Principal Ornithology Consultant

APEM Ltd.; United States; Remote; USD 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Private medical insurance

Mental health support

Income protection

Flexible working

Job summary

APEM Group is seeking a Principal Ornithology Consultant to lead offshore ornithology workstreams across projects, drawing on offshore wind impact assessment experience and evidence required for EIA and HRA.

You will guide a multi-disciplinary team, provide expert advice to clients and regulators, and contribute to advancing ornithological methods, mitigation, and compensation strategies.

Qualifications

• Professional accreditation, or eligibility for accreditation, with a relevant body such as CIEEM or IEMA.
• A degree, preferably postgraduate, in a relevant science discipline.
• A strong track record in ornithology, seabird ecology and/or impact assessment, gained through consultancy, research, NGO or government roles.
• Detailed understanding of ornithological assessments supporting major development projects, particularly through EIA and HRA.
• Experience in technical areas such as collision risk modelling, displacement analysis, apportioning, population modelling, monitoring design or competition evidence.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to produce clear, robust technical reports for public and private sector clients.
• Proven project delivery experience, including large, complex or high-profile programmes.
• Leadership experience, including mentoring, resource planning, capacity planning and supporting team performance.

Responsibilities

• Lead offshore ornithology workstreams across projects, bringing expertise in offshore wind impact assessment and baseline interpretation.
• Provide expert advice across complex consenting challenges, supporting EIA, HRA, derogation and compensation cases.
• Contribute to the development of emerging approaches to ornithological evidence, assessment, mitigation and compensation.
• Deliver robust surveys design, analysis and reporting to clients and regulators.
• Support diverse teams and ensure high-quality outputs across the project lifecycle.

Skills

Accreditation

Ornithology

Seabird ecology

Impact assessment

Collision risk modelling

Population modelling

Monitoring design

Leadership

Reporting skills

Education

Science degree

Postgraduate degree

Job description

About The Role

Are you an experienced ornithologist looking for a role that offers technical challenge and variety? Do you have experience managing or directing projects, particularly within offshore wind? Are you keen to work as part of a diverse, multi-specialist team and contribute to a centre of excellence in ornithology?

Due to our continued growth, APEM Group is looking for a Principal Ornithology Consultant to join our Ornithology team. In this key role, you'll lead offshore ornithology workstreams across a range of projects, bringing your experience in offshore wind impact assessment, baseline survey interpretation and the technical evidence required to support EIA, HRA and, where relevant, derogation and compensation cases. You'll provide expert advice across complex consenting challenges, while contributing to the development of emerging approaches to ornithological evidence, assessment, mitigation and compensation.

Our Ornithology team brings together specialists in the design, delivery and analysis of bird surveys across terrestrial, intertidal and offshore environments. We combine robust science with practical consenting experience to support developers, regulators and SNCBs across the UK, Ireland and beyond. Our work spans the full project lifecycle, from site selection and feasibility through EIA and consenting, post-consent delivery and decommissioning, with opportunities to contribute to areas including statistical analysis, baseline interpretation, monitoring design, mitigation, compensation and enhancement planning.

To be successful in this role, you’ll bring:

• Professional accreditation, or eligibility for accreditation, with a relevant body such as CIEEM or IEMA.
• A degree, preferably postgraduate, in a relevant science discipline.
• A strong track record in ornithology, seabird ecology and/or impact assessment, gained through consultancy, research, NGO or government roles.
• Detailed understanding of ornithological assessments supporting major development projects, particularly through EIA and HRA.
• Experience in technical areas such as collision risk modelling, displacement analysis, apportioning, population modelling, monitoring design or competition evidence.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to produce clear, robust technical reports for public and private sector clients.
• Proven project delivery experience, including large, complex or high-profile programmes.
• Leadership experience, including mentoring, resource planning, capacity planning and supporting team performance.

You will be offered the chance to work on a variety of projects, many of our employees have worked on projects that have been of personal interest to them. We match this with a commitment to continuous development and learning to support your career.

• private medical insurance for all employees
• access to mental health first aiders
• comprehensive income protection if you cannot work
• superb flexible working options

We are focused on creating a diverse and inclusive team. If you can’t tick every box above then we are still keen to hear from you and are open to supporting your development. That may be working part time or supporting you to gain experience in a specific area - we are a growing company and are able to adapt roles to reflect individual skills. We may also have an associated role that might be of interest.

About Us

The APEM Group is a global environmental consultancy, we work with a range of clients including large corporations and governments to help them understand and solve a wide variety of environmental projects in the UK and globally. Our successful pioneering work has enabled us to grow and combine forces with other businesses who share our ethos and integrity. At our core, our people are working towards the protection of the environment across the globe.