Principal Ecologist

Do you want to work for a company whose purpose is to improve society by considering social outcomes, and to transform businesses, communities, and opportunities for it’s employees? Mott MacDonald is a global consultancy whose people do exactly that.

The environmental demands in the water, transport, buildings, and power sectors in the UK and beyond need environmental specialists who can think laterally.

In collaboration with ecology colleagues and other environmental disciplines you will be responsible at a project-level for resourcing and over-seeing the ecological inputs for a variety of multi-disciplinary projects for a range of clients.

Project dependent, the role can span all stages of a project’s life cycle, from design conception to implementation; giving opportunities to positively influence scheme design, enhancements and promote best practice. Mott MacDonald are committed to sustainable approaches that protect biodiversity and we actively encourage our clients to do the same.

We are passionate about providing our clients with sustainable solutions by constantly looking at challenges from a fresh angle. For us to continue maintaining our collaborative client relationships and further grow our environmental capabilities. This role will suit a dynamic, proactive individual who wants to work in a growth area of our business and help support the delivery of ecological services in a fast moving, client focussed commercial environment.

Candidate Specification

If you think this could be the job you are looking for, then we would like to hear from you.

A degree in biology/ecology or a directly related subject is essential and an additional higher degree would be an advantage. We are looking for candidates with a strong combination of the following:

• Full Member of Chartered Institute of Ecology and Environmental Management (CIEEM) or equivalent and ideally a Chartered Environmentalist/Ecologist.
• Attention to detail and the ability to deliver contracts on time and to budget.
• Excellent communication skills including report writing, checking and approvals.
• Experience in the UK ecological consultancy market, with a strong external-facing, client-orientated approach.
• Thorough understanding of UK nature conservation legislation including planning processes and/or EIA/HRA assessments.
• Experience in field surveys including Phase 1 habitat survey, UK Habitat assessment, BNG condition assessment and protected species surveys.
• Experienced in Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG).
• Experience in protected species licensing.
• Experience in leading on ecological inputs into large-scale projects.
• Willingness to mentor junior staff.
• Willingness to encourage innovation and digital services.
• Willingness to travel throughout the UK.

If you meet 80% or more of what we’re looking for, please still apply. We understand not everyone will meet all the requirements, but you might have skills we didn’t know we need.

Job Profile

The Mott MacDonald ecology practice is an exciting place to be with over 120 full time ecologists with different skills, specialisms, and a strong team spirit. Mott MacDonald prides itself on looking after staff and helping people to achieve their potential. We work with a diverse range of clients and projects that provide engaging opportunities for people working at Mott MacDonald.

We would love to welcome forward-thinking individuals to be part of our growing East of England team; we are recruiting a Principal Ecologist to join in Cambridge or Norwich.

Why join Mott MacDonald?

We are an employee-owned company and are small enough to have a family feel but large enough to work on some of the biggest UK projects. We pay our ecologists in line with their engineering colleagues, and you would be able to earn performance-based bonuses. Our projects are interesting, technically challenging and we excel in offering innovative solutions. Our ecology teams across the UK are highly experienced in their fields and proactively work together and share knowledge. We are a well-respected company with strong values. We have a strong sports and social team, who have several events throughout the year, which is fully inclusive as well as UK wide events such as sports day, skiing trips and environment forums

Flexible working

At Mott MacDonald, we support our staff to create work-life balance which works for them and welcome candidates looking for career flexibility. The role can include a combination of site, home-based and office work. We are open to discussing flexible working at interview stage.

About the business unit

Environmental and social considerations are central to Mott MacDonald’s Purpose and its offerings across all sectors and territories. Our environment and social business provides essential services and innovative solutions which anticipate our clients' needs across all sectors.

How to apply

To apply for this role, please complete our 15-minute application via our website. Our talent acquisition coordinators aim to provide feedback within 5 working days with the outcome of your application. More information about our application process can be found here. If you have any questions regarding your application or the role, please reach out to the dedicated recruiter listed who will be more than happy to help.

Mott MacDonald is Work180 accredited – which means we actively support and encourage women to join our work force!

Benefits we offer:

• Pension matched up to 7%
• Life insurance
• An annual professional institution subscription
• Continuous development opportunities – because we want you to thrive
• Agile/flexible working – because life isn’t 9-5
• Enhanced parental leave; shared parental leave policies – for parents and care givers
• Annual company performance bonus scheme – Subject to company performance
• Flexible benefits that suit you, including cycle to work & interest free season ticket loans.
• The opportunity to make a difference; learn more about our social outcomes

Other Information

Equality, diversity and inclusion

We put equality, diversity and inclusion at the heart of our business, seeking to promote fair employment procedures and practices to ensure equal opportunities for all. We encourage individual expression in our workplace and are committed to creating an inclusive environment where everyone feels they have the opportunity to contribute.

If you have a disability and would prefer to apply in a different format or would like us to make reasonable adjustments to enable you to apply or attend an interview, please contact us at reasonable.adjustments@mottmac.com and we will talk to you about how we can assist.

Agile working

At Mott MacDonald, we believe it makes business sense for you and your manager to choose how you can work most effectively to meet your client, team and personal commitments. We embrace agility, flexibility and trust.

More about Mott MacDonald

We’re a global engineering, management and development consultancy.

Our purpose is to improve society by considering social outcomes in everything we do, relentlessly focusing on excellence and digital innovation, transforming our clients’ businesses, our communities and employee opportunities.

A fundamental part of this is respecting each person’s differences and striving to meet their needs.

Our values: progress, respect, integrity, drive, excellence