Principal Officer - Major Casework Risk Management

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.

This is an exciting opportunity to lead on the oversight of casework risk management in operational delivery, providing the leadership and technical expertise needed to support the effective handling of our highest priority cases.

The role will be based in the Major Planning Casework Team (MPCT) in National Delivery. This multi-disciplinary team works on significant, large-scale, complex casework and strategic programmes, providing expert support and technical leadership to Area Teams and coordinating major infrastructure programmes. Its current portfolio of projects includes High Speed 2 (HS2), Sizewell C, East West Rail and RAPID and other HR/HO casework across England.

In this role, you will play a critical part in leading a consistent and strategic approach to risk management on major casework. You will have a clear understanding of the strategic and political context within which Natural England is operating and provide a focal point for organisational understanding of our highest priority cases. Your oversight of risk will enable you to support and challenge where the risk bar is set and how it is interpreted, promoting consistency and positive environmental outcomes.

You will provide the Operations input to the Defra Infrastructure Board, engaging with DEFRA and our Strategy and Area Teams. This includes identification of cases to bring to the Board, providing effective briefings for the Chief Officer in Operations. You will work with other statutory bodies, Natural England Area Teams and Defra to unlock progress on priority infrastructure projects, working flexibly to support different priority projects as they arise.

You will bring expertise across a range of disciplines and provide thought and functional leadership to the team members working with you. Working closely with MPCT’s Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects Manager this will include overseeing the team’s role in producing the monthly high risk casework report to Natural England’s Executive Committee (NExCo) and Board, and the secretariat for the High Risk Casework Panel (HRCP).

• Consistency of risk evaluation.
• Common threads (thematic and/or geographic).
• Prioritisation of risk, recognising that categories are broad.
• Gauging confidence that the right actions are in place.

You will work closely with multiple teams to track and actively support complex cases across the organisation. This will include supporting engagement with case team leads to assess and manage risk; identifying and bringing together the right people from across the organisation to coordinate their input at key decision stages such as legal challenges and examinations.

You will support the team in facilitating case conferences, convening cross-organisational working groups, securing timely legal and technical advice on priority casework, and developing effective stakeholder engagement/handling and communication plans.

• Provide a focal point for organisational understanding of our highest priority cases to support reporting to NEXCo, inform further prioritisation of the HR/HO pipeline, and ensure read across to Defra Infrastructure Board and other priority cases.
• Oversee the process of escalating risks of High Risk/High Opportunity (HR/HO), wildlife licensing and protected sites cases to NEXCo. Understand the risks and mitigation proposed and clearly communicate this. Deliver the monthly NEXCo report on these highest risk cases, commissioning requests for information, and writing and presenting the report.
• Ensure coordination with Defra Infrastructure Board, working with the NSIPs Manager and Strategy colleagues to secure the effective flow of…