Overview

Reference Number – 12960
Salary – Competitive
Location(s) – Cockermouth
Contract Type – Contract

Passionate about ecology? Do you want to work in the Lake District? Keen to be part of a
supportive National ecology team?

As a consultancy of over 1,600 staff, we are large enough to work on high-profile schemes in the
North West, such as the North West Coast Connections project and West Cumbria Mining whilst
also having an established local presence to deliver smaller projects. Our work covers a variety of
sectors including residential, renewable energy and defence-sector schemes across the North
West.

Our national team has doubled in size over the last five years and we continue to go from strength
to strength. As such, we are looking to recruit a Senior Ecologist in our Cockermouth Office, to
support our growing business opportunities in the North West. We are especially keen to hear from
holders of protected species licences and/or those with ornithological capability. Experience of
planning and preparation of Ecological Impact Assessments would also be highly beneficial and
being a full (or eligible) member of CIEEM is assumed.

We are looking for a Senior Ecologist who has experience of liaison with clients & stakeholders,
is capable of managing their own projects and leading field surveys. The ability to deliver
multiple, high quality projects within fixed deadlines is an essential requirement of the role.
Experience of reviewing ecological reports prepared by junior staff and preparation of fee
proposals would also be a distinct advantage.

As experienced ecologists ourselves, we understand how ecologists think and work and have
introduced ecology-specific methods to allow the team to fulfil their potential:

• With over 60 permanent ecologists across 13 offices, we work hard to operate as one
cohesive team to minimise your time away from home.
• We utilise bespoke training and support from our in-house experts regardless of location –
allowing the best people to work on the projects that interest them so they are delivered to the
highest standards.
• We encourage the development of well-rounded ecologists who can talk about all
stages of a project rather than just one niche area. We encourage diversification of skills and
the passing-on of knowledge to the rest of the team. We recently held our annual all-ecology get
together over two days where our experts provided training, including out in the field, on tree
assessments for bats and an introduction to thermal imaging, to name but a few.
• Given that all grades of ecologist complete site visits and meetings, we provide cars or
car allowances to everyone, including for personal use.
• Our Class 2 bat licence incentivisation scheme rewards those ecologists who have
spent time and effort in achieving their handling licence – we know it’s not easy! And to show our
support for personal development, we award a significant financial bonus to anyone
achieving Chartered Environmentalist status through CIEEM.

• We have an established Time Off In Lieu system which allows ecologists to manage
their time throughout the year, to suit their specific needs, alongside the seasonal demands of the
role. Working on night-time surveys isn’t easy, so we allow people to work as flexibly as possible to
try and maintain the right balance.
• We work alongside many other teams including Planners, Landscape Architects,
Archaeologists and Engineers and with a culture of openness, there is always someone within the
business who can provide advice and support for almost any query.

If the timing’s not quite right for you, please do still get in touch, as we are focused on
recruiting the best ecologists so are happy to discuss flexible working patterns, including part-time
or fixed-term contracts, for the right candidate.