Senior Ecologist

Purpose / Scope of the Role

Due to the ongoing success and expansion of the business, Aspect Ecology has an excellent opportunity for a Senior Ecologist to join our industry leading team of specialists, working on an exciting range of challenging and interesting projects. The purpose of the role is to undertake terrestrial ecology site work, 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

You will be an experienced consultant with a passion for professionalism and making a positive difference, and relevant professional experience in ecological consultancy or closely related field including the public sector or conservation bodies. Working as a Senior Ecologist you will continue to expand your terrestrial ecological knowledge and skills by designing and leading protected species and habitat surveys, and preparing high quality technical reports. Management of your own small, medium and large-scale projects will increase your exposure to client liaison and interaction. You will also have the opportunity to mentor more junior staff. You will have the responsibility of meeting tight deadlines and providing specialist ecological advice. A successful candidate would be looking to progress to Principal Ecologist after approximately three to five years’ experience (depending on starting point in the role) where they would mentor a larger team and work on more complex ecological projects.

Key Responsibilities

To design, undertake and lead terrestrial ecology survey work and site visits, including Phase 1 / UK Habitat surveys, protected species surveys (e.g. bats, badgers, dormice, GCN, reptiles, otters, water voles, and nesting birds), and ECoW.
To complete desk-based studies and write high quality ecological reports (PEAR, EcIA, ES chapters, BNG assessments, etc.) within tight
To independently manage a range of ecology projects and meet client demands.
Client management, successfully developing, maintaining and managing internal and external stakeholder relationships.
To compile tenders for new ecology project
To review more junior ecologists’ work and provide feedback and mentoring.
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 minimum of 3 years’ relevant professional experience in ecological consultancy or closely related field including the public sector or conservation bodies.
A relevant degree and/or postgraduate qualification, with a strong academic record.
Comprehensive experience with UK botanical and faunal identification.
Knowledge and experience of Phase 1 Habitat and / or UK Habitat Classification surveys.
Knowledge and experience of undertaking protected species surveys, mitigation and licensing.
Up to date knowledge and detailed understanding of UK wildlife legislation and policy.
The ability to produce concise, high quality, written reports, with experience of Preliminary Ecological Appraisals, EcIAs, protected species survey reports, etc.
Experience of managing and liaising with clients.
Ability to work under pressure in a fast-paced environment, with effective teamwork and excellent organization and communication
Full or Associate Membership of CIEEM (or be eligible to obtain).
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) or Modular River Surveys (MoRPh).
Hold at least one protected species survey licence.
Experience of managing projects and leading and motivating junior staff.
Experience preparing development licence applications for protected species mitigation.
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/734/senior-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