Assistant Conservation Adviser

We have an exciting new vacancy for an Assistant Conservation Adviser to join our Conservation team. If you are looking for a role focused on our local environment and you love engaging with equally passionate people, then we want to hear from you!

We own and lease nearly 3,000 hectares of land. Our sites and landholdings range from small pumping stations to large treatment works, reservoirs and farmland. Wessex Water and our tenants occupy more than 290 hectares of SSSI and over 900 hectares designated as either a Local Wildlife Site or a Local Geological Site. Our Conservation team ensures that this land is well-managed for nature.

You will be encouraged to have a voice, think freely, and be empowered to work in a high-performing team. You will have a genuine opportunity to make an impact, and we will actively invest in your professional development.

Although based in Bath, this role will require you to travel regularly throughout the Wessex Water region. We offer hybrid working, allowing you to work from home some of the time, if preferred, as well as in our office.

This is a 14-month fixed-term contract.

As an Assistant Conservation Adviser, you will be involved in all aspects of delivering conservation land management, as well as providing advice to the wider business to support the delivery of our biodiversity land management commitments. You will liaise with teams across Wessex Water and with external stakeholders, including volunteers and community groups.

Day to day, you will support the Conservation team by scheduling habitat management works and procuring and overseeing services from contractors and ecological consultants. The role will also support the Conservation team with data collation, GIS mapping and document management.

To conserve and enhance habitats and species of biodiversity importance, or areas of geological or heritage importance, you will assist with undertaking surveys, prescribing management, and implementing monitoring.

To be successful in this role, you will be highly motivated by nature conservation and will have at least two years of relevant experience in the conservation, ecology or environmental sector. A Biological Sciences, Environmental Management degree or similar is desired; however, this is not essential, depending on experience.

You will work well within and across teams, and you can work alone, including in the field. You will be positive, pragmatic and forward-thinking, with a flexible approach to problem-solving and achieving solutions.

Some required skills, knowledge and experience include:

• a demonstrable experience in supporting the delivery of nature conservation, ecology or environmental projects
• an understanding of and experience in ecological surveying, with botanical/habitat identification skills sufficient to identify common habitats
• knowledge of UK ecology, habitat management, conservation issues and policy
• having effective communication skills (written and verbal) and being able to build positive, lasting relationships with a wide range of stakeholders
• using problem-solving skills and the ability to work from your own initiative to achieve agreed goals within a dynamic environment
• good IT skills, including proficiency with MS Office and MS 365
• experience of using GIS software
• a full UK driving licence; you will travel around the Wessex Water region, which in some cases can be very rural.

• A combined pension contribution of up to 20%.
• Career progression and professional development opportunities.
• 25 days' holiday rising to 28 with length of service.
• The opportunity to sell up to five days of holiday every year.
• The opportunity to buy up to ten days of holiday each year (subject to conditions).
• A…