The Joint Nature Conservation Committee established the JNCC Support Company to undertake work relevant to the discharge of the Committee’s statutory functions, as set out in the Committee’s Corporate Plan. The Company employs staff to undertake work directly and to commission work under contract; the Company also manages the Committee’s budget. The Company is accountable to its Board of Directors which, under its current Articles, comprises each member of the Joint Committee together with up to three Executive Directors.
In practice, the day-to-day running of the Company is the responsibility of the Executive Management Board which comprises the Managing Director, the Director of Policy and Resources, the Director of Science and the Director of Marine.
While the Managing Director is ultimately responsible to the Company Board for the running of JNCC's business, in practice, it is the Executive Management Board which takes the majority of the corporate decisions. Each of the Directors (apart from the Managing Director) also has direct management responsibility for about one third of the Company's staff and financial resources, and for the specific programmes of work allocated to that individual Directorate. The individual Directors review progress and expenditure on the work programmes of their Directorate (and also the future direction of those programmes) with relevant senior staff at quarterly governance meetings, and, with individual managers, more frequently as circumstances may require.
Post background
Marine nature conservation is an important and fast-growing component of JNCC's work. JNCC currently employs some 46 staff, and allocates a budget (in addition to staff and staff-related costs) of ca £1.8 million, to its marine work. Marine work is a major, and potentially expanding, component of JNCC's overall work programme. In the light of this, JNCC requires a Director of Marine to assume the oversight and direction of this work, and also to be a member of the Executive Management Board having responsibility for the effective and satisfactory management of the Company jointly with the other Directors. The post will report to the Managing Director.
The main work areas are:
- advice to Government and regulatory agencies on fisheries controls and the regulation of offshore industries as they affect marine nature conservation;
- setting standards for the identification of UK marine protected areas (including Special Areas of Conservation and Special Protection Areas under the EC Habitats Directive and EC Birds Directive, and under the prospective Marine Act), the identification of such areas in the UK offshore waters, and advising on the management of offshore marine protected areas;
- collating information on marine biodiversity and geodiversity in UK waters and making this information available to stakeholders, including through the development and dissemination of mapped information;
- advising Government on surveillance programmes for UK marine biodiversity, setting standards for the monitoring of UK marine protected areas, undertaking surveillance programmes for key components of UK biodiversity, and reporting the results of such surveillance and monitoring;
- advising and supporting Government in relation to international Conventions and Agreements for, or affecting, marine nature conservation, including OSPAR, the Convention on Biological Diversity and the Convention on Migratory Species of Animals.
Post Duties
The main responsibilities of the post are:
- to serve as a member of JNCC's Executive Management Board to ensure the provision of effective leadership for Company staff and the implementation of JNCC's strategy, to agree resource allocations to programmes in the context of JNCC's Corporate Plan, to approve policies and procedures, to oversee staffing issues, including Health & Safety, to manage corporate risks and also a programme of progressive change;
- to advise the Joint Committee on the strategic direction of JNCC's marine work, and answer to the Committee for the effective discharge of JNCC's marine work programme;
- to chair JNCC's marine governance group to ensure the effective discharge of marine work programmes and the efficient use of resources, and to ensure the overall coherence in JNCC's marine work;
- to act as line manager of the Heads of the Management Advice, Marine Protected Area, Marine Habita ts and Seabirds and Cetaceans Teams, and to provide leadership, motivation and support to team managers in the conduct of their work programmes;
- to represent JNCC externally at a senior level and build effective relationships with key stakeholders (including country agencies, Government Departments and devolved administrations, non-governmental organisations and others;
- to deputise for another Director or the Managing Director if required.
The Marine Director may also be invited to serve as a Company Director on the Board of JNCC Support Co.
Competencies
Applicants would normally have a degree or equivalent qualification in a relevant subject and at least four years relevant post-graduate experience. They should also have the following competencies:
Working with customers and partners
highly-developed representational skills, with experience in influencing, negotiating and consensus-building and the ability to develop and maintain partnerships at a senior level with key stakeholders (Essential).
Specialist/professional knowledge and skills
- operational experience in marine nature conservation and/or the sustainable use of marine biological resources (Essential);
- general knowledge of marine biodiversity (Essential);
Organisational knowledge
- broad understanding of the role and functions of the JNCC and its main partners in the UK and abroad (Desirable);
Strategic planning and project management
- experience of corporate planning and strategy development (Essential);
Personal effectiveness
- ability to manage a diverse and demanding workload effectively, assess priorities, and maintain a flexible approach to delivering objectives (Essential);
- committed to a culture of continuous improvement with the drive to implement changes to working practices across the organisation (Essential);
Managing people and team working
- excellent staff management skills, with the ability to inspire, motivate and support staff in a rapidly changing environment, and to solve difficult management problems (Essential);
- strong leadership skills, with the ability to direct the work of a range of teams to deliver corporate objectives efficiently and effectively (Essential);
Communication and information management
- excellent oral and written communication skills, including the ability to prepare papers and reports, make effective presentations, and chair meetings in an organised manner (Essential);
- experience in the use of normal office software (Essential);
Finance, contracts and resources
- ability to manage organisational resources to achieve efficiency, effectiveness and value for money (Essential);
- experience in contract management (Essential).
Salary
Starts at £50,591 pa. Progression is by increments subject to satisfactory performance.
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Hours of work
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. The postholder may be required to work away from the office location for short periods.
Annual Leave Entitlement
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.
The closing date for this post is 19 June 2008.
The anticipated interview date will be w/c 14 July 2008.