Director, Ecology – Edinburgh or Glasgow

Overview

Director, Ecology – Edinburgh or Glasgow

Ref 2025-24

About the role:

LUC’s ecology team is passionate about creating opportunities for wildlife and people to thrive together.

With established teams in London, Bristol, Cardiff, Manchester, Edinburgh and Glasgow, we support a huge range of projects, at local and national levels. We’re enthusiastic about finding new ways to apply emerging ecological principals and methods to the most challenging of policy and development projects, and we have fun working together along the way.

In 2025 we will continue to support some of the most exciting projects in UK consultancy. Working alongside multi-disciplinary colleagues and partners, we will apply our skills to projects ranging from energy generation to historic building restoration, regenerative agriculture to Green/Blue Infrastructure strategies. We will explore habitats from the Scottish and Welsh uplands to central London. We will search for protected species ranging from bats to osprey, via dormouse and otter.

Having adopted an exciting and ambitious new Strategy for 2024 – 2028, we plan further team growth, focussing on projects that offer the greatest opportunity to create better futures for people, nature and place.  As such, we require a Director to join our Scottish team to help grow and deliver our exciting and rewarding orderbook.

The role includes the opportunity to share and participate actively in the management and ownership of the business through the Employee Ownership Trust, which places full ownership of the company with the employees.

The role is based in LUC’s offices in Edinburgh or Glasgow. We work in a hybrid model with people being in the office a minimum of two days per week. There will also be travel required to visit sites, client offices and other office locations.

A full-time role is based on 37.5 hours per week (Monday to Friday). However, LUC has a strong track record in flexible working, and we have been recognised for our flexible working culture, so we are happy to discuss a range of flexible working options for this role including part time hours (minimum 30 hours per week) if desired.

Salary: £67,500 – £80,000 FTE (Dependent on experience).

This is a great time to be joining LUC. Since its creation nearly 60 years ago, LUC has been driven by the belief that planning has a critical role to play in shaping the world around us for the better. This work has never been more critical or urgent.

Experience and qualifications

This role would suit highly experienced ecological consultants with broad-ranging technical, commercial and leadership experience.  The role will be based in LUC’s Edinburgh or Glasgow office, with extensive opportunities to work across our UK-wide team.  The successful candidate will join our Ecology Leadership Team, which offers opportunities to influence our ecology team’s wider strategic direction.

Responsibilities within the role will include:

• Contribution to team-wide strategy and resource development.
• Further development and delivery of our ecology services in Scotland and Northern England, with support from LUC’s Board Director for Ecology and other senior members of our Scotland team.
• Working alongside LUC’s Ecology Leadership Team to inspire, motivate and lead our existing team of enthusiastic ecologists and ornithologists.
• Development and implementation of operational and scientific best practice in relation to ecological survey and assessment and team management.
• Delivery of a wide range of ecological consultancy projects, with full accountability for resourcing, delivery and financial performance.
• Representing LUC externally at industry and best practice events.

The successful candidate will complement our existing enthusiastic and dedicated ecology team. You will share our commitment to high quality science and be motivated to help grow and develop our business, as an equal partner.

Essential

• Educated to degree level or possessing the equivalent level of skills and knowledge.
• Significant experience in a leadership role in ecological consultancy in the UK.
• Demonstrable work winning and business development skills.
• Strong understanding of ecological survey and assessment methods in the UK.
• Strong understanding of ecological legislation and policy, and the development planning process in Scotland.
• Good working knowledge of standard suite of MS Office tools.

Desirable

• Demonstrable engagement in the Scottish nature conservation community through voluntary roles or appointments.

Candidates must be eligible to live and work in the UK.

Please apply by uploading your CV and covering letter via the above link

LUC is committed to equality, diversity and inclusion and we actively encourage applications from under-represented groups. We value the differences, needs and contributions a diverse workforce represents, and we strive to embed equality, diversity and inclusion in all our people related activities.

About LUC:

LUC is an award-winning environmental consultancy that aims to make a difference. With nearly 60 years of experience, we want to make an impact: delivering better futures for nature, people, and places.

Our holistic services support clients in tackling complex land use problems on projects at every scale. Our expert teams collaborate across disciplines to create cities, towns and landscapes for a more sustainable future.

We are employee-owned, which means we invest in our people and operate with kindness. Our creative, forward-thinking professionals are passionate about addressing the climate and biodiversity crises.

We’re leading the way in driving lasting and positive change.

Our Mission is to deliver better futures for nature, people and places.

Just like our founders, we’re dedicated to leaving this world in a better place. And we believe we have the power to create a positive legacy through all our projects. We do this by guiding our clients, as well as influencing national and local policy.

Of course, we recognise that change is inevitable. But we also recognise that cities, towns and landscapes of the future must work to help nature recover and to create a fairer society for all. We are committed to creating beautiful, inclusive places that support the health and wellbeing of the people and environments impacted by such inevitable change.

Our Values are what make us.

They reflect our heritage, express the attitudes of our people, and capture what our clients tell us we’re like to work with. Our values are timeless, informing the actions of every generation of LUC.

They guide our big thinking as much as our daily working lives – from the projects we pursue, to how we manage people, to how we resolve conflicting interests.

• We act with professionalism and integrity
• We have the courage and openness to lead
• We collaborate to achieve shared goals
• We act with passion, insight and creativity
• We are intrinsically people-centred