Ecologist

Job description

Does working as an ecologist in Oxford, the City of dreaming spires, with its beautiful architecture, history and culture sound exciting? You will part of the Ecology Team for Oxford City Council, working with a Principal Ecologist in the Environmental Quality team, part of Environmental Sustainability.

Your primary responsibility will be to review and provide advice on ecological work undertaken in support of planning applications and consented developments within the city boundaries. You will assist Planning Officers by designing conditions to protect and enhance biodiversity for inclusion in planning decisions.

A key element of this work will be ensuring planning applications comply with legislative biodiversity net gain requirements and providing advice internally on how to effectively secure and monitor biodiversity gains delivered through development.

You will also work on the production of a Biodiversity Strategy for Oxford, with a view to helping to protect and enhance the city’s fauna, flora, and ecological networks. This Strategy will play an important role in meeting the Council’s enhanced biodiversity duty under the amended Natural Environment and Rural Communities (NERC) Act.

Within a varied and interesting urban landscape with green infrastructure you will also work on ecology/biodiversity projects that may occur, provide advice internally, externally, and to the general public, and take on any other ecology related duties the Council has.

The Council is committed to flexible working to help you fulfil your role as part of work life balance.