• Experienced in producing impactful evidence, reflecting their understanding of Natural England’s and partner’s needs.
• Experience of building and leading networks and establishing effective working relationships with a wide range of colleagues, partners, and stakeholders

Technical Skills and Knowledge

• Detailed knowledge of responsible data use, including data management processes, and implementing improvements to drive innovation and achieve best practice
• Experience of project delivery, including managing budgets, procurement, and contract management.
• Experience of the range of monitoring techniques and environmental evidence used across the environmental sector, and their policy context.

O Experience working closely with Intellectual Property Rights or Data Licensing and adherence to data’s terms of use.

Leading and Managing People

• Lead by example, engage and support your team through change (Practitioner)
• Set clear plans and expectations for your team, explain reasons behind decisions, be clear on the outcomes to be achieved, and make things happen by sharing and delegating work to the right people (Practitioner)
• Encourage, inspire and support people to be ambitious, creative and innovative, and to reflect, celebrate and learn lessons from their work (Practitioner)

Putting People at The Heart of The Environment

• Build relationships and effective networks both externally and internally to bring in fresh perspectives, approaches and evidence to raise the profile of both your individual specialist work and that of Natural England (Expert)
• Listen to and understand our diverse partners and customers so that you achieve the best outcomes for them and Natural England (Practitioner).
• Nurture trusting partnerships and collaborate to achieve pragmatic outcomes that help deliver Natural England’s vision, mission and aims (Practitioner)

Personal Effectiveness

• Develop and implement effective communication strategies and plans that deliver corporate objectives (Expert)
• Understand the full context of each case or project you work on and use interpretive, evaluative, analytical and problem-solving skills to make informed decisions about it (Expert)

Test and challenge others in a constructive and evidence-based way providing scientific scrutiny, challenge and assurance to casework and other delivery that is practical and, where appropriate, cross-disciplinary (Expert)