Ecologist / Senior Ecologist

To meet our growing project workload and help us design and apply new approaches to our work, we are looking for an experienced and enthusiastic Ecologist or Senior Ecologist to join our Cardiff office and the South West region. The ideal candidate would be looking to work in a hybrid manner undertaking surveys across South Wales (and occasionally across the South-West) and also collaborate with the Cardiff Ecology Team, and other disciplines, in the Cardiff office. It is desirable for the candidate to hold a Natural Resources Wales or Natural England bat licence, or to be working towards their bat licence.

At AtkinsRéalis, our team of ecologists work throughout the UK to deliver a diverse range of challenging and exciting projects that benefit our clients, biodiversity and society. Our ecology team also won the inaugural CIEEM Large-Scale Consultancy of the Year Award in 2018 and has been highly commended in the same award category each year thereafter.

We are proud to promote nature-based solutions across a range of market sectors; collaborating with clients to positively contribute to the carbon net zero agenda and biodiversity and climate emergencies. We are particularly passionate about the implementation of biodiversity net gain on our projects and have placed ourselves at the forefront of this approach.

We positively encourage pushing boundaries, promoting innovation, knowledge sharing and working inclusively across our diverse team. We are fully committed to promoting Equality, Diversity and Inclusion. We want everyone to feel respected, empowered and able to realise their full potential as important members of our team.

Flexible working is a core part of our culture at AtkinsRéalis and we appreciate that different people have different priorities. We recognise that a healthy work/life balance is integral to wellbeing and we are extremely supportive of individual requirements for flexible and remote working.

Joining us, you will have the opportunity to contribute to nationally significant and high-profile projects, with many of our projects winning awards for biodiversity enhancements, innovation, and knowledge sharing.

What you will be doing:

• Leading on nationally important infrastructure projects, managing project programmes and budgets.
• Collaborating with our multi-disciplinary teams.
• Planning and co-ordinating field surveys, analysing and interpreting survey results.
• Undertaking stakeholder engagement.
• Designing and co-ordinating ecological mitigation works.
• Authoring and checking/reviewing Preliminary Ecological Appraisals, Habitats Regulations Assessments, Ecological Impact Assessments and Biodiversity Chapters for Environmental Statements.
• Authoring, checking/reviewing and providing guidance on protected species licence applications.
• Managing work enquiries, preparing bids and building client relationships.

About you:

Ideally you would have the following qualifications and/or attributes:

• A degree in ecology or closely related field.
• Membership of the Chartered Institute of Ecology and Environmental Management (CIEEM) with AtkinsRéalis to cover membership costs.
• Holding a Natural Resources Wales or Natural England Bat Licence, or working towards a bat licence is strongly desirable.
• Experience in UKHab surveys and Net Benefits for Biodiversity / Biodiversity Net Gain is desirable.
• Experience of working on live road or rail.
• Strong collaborative behaviours to interface with multi-disciplinary teams, market teams, and other stakeholders.
• Demonstrable specialist ecological knowledge, strong botanical survey skills are desirable.
• Excellent communication skills.
• A full valid UK driving licence.