About the Role
and our Ideal Candidate
About the role
The postholder will be responsible for assisting with all aspects of delivering biodiversity improvements and nature conservation management throughout the borough.
This role is focused on supporting the effective management of the Council’s parks and green spaces through protection, habitat management, surveying and habitat creation / restoration.
In the role, you will:
1. Contribute to delivery of the Biodiversity Strategy and the Parks and Open Spaces Strategy through:
2. Engage and supervise contractor delivery for habitat creation and management works across all sites.
3. Comment on planning applications, especially around Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) and protected species, including securing section obligations for monitoring and offsetting.
4. Assist in onsite BNG compliance monitoring of permitted developments.
5. Assist in developing a BNG offsetting market in Sutton, through:
6. Feed into the reviews of internal documents, including the Local Plan, Biodiversity Strategy / Nature Recovery Action Plan, Environment Strategy, Parks and Open Spaces Strategy etc.
Weekend and early morning / evening work is to be expected, particularly for species monitoring and engaging members of the public.
Our flexible working policy will help you achieve a suitable work/life balance.
About you
To succeed in this role, you will:
7. be a driven and passionate conservationist / ecologist;
8. have at least 3 years’ practical experience of habitat creation and management across a range of habitats;
9. have good identification and surveying skills;
10. have a working knowledge of planning and biodiversity net gain / be willing to learn;
11. have excellent communication skills for dealing with a wide range of people, enthusing them about nature;
12. have the ability to work in partnership with different organisations
13. be highly motivated, independent and organised to work efficiently
About Us
The role is based within the Council’s Parks and Open Spaces Service’s Biodiversity Team.
The Biodiversity Team manages over 25 Sites of Importance for Nature Conservation within the London Borough of Sutton, including chalk downland, woodland, wetlands and neutral meadows, from the green belt of the North Downs to the urban landscape.
The team works closely with Sutton Nature Conservation Volunteers, operating 2-3 task days per week.
The Biodiversity Team also deals with all biodiversity issues relating to planning.
Our Offer To You
As an organisation that values and nurtures talent, we’re committed to helping you fulfil your potential and will offer you a supportive, friendly and collaborative environment to grow and develop your career and skills. We’re constantly striving to improve our ways of working so putting your ideas across however big or small; will be fully encouraged and supported by your colleagues and our dynamic and experienced management team.
Employees have access to a wide range of benefits to enable staff to achieve a work life balance, some of which include:
14. A generous annual leave entitlement of 26-32 days plus bank holidays (pro-rata if part-time working hours apply) depending on service and grade
15. Enhanced Maternity, paternity, shared parental, adoption and dependents leave
16. Two volunteering days per year
17. Flexible Working - Smarter Working Scheme (dependent on the role)
18. Adjustable and agile working arrangements using Google Chromebooks
19. Learning and development portal offering a range of courses
20. Discounts on a range of local shops, restaurants, gyms and leisure centres
21. Interest free season ticket loans
22. Local Government Pension Scheme
23. Bicycle loan facilities and cycle to work scheme
24. Electric vehicle leasing scheme
25. Confidential health & wellbeing and counselling support