The Team
Do you want to make a real difference, working in a high priority area, securing significant environmental gains in the present and the future? Do you enjoy working in and leading a team? If so, this role may interest you as an opportunity to create a better future for people and nature.
The role is based nationally. Some travel may be required.
This role sits at the forefront of Natural England's shift toward nature recovery at scale. Working with our national leads and Area Teams, you will help shape the next generation of housing and infrastructure delivery—supporting new settlements, accelerating large-scale developments, and ensuring nature is designed into places from the outset. This role offers a unique opportunity to influence how major development ambitions are delivered nationally, resolving complex issues through strategic, landscape-scale solutions that achieve win–wins for nature, communities and the economy.
We are seeking an ambitious individual with great communication and organisational skills to join our highly performing, supportive and friendly teams across Natural England's Sustainable Development work.
Job Purpose
Working nationally, you will have a strategic national coordination role, supporting Natural England's Principal Officers for the New Towns and New Homes Accelerator Programmes to coordinate strategic approaches that unblock and accelerate housing and infrastructure development while maximising outcomes for nature recovery.
You will work closely with Area Teams, developers, planning authorities and technical specialists to identify cross-cutting environmental barriers affecting large development sites, and develop proactive, strategic solutions that enable sustainable growth.
You will champion early engagement with Natural England, promote nature-positive approaches to planned growth, and help ensure strategic mitigation and investment is targeted where it delivers the greatest benefit for people and nature.
The focus will be on the impact types which present most risk to development and delivery of economic growth because they are difficult to resolve at site scale. These include cumulative, indirect impacts such as air pollution, water pollution, water shortage, habitat fragmentation, disturbance of sensitive species, and obstruction of natural coastal change.
These impacts require strategic solutions which will address impacts at many sites and deliver gains for nature on a large scale. We are looking for win-wins which will help society to meet its broad objectives, including the boosting of nature's recovery.
Your Role Will Be To:
Work closely with Natural England's national and area team leads for the New Towns and New Homes Accelerator Programmes to identify and address thematic environmental issues causing delays to large housing and infrastructure projects.
Provide proactive advice and support to developers, planning authorities and stakeholders to help unblock major development proposals while securing nature-positive outcomes.
Coordinate with Area Teams to ensure consistent, aligned strategic approaches across the country, sharing insights, best practice and technical expertise.
Identify opportunities for strategic solutions that address cumulative and cross-boundary impacts such as air quality, water quality, hydrology, fragmentation or coastal change, and support their development, design and delivery.
Build effective partnerships with key stakeholders including local authorities, statutory agencies, developers, infrastructure bodies and environmental partners, helping resolve complex issues affecting major housing proposals.
Convene partnerships and collaborate with experts to ensure that solutions are deliverable and achieve real benefits.
Help target large-scale investment to mitigation measures which will make the most difference to nature's recovery.
Key Tasks/Principal Accountabilities
National Oversight and Coordination
Support national coordination and maintain strategic oversight of emerging environmental barriers associated with housing development pipelines, cross‑cutting risks, ensuring Area Teams have clarity on priorities and pressures.
National Process Development and Continuous Improvement
Develop, refine and embed national tools, processes and approaches for strategic environmental solutions, supporting consistent decision‑making and efficient use of specialist expertise across regions.
Strategic Deployment of Expertise
Work closely with the Principal Officer(s) to support the deployment of specialist input, ensuring the right expertise is aligned to the right challenges at the right time to unblock large housing and infrastructure schemes.
Coordination Across Area Teams to Improve System Performance
Provide leadership across Area Teams to build shared understanding of risks, best practice, and solution pathways, driving a coherent national offer for strategic development solutions.
National Monitoring, Reporting and Assurance
Support national reporting, tracking and assurance activity on strategic solution deployment and outcomes, ensuring senior leaders have clear insight into progress, risks and opportunities.
Convene and Collaboration
Identify, develop and maintain positive and influential relationships with stakeholders – internally and externally - to help Natural England develop, implement, and deliver key areas of strategy and policy. Work collaboratively with colleagues across Natural England and local partners. Share best practice, raise awareness and provide advice, training, guidance and support to build capability across Natural England.
Knowledge, Skills & Experience
Experience providing national or cross‑organisational coordination, including tracking and supporting delivery across multiple delivery teams.
Strong working knowledge of environmental considerations within the planning system, including environmental assessment, ecological assessment, local and national planning policy, and relevant regulations (e.g., Habitats Regulations, BNG).
Ability to analyse complex environmental and planning information and translate it into practical, proportionate advice.
Strong understanding of ecological principles and their application in identifying strategic-level impacts and solutions.
Experience representing an organisation at a senior level and working collaboratively with developers, planning authorities and other partners to resolve complex issues.
Good knowledge of the breadth of Natural England's role and delivery responsibilities; and of the key issues in environmental policy.
Experience of collaborating with a range of stakeholders to achieve pragmatic outcomes.
Ability to use clear and appropriate language, communication styles and techniques to disseminate complex technical advice.
Knowledge of how to handle data responsibly, understand your role in good governance, and comply with delegations, policies, and procedures.
Experience of delivering work against agreed targets and deadlines in line with relevant project/programme management structures.
Competencies
Technical Skills & Knowledge
You will be expected to meet at least 4 of the below criteria
Technical expertise and applied experience of the planning system to shape environmental solutions for designated sites, protected landscapes and species (Essential).
Technical expertise in and experience of planning mechanisms and their application for nature recovery – e.g. Habitats Regulations Assessments, Development Plan process, Sustainability Appraisals, Environmental Impact Assessments (or others). Ability to understand new planning processes and how they might be applied to enable the delivery of enhanced nature recovery (Essential).
Experience of developing creative strategic solutions to complex casework problems (Essential).
Knowledge of how local authorities work, and/or basic ecological or land management knowledge, is also useful but not essential (Desirable).
Personal Effectiveness
Be ambitious, identify and adopt ways to make improvements in your team and Natural England and inspire others to act (Practitioner).
Use clear and appropriate language, communication styles and techniques that engage your audience (Practitioner).
Share expertise and knowledge with people and networks so that you can develop together (Practitioner).
Work Delivery
Manage and deliver your work to meet agreed standards, targets and deadlines (Expert).
See the big picture so you can set your team's work within the context of the organisation's vision, mission and aims, and help them understand how their work relates to and supports this (Practitioner).
Putting People at the Heart of the Environment
Nurture trusting partnerships and collaborate to achieve pragmatic outcomes that help deliver Natural England's vision, mission and aims. (Practitioner).
Work proactively and collaboratively with stakeholders and partners to identify and secure opportunities to deliver gains for people and nature (Practitioner).
Pay
Natural England are yet to finalise the details of the 2025 Pay Review. This will be backdated to July 2025, and this could involve a review of our current terms and conditions alongside increases to the advertised pay ranges. If there are any changes to what has been advertised the vacancy manager will be able to provide further details ahead of any offers being accepted.
Join us in shaping a future where nature and people thrive. Whether you're drawn to hands-on conservation or playing a vital part behind the scenes, your work at Natural England will support lasting benefits for the environment and society.