Assistant Operations Officer

The Role

The Assistant Operations Officer will be line-managed by the Senior Operations Officer and will provide important administrative assistance and support on project management and database management as well as wider operational support to the Operations team.

We’re looking for someone who is well-organised, a good communicator and is able to carry out essential administrative and supporting tasks to improve efficiency. Experience of great crested newts and the planning system are desirable, but full training is provided, and we’re open to people who bring a range of other skills, knowledge and experience to the team to help us to continually improve our services, processes and outcomes.

The NatureSpace Operations Team

The Operations Team currently consists of 12 county-based District Licensing Officers, who are employed to support planning authorities in the areas covered by the District Licensing Scheme (as listed above); and a national support team. The team are responsible for providing impartial comments on planning applications, delivering training to the planning authorities and helping them with the relevant licensing paperwork, monitoring compliance and collating information for reporting annually to Natural England. The team is led by the Operations Manager.

The Assistant Operations Officer will support this work by helping the team stay organised, maintain accurate records, coordinate key activities and share information effectively.

Key responsibilities

• Assisting the Operations Team with a variety of work as necessary, including administration, communications, data entry, organising meetings, taking meeting notes, updating and monitoring progress towards implementation of key actions in the team plan, and supporting wider company projects as required.
• Providing support and assistance to the Operations Team as and when required, including essential holiday cover and supporting District Licensing Officers during busy periods. This may involve assessing and commenting on planning applications (for potential impacts to great crested newts), undertaking project management tasks, and responding to queries from planners, ecologists and developers.
• Helping with the preparation, review and delivery of training to planning authorities, including organising training sessions and helping to design presentations and resources.
• Helping to ensure that important records are kept up-to-date and assisting with the quality assurance process to maintain high-quality data.
• Helping to prepare, review and disseminate guidance to the team and other key documentation.
• Facilitating the sharing of best practice amongst the team and the wider company as a whole.
• Assisting with project management.
• Helping to manage contact information.
• Helping to ensure that Health and Safety requirements are met within the team
• Ensuring effective internal communications and information-sharing within the whole company.

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.

This is an exciting time for NatureSpace, as we advance new workstreams that build upon our successes; including our uniquely stacked high-integrity Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) offer and pioneering licensing schemes for other protected species.

Requirements

Essential skills, knowledge, and experience

• An enthusiasm for wildlife, ecology and conservation in the UK
• A general understanding of the planning system and ecology
• Good IT skills and competence in using Microsoft 365 package, including Word, Excel, Teams, Outlook and PowerPoint
• An effective communicator with good inter-personal skills, able to liaise proactively and confidently with a range of people
• Organised, self-motivated and able to work independently with day-to-day supervision, keeping on top of a varied and busy work schedule
• Ability to organise and schedule meetings, manage agenda and take minutes effectively
• Ability to prepare presentations using templates in PowerPoint
• Ability to thrive in a remote (home) working environment with limited opportunities for in-person meetings and events throughout the year (e.g. company days)
• Good time management and ability to prioritise work tasks
• Good project management skills and/or experience in supporting a project team

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

Desirable skills, knowledge, and experience

• Degree in ecology, environmental management, wildlife conservation, planning, geography or another relevant subject
• Good level of understanding of environmental assessment, biodiversity conservation, protected species and licensing
• Good level of understanding of the role that local planning authorities play in making decisions about new developments in England
• Experience of understanding and communicating the contents of technical reports to non-technical audiences
• Experience in data management, databases and Quality Assurance processes
• Experience with Zoho software
• UK driving licence

Benefits

Company benefits and culture

• 4-day working week (Monday-Thursday)
• Remote and flexible working
• Travel to meetings in England may be required a few times throughout the year, but we encourage the use of public transport, so a car is not essential
• 20 days annual leave
• Plus bank holidays, weekday birthdays and additional holiday over the Christmas period
• Annual bonus scheme, up to 20% of your pay
• Company pension contributions
• Company private health and life insurance
• Individual employee development budget for relevant CPD

NatureSpace Partnership is a small (c.70 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. We are a forward-thinking company, working to high standards to deliver well-planned and meaningful outcomes. 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’re open to exploring how this role could best work for you.

The successful candidate will join a friendly, close-working team of home-workers as part of a dispersed national team. The role is mainly desk-based and can be based anywhere in the UK (there’s no central office), although occasional travel to meetings in central England will be required. You will be trusted to manage your own workload and work independently, so strong motivation, sound judgement and good self-management will be important.

To deliver better outcomes for nature, people and places, we need a team that brings different perspectives, experiences and ways of thinking to our work. We welcome applications from people of all backgrounds with the relevant skills and experience for the role. We’re committed to building an inclusive workplace where everyone can contribute and develop, and we particularly encourage applications from people who are currently under-represented in the environment sector.

As summarised above, we offer a strong benefits package designed to support work/life balance and job satisfaction. Our 4-day working week means full-time team members work Monday to Thursday, with 20 days annual leave (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. Where additional hours are agreed with your line manager, these can be recognised through time off in lieu (TOIL) or overtime pay. Employees also benefit from an annual performance bonus of up to 20% of your pay, company pension contributions, and company private health and life insurance.