Business Support Assistant

Salary: £26,550 pa, 4-day week + company benefits.
Duration: Full time (32hrs, 4-day week)
Location: Flexible within the UK, home-based. 

The role 

This is an exciting opportunity for an administrator to work on a ground-breaking project, working to deliver a step-change in the conservation of great crested newts. This role would suit a new graduate or a junior administrator looking to join a growing, friendly company that is working with planning authorities and NGOs to deliver better conservation outcomes for great crested newts. The postholder will be responsible for supporting the NatureSpace team with administrative tasks as well as following defined processes and protocols, working within the Business Support Team. Attention to detail and a meticulous approach to recording information, customer service, as well as the ability to work confidently, are paramount for this post. Training and guidance will be provided and day-to-day support will be available for all aspects of the role from a senior line manager.

Key responsibilities: 

• To help provide on-going general and company administrative support across the company.
• To support event organisation, including in-person and virtual team building days, training days, meetings and conferences.
• The role will include support and management of administration and operations to agreed deadlines, including but not limited to:
  • Support the Business Support Team in duties as required
  • Support the company with recruitment of new staff including the collation and sorting of CVs, interview paperwork, email correspondence and induction
  • Support and assist other teams within the company as required
  • Calendar and schedule management and recording
  • Assisting with HR-related administration, including company contracts, polices, handbooks and employee records
  • Assisting with Health and Safety related administration

• Support with the management of company benefits, including the electrical vehicle salary sacrifice scheme, health and life insurance policies and company insurance policies
• Support with financial duties as required
• Be responsible for managing own workload and working independently, as part of a national team. There will be high levels of personal flexibility and responsibility given, but equally high standards of self-management (time recording etc) will be required. A need to be an organised, motivated and a mature ‘self-starter’, able to manage multiple ongoing tasks. Full training and guidance will be provided for all functions and full support will be available for all aspects of the work.
• Any other duties and functions as are deemed necessary

Essential skills, knowledge, and experience: 

• An excellent communicator with good inter-personal skills - able to liaise proactively and confidently with the NatureSpace team, planning and other regulatory authorities, NGO partners, local media and other interested parties (clients/ecologists)
• High level of literacy and numeracy – able to analyse and present data, prepare documents quickly and diligently to a high standard, following defined processes, protocols and guidance, including fluency in the use of Microsoft Office software (Word, Excel, Outlook)
• Organised, methodical and conscientious – able to juggle and prioritise multiple tasks and work efficiently to meet tight deadlines
• Excellent time management skills
• Excellent I.T. skills
• Excellent customer service skills
• Self-motivated and independent – able to work flexibly and without supervision as part of a dispersed team
• Willingness and ability to travel as necessary (nationwide)
• Ability to cope with remote working with limited opportunities for in-person meetings and events throughout the year

Desirable skills, knowledge, and experience:  

• Experience in administrative operations and duties
• Experience working with Wordpress websites, social media platforms and CRM software
• An enthusiasm for ecology and conservation in the UK
• Full driving licence and access to a car for business travel

Company background

Great crested newts have declined dramatically in the UK over the last 50 years and although still widespread across lowland England they are no longer common. Despite protection under UK and European wildlife law, numbers are still declining, and habitat loss is their biggest threat.

In 2018, the NatureSpace District Licensing Scheme was launched – set up in partnership with national freshwater and amphibian Non-Governmental Organisations as well as seven local planning authorities across the South Midlands. Since then, the scheme has expanded nationally and now covers over 60 local planning authorities across Bedfordshire, Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, East Sussex, Gloucestershire, Hampshire, Milton Keynes, Northamptonshire, Oxfordshire, Staffordshire, Surrey and West Sussex.

The scheme allows planning authorities to authorise (under strictly defined terms) activities which affect great crested newts at the same time as they grant planning permission. The District Licensing Scheme has significant advantages for newt conservation and wider biodiversity benefits through a fully funded region-wide conservation strategy that creates high-quality habitat at a landscape scale and delivers long-term management and monitoring for newts, which is delivered via our partners at the Newt Conservation Partnership. The scheme benefits developers because the licensing process for great crested newts is simplified and streamlined.

NatureSpace also work with national infrastructure providers, such as Network Rail, to help them secure and deliver 'Organisational Licences' for protected species with the same conservation deliverables. The schemes are administered by NatureSpace, are regulated, and approved by Natural England and are supported by the country’s leading amphibian and freshwater NGOs – the Amphibian and Reptile Conservation Trust and Freshwater Habitats Trust.

Company culture, employment benefits and location

NatureSpace Partnership is a small (c.60 staff) but busy and rapidly growing company. Being a small organisation, everyone has a big say in what we do and how we do it. Our agility and size mean that your voice will be heard and you will have the opportunity to directly see the results of your work.

Work/life balance is important to us. We actively support a flexible working arrangement so that our work fits in with our lives and we are open to exploring how this role could best work for you.

The successful candidate/s will be joining a friendly, close-working team of home-workers and will have responsibility for managing their workload and working independently as part of a dispersed national team. The post requires high levels of motivation and high standards of self-management. Location is entirely flexible within the UK - this post will be mainly desk-based but some travelling to meetings in England may be required.

NatureSpace embraces equal opportunities, diversity and inclusion and we welcome applications from all suitable qualified and experienced individuals. To build a team of the most talented employees, NatureSpace is committed to being a flexible employer and we place considerable emphasis on wellbeing and job satisfaction.

We offer a significant benefits package for all staff including flexible working, a 4-day working week plus occasional mandatory Friday meetings, time off-in-lieu (TOIL) or overtime pay (in agreement with your line manager), 20 annual leave days (which equates to 5-weeks off per year in light of the 4-day working week, plus bank holidays, weekday birthdays and additional holiday over the Christmas period), an annual performance bonus of up to 20% of your pay, company pension contributions, company private health and life insurance, plus the option to join our electric vehicle salary sacrifice scheme.

Applicants must have the legal right to live and work in the UK.

Interview dates: You will be notified by Monday 8th September 2025 if you have been selected for interview; with interviews being held virtually (via Microsoft Teams) on Monday 15th September 2025.

Expected start date: As soon as possible