Programme Lead – Natural Environment Location: West London Project Type: Major UK Aviation Infrastructure Negotiable Salary depending on experience A major UK aviation infrastructure programme is recruiting a Programme Lead to shape and coordinate environmental delivery planning across a complex expansion footprint. This role is central to ensuring biodiversity, habitats, landscape, waterways, and ecological protection measures are fully embedded into programme planning and statutory processes. You will act as the primary coordination point for environmental matters, bringing together ecological, regulatory, and technical inputs into one assured, coherent delivery plan. The Role You will lead the natural environment workstream, ensuring environmental commitments are understood, planned, and delivered responsibly across a large, multi‑stakeholder programme. Key responsibilities: * Lead planning for biodiversity, habitats, landscape and environmental protection requirements * Integrate ecological constraints, mitigation measures and enhancement opportunities into delivery plans * Coordinate engagement with regulators, environmental bodies and technical specialists * Ensure environmental commitments are embedded, tracked and assured within programme sequences * Maintain compliant environmental plans aligned with DCO timelines and early‑works objectives * Provide structured environmental planning to support long‑term ecological outcomes * Align inputs from multi‑disciplinary teams into a clear, credible delivery pathway * Support governance, assurance and environmental reporting requirements * Oversee planning for waterways, ecological corridors and conservation measures * Ensure environmental risks, dependencies and constraints are managed early and transparently Experience & Background This role suits senior environmental or programme professionals from major infrastructure, aviation, regulated environments, or large‑scale redevelopment programmes. Ideal experience: * Environmental planning, ecology or natural environment leadership on major programmes * Proven background coordinating biodiversity, habitats or landscape‑scale environmental measures * Experience managing regulators, statutory bodies and ecological specialists * Integration of environmental constraints into complex programme planning * Familiarity with DCO processes, assurance frameworks or regulated planning pathways * Strong understanding of mitigation, enhancement, environmental compliance and long‑term ecological outcomes * Ability to lead environmental strategy within multi‑disciplinary project environments * Skilled at balancing environmental obligations with delivery requirements What You’ll Bring * Strong influencing and stakeholder engagement skills * Ability to structure complex environmental inputs into clear delivery plans * Excellent coordination, risk awareness and environmental leadership capability * Commitment to sustainability, biodiversity protection and responsible programme delivery Why This Role? * Drive the environmental strategy of a nationally significant expansion programme * Shape biodiversity, landscape and habitat outcomes with long‑lasting impact * Work closely with regulators, technical experts and major programme stakeholders * Long‑term opportunity within a high‑profile aviation infrastructure environment