We also work with private sector organisations to support decision making on the sustainable use of marine waters and natural resources around the UK. Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC) is led by the Joint Committee, which brings together members from the nature conservation bodies for England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland and independent members appointed by the Secretary of State for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs under an independent Chair. Support is provided to the Committee by almost 200 people who bring together scientific and technical expertise, extensive knowledge of policy at global, European and national levels, and skills in working with other organisations. Staff are based in two main offices in Peterborough and Aberdeen.
About the role
The work of the Marine Management Team includes:
- Provision of advice to Government and regulators on the impacts of fishing on the marine environment. Support for future fisheries policy development post-EU exit; Support in development of fisheries management measures in MPAs; Support for International fisheries advice work
- Provision of evidence-based advice on the environmental impacts of offshore industry activities on marine habitats and species to appropriate authorities responsible for their regulation.
- Supporting strategic research to underpin evidence gaps to support advice provision
There are 5 posts being advertised as part of this recruitment. The nature and specific duties of each post are further described below. However, all posts will be expected to undertake the following duties:
- Provide specialist scientific and policy advice to internal and external customers.
- Disseminate information on JNCC’s marine work, including preparation of peer reviewed papers and reports, updates to the relevant pages of JNCC’s website, and presentations at conferences and meetings.
- Support to the programme and team as needed, including planning, administration, project and task management, reporting and development of funding proposals.
- Manage contracts including procurement (specification, tendering and letting contracts, with support from our procurement specialists).
- Provide a technical secretariat role for internal and external working groups.
- Organise events such as meetings, workshops and webinars for internal or external participants; includes planning, logistics, facilitation and reporting.
Offshore Industries Adviser – ME005, Marine Management Team (Permanent):
- Provision of fast paced, evidence-based nature conservation advice to regulators and industry, including but not limited to oil and gas, renewables, aggregates, cables, marine planning and more. Both in UK seas and in some cases, overseas. Specifically:
- Reviewing environmental assessments, licensing rounds, marine plans.
- Understanding and advising on the impacts of offshore activity on protected habitats and species.
- Working across nature conservation bodies to provide joint advice, achieving consistency across the UK, identifying and addressing issues that affect our advice (e.g. scientific, procedural or legal).
- Develop and maintain relationships with key stakeholders (e.g. developers, regulators and other nature conservation bodies across the UK)
- Participate on the roster for duty officer, providing a 24/7 response service for environmental information and advice in the event of an offshore pollution incidents (this includes on-call allowance uplift payments).
Requirements
- Educated to degree level or equivalent qualification in a relevant subject and/or relevant recent practical work experience that provides the following knowledge, experience and behaviours.
- Knowledge of the UK’s benthic marine biodiversity and its spatial and temporal variation and a working knowledge of the national and/or EUNIS marine habitat classification system.
- Knowledge of the UK’s work and progress on Marine Protected Areas (MPAs), including associated policy drivers and underpinning obligations.
- Knowledge of undertaking marine biological survey of the seabed, such as knowledge of remote-sensing, sampling or in-situ marine survey techniques and data processing.
- Experience in the use of statistical programmes, databases, and GIS to analyse, interpret and recognise patterns and trends in data to draw key conclusions, and display different types of data on marine habitats and species from different sources. Practical experience using and writing scripts in programming languages such as R or Python for data manipulation and analysis.
- A good knowledge of marine conservation issues, particularly the impacts of offshore marine industries on offshore habitats and species and the ways in which these impacts may be mitigated and managed
- A good knowledge of UK marine fisheries and associated impacts on marine habitats and species andA good understanding of legislation relating to the management of offshore industries and Marine Protected Areas in UK waters.
Salary and benefits
£28,958
Hours of work: Full-time. Normal minimum hours of attendance for the post are 36 hours per week over a 5-day period, Monday to Friday, flexi time is available. This post may also be suitable for job share.
Annual Leave: The annual leave allowance is 25 days per year, rising to 30 days per year after 5 years’ service. There are also 12 days public and privilege leave. Part-time staff will receive this on a pro rata basis.
This post will have a base in either Peterborough or Aberdeen. JNCC adopts a flexible approach to working. Staff may choose where they work but are expected to attend their nominated office base for 1 – 2 days a month as a minimum. We can provide more details at the interview and offer stages.
The closing date for this post is 23:55 on Monday, 14 November 2022.
The anticipated interview dates are the week commencing Monday, 05 December 2022.
