Overview

The BREEAM family of standards is globally applicable, offering sustainability assessment and certification across the built environment. They draw together much of BRE’s work and have a reputation in numerous sectors, across a range of lifecycles, for providing trusted verification and benchmarking of assets’ performance.

The ‘Principal Consultant – Ecology’ is responsible for providing scientifically led and relevant technical input, as per their subject matter expertise, into the future development and operation of the BREEAM portfolio helping to ensure an appropriate level of rigour and underpinning evidence. They are also responsible for the completion of technical services in line with SLAs, delighting BREEAM’s customers and users, and ensuring assessments can continue through to completion unencumbered.

Working in close collaboration with colleagues within BREEAM and the wider BRE Group, and external stakeholders, they help balance commercial and technical relevance, and alignment with other initiatives where advantageous. This includes technical mapping and content production, being an ambassador for BREEAM’s strategic direction and feeding back intelligence to inform the evolution of the BREEAM portfolio.

The value this role will add:

You will work closely with the Programme Manager, other experts and wider BREEAM/BRE divisions to successfully:

  • Lead the Natural Environment science team to ensure that the BREEAM portfolio of standards are technically credible and delivering the relevant strategic objectives. This includes:
    • Researching, developing and authoring new and/or revised technical content
    • Thought leadership (e.g. published articles, workshops, webinars)
    • Senior technical services support and technical query resolution
    • Stakeholder engagement and collaboration, to understand current industry thinking and build consensus
    • Represent BREEAM/BRE in key external groups, such as CEN and ISO committees, feeding back intelligence and cultivating external conditions for success.
  • Managing the upkeep and evolution of the underpinning BREEAM science base, to ensure that product development is scientifically led.
  • Monitor and uphold health, safety and wellbeing both personally and for all team members and any external visitors accountable to this role.
  • Ownership of personal professional development, ensuring that mandatory training and competency requirements are maintained in addition to other professional development needs as required by the role.

What experience and skills does the role need?

Essential:

  • Educated to a degree level in a degree providing an understanding of the natural environment and biodiversity.
  • Experience and knowledge of construction and its impacts on biodiversity
  • Experience with assessment methodologies such as the DEFRA/Natural England Biodiversity Metric
  • Experience in a senior role with demonstrable ability to work proactively and independently
  • Excellent communication skills; an ability to understand and interpret customers’ needs and deliver a service and/or product which exceeds customers’ expectations.
  • Can build effective relationships both internally and externally, be a brand ambassador for BRE.
  • IT literate and extensive knowledge of MS office etc.

 Desirable:

  • Knowledge of BREEAM and/or the BRE business