Ecologist

Purpose / Scope of the Role

Due to the ongoing success and expansion of the business, Aspect Ecology has an excellent opportunity for an experienced ecologist to progress their career in ecological consultancy, by joining our industry leading team of specialists and working on an exciting range of challenging and interesting projects. The purpose of the role is to undertake terrestrial ecology site work and support in the preparation and writing of reports via data processing, analysis, and interpretation, as well as project management and liaison with clients.

By joining Aspect Ecology you will be working within an experienced team of terrestrial ecologists who deliver a wide variety of projects across the UK across a range of sectors including housing, retail, employment and renewable energy, amongst others. As part of the APEM Group, you will have the opportunity to work with cross-cutting expertise, not only in the terrestrial sector, but across other allied sectors.

What Success Looks Like in this Role

Working as an Ecologist within the ecology team, you will continue to expand your terrestrial ecological knowledge and skills by leading protected species and habitat surveys and preparing high quality technical reports. Management of your own small-scale projects will increase your exposure to client liaison and interaction. You will have the responsibility of meeting tight deadlines and providing specialist ecological advice. A successful candidate would be looking to progress to a Senior Ecologist after approximately three to four years’ experience where they would support junior members of the team and work on more complex ecological projects.

Key Responsibilities

To undertake and lead terrestrial ecology survey work and site visits, including Phase 1 / UK Habitat surveys and various protected species surveys (e.g. bats, badgers, dormice, GCN, reptiles, otters, water voles, and nesting birds).
To complete desk-based studies and write high quality ecological reports within tight
To independently manage small-scale ecology projects and meet client demands.
To assist with and compile tenders for new ecology project
To analyse survey data and produce reporting outputs including ecological maps using QGIS.
To complete all work in accordance with Aspect Ecology’s health and safety protocols and
To carry out any additional activities that may be reasonably required or

Skills/Knowledge/Experience/Qualifications

Essential –

A relevant degree and/or postgraduate qualification, with a strong academic record.
Have Qualifying/Associate Membership of CIEEM (or be eligible to obtain).
A sound background in natural history and familiarity with UK flora and fauna.
Experience conducting Phase 1 Habitat and / or UK Habitat Classification surveys.
Experience of writing Preliminary Ecological Appraisals and / or protected species survey reports.
Experience of protected species surveys (e.g. bats, birds, dormice, GCN, otter, water vole, etc.).
Sound knowledge and practical application of UK environmental and wildlife legislation.
Ability to work under pressure in a fast-paced environment, with effective teamwork and excellent organization and communication
Ability to travel across the UK, with some requirement for over-night stays.
A full UK driving licence.

Desirable –

Experience or training in National Vegetation Classification (NVC).
Hold at least one protected species survey licence.
Experience of managing small-scale projects and / or sections of larger scale projects.
Experience of delivering client facing tasks such as Ecological Clerk of Works.
Experience preparing development licence applications for protected species mitigation.
Ability to use relevant software to complete bat survey data analysis.
Experience using Geographical Information Systems (GIS), e.g. QGIS

About Aspect Ecology

At Aspect Ecology, we specialise in providing ecological consultancy services to a well-established base of high-profile public and private sector clients. Our Oxfordshire-based team has a wealth of experience and expertise advising on an extensive range of projects nationwide with a focus on integrating ecological habitats and wildlife benefits within new developments. We are a professional and friendly team of enthusiastic ecologists who thrive on innovation and delivering a high quality output to our clients – see our website for more information and follow us on LinkedIn.

You can apply for this vacancy through the APEM Group careers portal –

https://jobs.apemltd.co.uk/vacancies/736/ecologist.html

Our Values

Our most important assets are our people who work for us. We all work as one team and rely on each other. We wish to create a working environment to which our people are proud to belong, by maintaining our values at the forefront of everything we do. These values are:

Integrity – We do the right thing
Quality – Quality in everything
People – We care
Forward thinking – We focus on the future
Positivity – We believe we can
Fairness – We champion equality