Licensing Officer

Salary: £32,950 pa, 4 day week + company benefits
Duration: Full time (32hrs, 4-day week)
Location: Flexible within the UK, home-based
Closing date for applications: 9am, Monday 9th March 2026

Please include the job title that you are applying for (Licensing Officer) in the subject line of the email and let us know if you require any assistance in the application process, so that we can make any reasonable adjustments.

Interviews will be held virtually over teams, the week commencing 30th March 2026.

Expected start date: As soon as possible.

About Us

NatureSpace Partnership is a public-private conservation partnership that delivers a strategic alternative to the traditional licensing scheme for great crested newts. We also provide Biodiversity Net Gain, and we’re developing and piloting additional mechanisms to enable development to deliver meaningful positive impacts on nature.

The Science Team

Drawing on ecological expertise, the science team helps steer NatureSpace’s strategy, operations and expansion. Within the science team, the licensing group is responsible for obtaining, amending, renewing and evaluating the District and Organisational Licences. This ranges from statistical and GIS based analysis, through to the coordination of applications to Natural England and data-driven justifications for scheme amendments.

The science team conducts evaluation analysis and reports on the District Licensing evaluation framework relating to the ecological, developmental and regulatory outcomes delivered by the scheme, extending into technical scientific communications. The science team is also responsible for workstream development, including setting up new workstreams such as BNG and working with partners to develop novel approaches and new nature markets, including new species strategies.

The Role

The Licencing Officer will support the work of the licensing group; working closely with the Senior Licensing Officer, Senior Modeller, Senior Evaluation Officer, and the Science GIS Officer. The role also involves significant cross-team collaboration with the planning and data teams, and will help disseminate information our operational and technical teams.

The role will primarily support management of the species licences that allow the scheme to operate. Together with the Senior Licensing Officer, the Licensing Officer will ensure NatureSpace meets all its requirements for applying for, operating and renewing District and Organisational Licences.

The successful candidate will compile information derived by the wider team, for inclusion in documents required by the regulator, ensuring the quality and accuracy of the information submitted to them. The role will manage stakeholder consultations to ensure the highest levels of integrity are embedded in the licensing work. The role will also support the Senior Evaluation Officer with data tasks, including but not limited to simple data analysis, report preparation and technical outcomes communication.

The successful candidate will use insight from their work to help shape and support improvements to our schemes that maintain high environmental integrity, as well as contribute to discussions on responding to information requests from our regulator. While the majority of the role will revolve around supporting the licensing and evaluation work for our great crested newt schemes and developing workstreams, the successful candidate will have opportunities to undertake tasks to support the wider scope of the science team, including simple data processing, analysis and supporting the team’s GIS work.

Key responsibilities:

• Work with the Senior Licensing Officer to compile licence applications, live scheme change requests and further information requests, ensuring high standards of quality
• Work closely with the Senior Evaluation Officer in the analysis of data and preparation of evaluation outputs
• Compile analysis undertaken by the wider team, transcribing it into technical documents
• Challenge and feed into technical discussions to ensure the schemes are operating to maximise outcomes
• Support the wider operations of our expansion and renewals programs where necessary
• Ensure licence information in database and document folders are kept up to date
• Provide cross company and partner support, providing updates on licence changes and answering queries relating to licensing
• Engage with wider company work, applying a flexible approach to cross- and intra-team working

Essential skills, knowledge, and experience:

• A relevant degree-level qualification in an environmental or other related discipline. Equivalent work-related experience would also be considered
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, particularly when explaining numerical data
• Knowledge of District Licensing or wider species licencing within England
• Demonstrable traits in attention to detail and conscientiousness
• Demonstrable traits in strategic thinking
• Self-motivated and independent – able to work flexibly with minimal supervision
• Competent in the use of Microsoft packages such as Word, Excel and PowerPoint

Desirable skills, knowledge, and experience:

• Enthusiasm for wildlife conservation in the UK – Conservation is at the heart of what we do
• Experience of working in deadline-driven work environments
• Experience using QGIS or ArcGIS would be beneficial
• Understanding of planning policy and local plan frameworks in England

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 the UK’s leading 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 70 local planning authorities across Bedfordshire, Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, East Sussex, Gloucestershire, Hampshire, 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 carried out via our partners at the Newt Conservation Partnership (a community benefit society formed of experts from Freshwater Habitats Trust and Amphibian and Reptile Conservation Trust). The scheme benefits developers because the licensing process for great crested newts is simplified and streamlined.

We also work with national infrastructure providers, such as Network Rail and National Highways, 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.

2026 is an exciting year for us, as we advance new schemes that build upon our successes; this will include officially launching our uniquely stacked high-integrity BNG offer and piloting our Priority Species Scheme, as well as developing new licensing schemes for other protected species.

Company culture, employment benefits and location

NatureSpace Partnership is a small (c.68 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 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 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 will 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.