Principal Ecologist

Location: Great Ayton, North Yorkshire (Hybrid working from home or office)
Salary: £50,000- £55,000
Contract: Full-time / part-time considered

Are you an experienced ecologist looking for greater responsibility, a supportive team and the opportunity to help shape a growing consultancy?

At Ecosurv, we provide sound ecological advice and practical solutions that help our clients deliver projects while protecting and enhancing biodiversity.

We are looking for a Principal Ecologist to lead complex projects, support our team’s development and maintain high technical standards. This opportunity would suit an established Principal Ecologist or an experienced Senior Ecologist ready to take the next step.

The role

Working closely with our senior team, you will combine technical leadership, project delivery and client management, while contributing to the continued growth of the business.

Your responsibilities will include:

• Technical Leadership & Quality Assurance: Lead and review complex ecological assessments, including Ecological Impact Assessments (EcIA), Habitats Regulations Assessments (HRA), Preliminary Ecological Appraisals (PEA), and Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) strategies using the Statutory Biodiversity Metric. Ensure work follows relevant legislation, CIEEM guidance and professional standards.
• Protected Species & Licensing: Design and oversee protected species surveys and mitigation strategies, manage European Protected Species (EPS) mitigation licence applications and delivery, and act as a Named Ecologist where appropriately qualified and experienced.
• Team Mentoring & Development: Coach, mentor and supervise junior and senior ecologists, providing constructive technical feedback and supporting their progression through CIEEM’s Competency Framework, professional membership and chartership.
• Client & Stakeholder Engagement: Build effective relationships with clients, local planning authorities, statutory nature conservation bodies, including Natural England, and multidisciplinary design teams.
• Project & Commercial Management: Manage project budgets, programmes and resources, ensuring work is delivered efficiently, to a high standard and within agreed timescales.
• Business Development: Contribute to bids, tenders and commercial growth strategies for the ecology team, identifying opportunities to develop our services and build lasting client relationships.

About you

You will bring strong ecological knowledge, sound professional judgement and the confidence to guide both clients and colleagues.

We are looking for:

• A degree in ecology or a related discipline, or equivalent relevant experience.
• Substantial ecological consultancy experience, including responsibility for complex projects and technical review.
• Full membership of CIEEM (MCIEEM), or demonstrable eligibility and a commitment to achieving it.
• A commitment to CIEEM’s Code of Professional Conduct, continuing professional development and relevant good practice guidance.
• Strong working knowledge of UK wildlife legislation, planning policy and ecological assessment.
• Experience of EcIA, HRA, habitat assessment, UKHab classification and BNG, including use of the Statutory Biodiversity Metric.
• Experience of protected species mitigation and licensing. Hold relevant protected species survey licenses with the competence to act as a Named Ecologist on development mitigation licenses.
• Excellent report writing, communication and client management skills.
• Experience of mentoring colleagues and supporting their professional development.
• Commercial awareness, including experience of preparing proposals, managing budgets and contributing to bids or tenders.
• The ability to travel to project sites and undertake fieldwork as required.

Chartered Ecologist (CEcol) or Chartered Environmentalist (CEnv) status would be welcomed, alongside relevant protected species survey licences and specialist expertise. We also welcome applications from candidates actively working towards chartership.

Why join Ecosurv?

This is an opportunity to make a meaningful contribution to an established consultancy, with a voice in how we work, develop our services and support our people.

We value colleagues who share their knowledge, take pride in their work and support those around them. We recognise the demands of seasonal survey work and place importance on sensible workloads, staff wellbeing and maintaining high professional standards.

Our package includes:

Salary between £50,000- £55,000 FTE , Annual Leave-23 days holiday + 8 public holidays + 3 days for Christmas shut down+ opportunity to purchase up to 5 additional days leave, Pension-6% employer contribution and minimum 5% employee contribution, Hybrid working pattern, this can be PT or FT hours, Private medical insurance, and training support.

For an informal, confidential conversation, please contact Kay Richardson 07498 316764.

Closing date: TBC

We welcome applications from people of all backgrounds. Please let us know if you need any reasonable adjustments during the recruitment process.