Principal Officer - Lead Environmental Regulator

Reference number: 6409
Working pattern: Full-time, Job share, Part-time
Location: Nationally - East Midlands (England), East of England, London (region), North East England, North West England, South East England, South West England, West Midlands (England), Yorkshire and the Humber.

Join us in shaping a future where nature and people thrive. Whether you're drawn to hands-on conservation or playing a vital part behind the scenes, your work at Natural England will support lasting benefits for the environment and society.

Our Role

Natural England is the Government’s adviser for the natural environment and the Nature regulator with a wide range of statutory duties and powers. We provide the evidence, expertise and advice to recover Nature and shape better places for people to live. We do this working through and with others.

Strategic Outcomes for Nature

Our strategy is framed through four strategic outcomes. Each of these outcomes reinforces and amplifies the others, and together they address environmental, social and economic actions critical to thriving nature.

• Recovering Nature – Increased scale and quality of places where nature thrives.
• Building Better Places – Greener homes and infrastructure create healthier, more investable places, recognising we live better where nature thrives around us.
• Improving Health and Wellbeing – Build nature into everyday life so people can support, access and benefit from nature, wherever they live.
• Delivering Security through Nature – Nature helps us adapt to the threats of a changing climate and improves our national security, supporting more resilient food production, healthy soils, clean and plentiful water and clean air.

The Role

The Corry Review recommended the implementation of an approach called ‘Lead Environmental Regulator’ to streamline the regulatory service offered to major infrastructure projects by Defra Group Arms- Length Bodies (ALBs) - Natural England, Environment Agency, Marine Management Organisation and Forestry Commission.

This approach, a Secretary of State reform priority, is being initially piloted with a small number of projects. In summary, it involves establishing a robust approach to project managing the interactions with the developer across the relevant Defra Group ALBs, seeking to avoid unnecessary delay and improve the customer experience. An Operating Model and evaluation methodology have been established in partnership with the cross-Defra Project Board.

As a Strategic Lead for the Lead Environmental Regulator pilots, you will provide strategic oversight, leadership, and direction for one of Natural England’s most high profile and influential reform initiatives. You will be accountable for shaping how Natural England and the wider Defra Group engage with major national infrastructure projects, helping to embed a collaborative, consistent and customer-focused regulatory service. You will be accountable for shaping how Natural England and the wider Defra Group engage with major national infrastructure projects, helping to embed the LER approach.

This role requires a leader who can combine strategic thinking, system-wide influence and programme leadership, while representing Natural England at senior level with developers, regulators, and government partners with influence and programme leadership.

This is a high-profile work area, offering a fantastic opportunity to trial and shape the way that we work with some of the most significant development projects in our country.

The role will be based in the Major Planning Casework Team (MPCT) in National Delivery. This multi-disciplinary team works on significant, large-scale, complex casework and strategic programmes, providing expert support and technical leadership to area teams and coordinating major infrastructure programmes. Its current portfolio of projects includes High Speed 2 (HS2), Sizewell C, East West Rail and RAPID and other High Risk/High Opportunity casework.

Closing date: 6th March 2026.