Senior Officer - Local Nature Recovery Strategy Spatial Data Leadership

East Midlands (England), East of England, London (region), North East England, North West England, South East England, South West England, West Midlands (England), Yorkshire and the Humber Job Summary This position is based Nationally

With LNRS publication nearing completion, Natural England is focused on supporting delivery and embedding LNRS priorities into local decision-making and delivery. This key leadership role within the Defra Group LNRS Project will lead the Data and Evidence Workstream, overseeing the development and implementation of a national LNRS mapping product and promoting its use across Defra Group organisations and Responsible Authorities. LNRS is at a pivotal moment. We've moved from strategy into delivery, and the team is now building real momentum in supporting Area Teams and driving outcomes on the ground. This is an exciting opportunity to be part of something that is growing, evolving and making a real difference. We're looking for energetic, passionate and influential people who can help shape the next phase of LNRS delivery. Working within the National Delivery Team, you will provide strategic direction, lead collaboration across organisations, and help ensure effective delivery of LNRS objectives. The role requires strong data literacy, policy understanding, stakeholder engagement and leadership skills, alongside the ability to support operational delivery and build effective partnerships to drive nature recovery at scale. The postholder will work closely with project colleagues, Defra Group partners and Responsible Authorities, contributing flexibly to shared objectives and successful programme delivery.

Key Tasks/Principal Accountabilities Leadership

• Develop and manage the workstream delivery plan.
• Engage across LNRS workstreams to identify current and future data and evidence needs.
• Contribute to Defra Group activity addressing data licensing challenges.
• Establish trusted and influential relationships with key stakeholders across Natural England, Defra and partner organisations, ensuring that critical information is shared swiftly and accurately, and that emerging risks, issues and opportunities are identified, managed and escalated appropriately. National LNRS Mapping Product
• Lead stakeholder engagement to agree and review user requirements for a national LNRS mapping product.
• Oversee delivery, including milestones, risks, dependencies and issue resolution.
• Ensure coordinated delivery across the Data and Evidence Workstream.
• Promote adoption and effective use of the mapping product across Responsible Authorities, Defra Group organisations and partners. Workstream Priorities
• Identify and prioritise future data and evidence requirements across Defra policy and delivery teams, ALBs and the wider LNRS project. Data and Evidence Oversight
• Contribute to nature recovery data standardisation initiatives.
• Identify and address LNRS data licensing requirements through Defra Group engagement.
• Oversee management of the national LNRS mapping portal and viewer. Knowledge, Skills & Experience
• Understanding of LNRS policy.
• Understanding of the data and evidence related context, issues and dependencies within which the workstream and project are operating.
• Ability to think strategically and see the big picture and encourage strategic thought within the workstream.
• A degree of GIS literacy and ability to advise on GIS based tasks – knowledge of data issues that can arise from large scale projects.
• Ability and confidence to lead others. Strong communication skills, able to engage well with internal and external stakeholders. Competencies Competence 1 Professional competency Detail Personal Effectiveness Description
• Be ambitious, identify and adopt ways to make improvements in your team and Natural England and inspire others to act. (Practitioner)
• Share expertise and knowledge with people and networks so that you can develop together. (Practitioner)
• Act with integrity, addressing challenging issues and managing conflict through being open and objective. (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) Competence 2 Professional competency Detail Work Delivery Description
• Manage and deliver your work to meet agreed 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).
• Handle data responsibly, understand your role in good governance, and comply with delegations, policies and procedures. (Practitioner) Competence 3 Professional competency Detail Putting People at the Heart of the Environment Description
• Listen to and understand diverse partners and customers so that you achieve the best outcomes for them and Natural England. (Practitioner).
• Nurture trusting partnerships and collaborate to achieve pragmatic outcomes that help deliver Natural England's vision, mission and aims. (Practitioner) Competence 4 Professional competency Detail Technical Skills and Knowledge (Please note that STAR format is not required when answering the Technical Skills & Knowledge competency.) Description
• Strong understanding of government environmental targets and commitments, including the Environmental Improvement Plan (EIP), and experience of applying these within a professional context to inform delivery, prioritisation, monitoring and reporting. (Essential)
• Good knowledge of LNRSs and how they are developed, implemented and used to support nature recovery and wider environmental objectives. (Essential)
• Experience of working within, or in partnership with, government departments, public bodies or arm's-length organisations, with an understanding of how policy, evidence and operational delivery interact to achieve government objectives. (Desirable)
• Able to communicate complex spatial information through maps, dashboards, reports and statistical outputs for a range of audiences. (Desirable)
• Up to date with developments in GIS, digital mapping and spatial data technologies, using innovation to improve delivery and decision-making. (Desirable) With LNRS publication nearing completion, Natural England is focused on supporting delivery and embedding LNRS priorities into local decision-making and delivery. This key leadership role within the Defra Group LNRS Project will lead the Data and Evidence Workstream, overseeing the development and implementation of a national LNRS mapping product and promoting its use across Defra Group organisations and Responsible Authorities. LNRS is at a pivotal moment. We've moved from strategy into delivery, and the team is now building real momentum in supporting Area Teams and driving outcomes on the ground. This is an exciting opportunity to be part of something that is growing, evolving and making a real difference. We're looking for energetic, passionate and influential people who can help shape the next phase of LNRS delivery. Working within the National Delivery Team, you will provide strategic direction, lead collaboration across organisations, and help ensure effective delivery of LNRS objectives. The role requires strong data literacy, policy understanding, stakeholder engagement and leadership skills, alongside the ability to support operational delivery and build effective partnerships to drive nature recovery at scale. The postholder will work closely with project colleagues, Defra Group partners and Responsible Authorities, contributing flexibly to shared objectives and successful programme delivery. Description
• Strong understanding of government environmental targets and commitments, including the Environmental Improvement Plan (EIP), and experience of applying these within a professional context to inform delivery, prioritisation, monitoring and reporting. (Essential)
• Good knowledge of LNRSs and how they are developed, implemented and used to support nature recovery and wider environmental objectives. (Essential)
• Experience of working within, or in partnership with, government departments, public bodies or arm's-length organisations, with an understanding of how policy, evidence and operational delivery interact to achieve government objectives. (Desirable)
• Able to communicate complex spatial information through maps, dashboards, reports and statistical outputs for a range of audiences. (Desirable)
• Up to date with developments in GIS, digital mapping and spatial data technologies, using innovation to improve delivery and decision-making. (Desirable) Person specification Please Refer To Job Description Alongside your salary of £41,550, Natural England contributes £12,037 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides .
• Learning and development tailored to your role
• An environment with flexible working options
• A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity
• A Civil Service pension with an employer contribution of 28.97% Artificial intelligence Artificial intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application, however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action. Please see our candidate guidance for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use. Selection process details Please Refer To Job Description Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment. Security Successful candidates must undergo a basic (or equivalent) criminal record check. People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard checks. Successful candidates must undergo a basic (or equivalent) criminal record check. People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard checks. Nationality requirements This Job Is Broadly Open To The Following Groups:
• UK nationals
• nationals of the Republic of Ireland
• nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
• individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020
• Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service Further information on nationality requirements Working for the Civil Service The Civil Service Code sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants. We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles . The Civil Service Code sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants. We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles .

Contact point for applicants Job Contact :

• Name : Gavin Vallely
• Email : gavin.vallely@naturalengland.org.uk
• Telephone : 07442673066 Recruitment team
• Email : defra-recruitment-enquiries@resourcing.soprasteria.co.uk Further information https://networkrecruitment.tal.net/vx/appcentre-7/brand-4/spa-1/candidate/so/pm/1/pl/8/opp/6829-6829-Senior-Officer-Local-Nature-Recovery-Strategy-Spatial-Data-Leadership/en-GB