Senior Ecologist - Somerset

Senior Ecologist – Somerset

£45.00 per hour

1 year contract – Full Time:

Duties/Responsibilities:

• The Senior Ecologist will provide professional ecological advice to the Client on planning and other ecological matters and ensure statutory duties under international, national and/or local legislation and policy are maintained.
• The position holder will assist the Principal Ecologist in the day-to-day management of the team and provide vital mentoring to junior Team members.
• The Senior Ecologist will be a key advisor and assessor to at least one Planning Are of Somerset on all relevant environmental legislation and shall also regularly partake and occasionally lead on ecological field work.
• Assisting the Principal Ecologist in the day-to-day management of the team, support the supervision as well as mentoring and the review and approval of work undertaken by Team members.
• Review planning applications, proposed plans, e.g. Minerals, Waste, Transport, Local, Neighbourhood, etc and provide professional ecological advice to the Council and ensure they maintain their statutory duties under international, national and/or local legislation and policy.  Review submitted ecological information and assessed ecological impacts of proposed developments and plans against legislation, policy and best-practice guidance and appropriate planning conditions and recommend alterations to policies as necessary.
• Undertake Habitats Regulations Assessments and Ecological Impact Assessments (in accordance with Regulation 9 of the Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations 2017 as amended) of plans, e.g. Minerals, Waste, Transport, Local, Neighbourhood, etc and projects, e.g. planning applications schemes where required: -
• Assess the ecological impacts of plans and projects alone and in-combination upon the integrity of European and Ramsar sites and their qualifying features and in-combination upon the ‘Favourable Conservation Status’ of populations of European Protected Species (which are not a qualifying feature of a European site), eg impacts on species populations and their habitats, and ecologically support factors such as soils, air/water quality and landscape connectivity and structure.

To find out more information please contact Lily at

Recruitment is done in line with safe recruitment practices. We are an equal opportunity agency.