Senior Biodiversity & Business Specialist (Maternity Cover)

Purpose of the role

We’re looking for a Senior Biodiversity & Business Specialist to help businesses understand their impacts on nature and turn biodiversity science into credible, evidence-based action.

You’ll join ZSL’s Monitoring & Technology Programme (MTP), an interdisciplinary team of scientists, technologists and field experts developing innovative ways to monitor wildlife and support evidence-led conservation. Working with partners across sectors, the team applies these approaches to help organisations better understand nature and make informed decisions.

In this role, you’ll lead the development of a framework to assess and monitor progress towards nature-positive outcomes for a major corporate partner. This will involve defining the standards, indicators and monitoring approaches needed to assess biodiversity impacts, measure progress and inform decision-making. You’ll also contribute to other advisory projects, develop new opportunities for ZSL’s work with businesses, and build strong partnerships with external organisations.

Bringing together biodiversity science, innovative monitoring approaches and business needs, you’ll help translate complex evidence into practical solutions that support positive outcomes for wildlife and ecosystems.

This is a 12-month, part-time maternity cover, ideally four days per week (30 hours per week), with some flexibility around working patterns. This is a hybrid role, with time at ZSL’s Regent’s Park office and travel to meet clients and partners when needed.

We are aiming to hold interviews week commencing Monday 2nd November 2026.

Key responsibilities

• Framework Development: Lead the development of a scalable framework to assess and monitor progress towards nature-positive outcomes for a major corporate partner, defining standards, targets, impact indicators and monitoring approaches to assess biodiversity impacts, track measurable outcomes for nature and inform management decision-making.
• Technical Leadership: Provide technical leadership on corporate biodiversity impact measurement and monitoring, translating scientific evidence into robust, practical and decision-relevant approaches.
• Corporate Advisory: Contribute to other corporate advisory projects, including developing impact indicator frameworks, theories of change and monitoring strategies.
• Client & Partner Engagement: Build and maintain effective client and partner relationships, leading technical discussions, presenting findings, and translating complex evidence for corporate and non-specialist audiences.

About You

• A degree (or equivalent experience) in ecology, conservation, environmental science, sustainability or a related discipline.
• Strong understanding of biodiversity and nature-positive concepts, including how businesses impact and depend on nature.
• Relevant experience in biodiversity or sustainability strategy, corporate biodiversity impact measurement, environmental assessment or a related area, including experience working with or advising businesses on nature or sustainability.
• Experience developing or applying impact and monitoring frameworks, including indicators, monitoring strategies and theories of change.
• Experience independently leading technical work or projects, reviewing and synthesising evidence, and translating it into robust, practical recommendations and high-quality outputs.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to present technical findings and engage effectively with clients, partners and other stakeholders.

This role is subject to standard pre-employment checks, including confirmation of your right to work in the UK. Visa sponsorship is not available for this position.

ZSL recognises that conservation is one of the least diverse sectors, and we actively encourage applications from candidates who identify as part of underrepresented communities. We are committed to building a supportive and inclusive workplace where everyone can thrive and celebrate the value of having a team of employees with diverse skills, experiences, and heritage.

About Us

We’re ZSL, an international conservation charity. Through our unrivalled animal experts in our two zoos (London Zoo and Whipsnade Zoo), the work of our pioneering scientists, our dedicated conservationists, our purpose is to inspire, inform and empower people to stop wild animals going extinct. Our vision is a world where wildlife thrives and we’re working every day to achieve this. From investigating the health threats facing animals, to helping people and wildlife live alongside each other, we are committed to bringing wildlife back from the brink of extinction.

What Do We Offer?

Alongside the opportunity to do purpose-driven work that helps create a world where wildlife thrives, you'll enjoy a range of benefits, including:

• Up to 12% contributory pension
• Flexible working options
• 25 days' annual leave plus UK bank holidays, increasing with service
• Enhanced family-friendly policies
• Life assurance from day one (for eligible employees)
• 24/7 Employee Assistance Programme and wellbeing support
• Access to our staff Equality Networks
• Complimentary London Zoo and Whipsnade Zoo tickets, plus retail discounts
• Cycle2Work scheme and interest-free season ticket loans (for eligible London-based employees)

You can find the full details of our benefits in the Benefits Guide.

We may close this role early or extend the closing date due to the number of applications we receive, so we encourage you to apply as soon as possible.

We anonymise applications until interview stage to ensure a fair hiring process. It’s important to highlight your unique skills, experience, and knowledge. Over reliance on AI-generated content may miss key criteria outlined in the job description and reduce the effectiveness of your application.

If you have any questions about this role, we’d love to hear from you! Please get in touch with our recruitment team at – [email protected]