Senior Marine Conservation Officer

POST: Senior Marine Conservation Officer
POST NO: 000353
LOCATION: Pembroke Dock
GRADE: C

MAIN DUTIES

The role has a regional remit, but it is anticipated that the majority of time will be spent on work related to the Pembrokeshire Marine SAC.

• To coordinate and provide the professional/scientific lead on:
  • designation, management and monitoring of statutory marine sites and features;
  • input to the development, establishment and implementation of management schemes for European Marine Sites in West Region, in collaboration with other relevant staff;
  • marine species conservation, including Regional cetacean, seal and fisheries interests;
  • conservation of the wider marine environment;
  • the development and implementation of marine Biodiversity Action Plans.
• To support the district teams by coordinating, undertaking and reviewing marine casework, particularly wholly marine cases and those issues relating directly to European Marine Sites.
• To provide advice to staff on marine aspects of other issues and casework.
• To coordinate, advise on, keep under review and, where appropriate, undertake marine-issue liaison with partner bodies and development and maintenance of partnerships.
• To coordinate, manage and contribute to the provision of specialist information and advice from West Region in support of CCW marine policy development.
• To keep under review and contribute to marine pollution issues and pollution contingency planning for West Region, including forming an important part of the Region’s response team in the event of a major incident.
• To coordinate, provide the professional/scientific lead and contribute to the provision of specialist science and management advice and information about marine sites, habitats, species and environmental conservation in West Region to Regional colleagues and others as required.
• To coordinate, provide the professional/scientific lead, keep under review and contribute to:
  • the development and implementation of monitoring and surveillance of protected marine sites and species, including such fieldwork, diving and other work as is required to maintain competence and site awareness;
  • the identification of marine research and survey requirements in West Region and their implementation, coordination and management;
• To support or contribute to the establishment, maintenance and use of marine science databases and specialist marine IT software,.
• To contribute to the management of the Skomer MNR, including such fieldwork, diving and other work as is required to maintain competence and site awareness.
• To coordinate, keep under review and, where appropriate, contribute to interpretation and public provision of information relating to the marine environment and conservation in West Region.
• To liaise with relevant HQ specialist groups on marine matters as required
• Take reasonable care for the health and safety of yourself and others and to comply with all health and safety legislation as appropriate
• Behave in accordance with our corporate values
• Other general duties as necessary.

JOB COMPETENCIES

To be considered for this post you will need to demonstrate the following competencies:

Essential

1. A good grounding in marine science and conservation particularly in relation to biological survey and monitoring, as well as management of marine areas.
2. Demonstrable knowledge of legislation relevant to marine conservation, in particular the Habitats Directive, and human use of, and impacts on, the marine environment (e.g. marine licensing, fisheries legislation).
3. Demonstrable skills in one or more marine scientific specialisms (e.g. ecology of specific habitats, impact assessment).
4. Good interpersonal / communication skills.
5. Data analysis, including statistics, and interpretation skills and familiarity with standard office and relevant specialist IT applications.
6. Knowledge and understanding of marine pollution response, impact assessment and / or contingency planning.
7. An awareness of Welsh culture, and a positive attitude to linguistic and cultural diversity.
   - The ability to currently and legally drive a car in the UK.
   - The ability to use basic Welsh conversational phrases (e.g. “bore da” - “good morning”) and to pronounce Welsh place names correctly.

Desirable

1. Knowledge of cetacean or seal ecology and conservation, fisheries management or of the effects of introduced chemicals in the marine environment.
2. Working knowledge of management planning.
3. Experience in marine field operations, including boat operations, scuba diving and Health & Safety management.
   - Fluency in spoken Welsh

There are 10 sections on our application form for you to tell us how you meet each of the numbered competencies above. Our application form asks about your driving and language abilities separately, so these competencies are not numbered above.

SALARY

The starting salary will be £23,770.00 a year.

STATUS

This is a permanent, pensionable full-time appointment of 37 hours a week.

APPLICATIONS AND CLOSING DATE

Please return your completed application form to:

Ceri Jones
Countryside Council for Wales
Welsh Assembly Government Building
Rhodfa Padarn
Llanbadarn Fawr
Aberystwyth
Ceredigion
SY23 3UR

or e-mail it to c.jones@ccw.gov.uk quoting the post number as a reference.

The closing date for receipt of application forms is midday on 22 July 2011.