Job Description

Post Title: Senior International Biodiversity Project Manager

Team: International Implementation

Ref No: 202375

Grade: S (SEO)

Type of appointment: Permanent

Location: Peterborough or Aberdeen

Salary: £36,669                                          

This post will have a base in either Peterborough or Aberdeen.

JNCC has adopted a hybrid working approach, allowing colleagues to benefit from time in the office, with the flexibility also to work from home. Employees are expected to work from our office base for 1 – 2 days a month as a minimum, this will vary by team and the exact balance will depend on the nature of your role. The posts may require foreign travel. We can provide more details at the interview and offer stages.

Who are JNCC?

Established in 1991, we’re the UK’s statutory advisor on issues affecting the natural environment across the UK and internationally. Our primary role is advising all four Governments of the UK. We also work with private sector organisations to support decision making on the sustainable use of marine waters and natural resources around the UK. JNCC is led by the Joint Committee, which brings together members from the nature conservation bodies for England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland and independent members appointed by the Secretary of State for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs under an independent Chair. Support is provided to the Committee by approx. 270 people who bring together scientific and technical expertise, extensive knowledge of policy at global, European and national levels, and skills in working with other organisations. Staff are based in two main offices in Peterborough and Aberdeen.

Why JNCC?

We’re small enough (c.270 staff) that your voice is heard by everyone including the CEO, but big enough that we have all the skills, resources and people you’ll need to get the job done. All our staff are passionate about conservation and making a difference to the world we live in. We have a very flexible, inclusive and welcoming organisational culture. Our Executive Management provides employees with the freedom and tools you will need, and our friendly team will assist you in your role. 

JNCC is committed to maintaining employee health and wellbeing, whether it is physically, emotionally, financially or socially, and offers a range of benefits to support employees in this. Such benefits include the option to join the Civil Service Pension Scheme, professional and personal development opportunities as well as an exciting job in a unique environment. 

Hours of work:                     Full-time

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. This post may also be suitable for job share.

Annual Leave:

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.  Part-time staff will receive this on a pro rata basis.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. Part-time staff will receive this on a pro rata basis.                  

Short Summary: Post background

A Senior International Biodiversity Project Manager is being sought to join our International Implementation Team. 

We are seeking an experienced Project Manager who can provide strategic project management leadership, assisting others with developing initial project concepts and proposal work packages, subsequent delivery, and implementation, including undertaking financial tracking and reporting to funders.  You will need to be a confident communicator, able to work across teams and with external stakeholders, who is ideally familiar with monitoring and evaluation frameworks and able to manage deliverables of complex projects at pace. 

International Implementation Team

Our International Implementation Team (IIT) is seeking to develop new work areas whilst continuing to support the UK Overseas Territories (OTs) with implementing a variety of biodiversity projects.  IIT has long established partnerships with the UK’s OTs and has other partnerships in South America and Southern Africa.  The team undertakes a wide variety of on-the-ground projects, across terrestrial and marine environments, seeking to take a ridge to reef approach.  Projects aim to maximise access to data, exchange knowledge and build capabilities to protect and enhance biodiversity. The team collaborates with governments, communities, and other stakeholders, taking into account the economic and social value of biodiversity at national and community levels.  Recent projects include working with the OTs to tackle disease on Caribbean coral reefs, identifying the role of nature-based solutions, and sharing Covid-19 green recovery experiences.

Job Description: Post Duties

• Provide strategic and timely support to Team project managers and Team Leaders to ensure that:
  • proposals, project plans, and budgets are well managed and auditable.

• relevant agreements, contracts and reports are submitted internally, to partners and funding bodies,
• monitoring and evaluation is done in accordance with funders’ requirements
• that risks are appropriately managed and escalated.  

• Support colleagues to develop proposals using your knowledge of relevant project design frameworks and approaches (e.g., logical, MEL, theory of change etc) to achieve high impact conservation outcomes.

• Liaise with the Finance & Planning Team, developing expertise in JNCC project management systems, including finance, contributing to systems development and ensuring that the Team has accurate information for project management and reporting purposes.

• Contribute to project communications and other work in the Team, including through social media and the JNCC website.

• Support the wider work of the Team and JNCC as appropriate, including providing senior technical input into projects as required.

• Line-manage and supervise staff to deliver the work described above.

Technical

To be a successful candidate you will be/have:

• Educated to degree level or equivalent qualification in a relevant subject and/or relevant recent practical work experience.
• Qualification in Project Management, such as PRINCE2 or APM, is desirable.

Experience

To be a successful candidate you will have:

• Experience of managing large and complex projects with multiple partners, including tracking budgets, technical and financial reporting to funding bodies and customer relationship management. 
• At least one of:

o   Experience working with funding bodies and ideally international partners and developing strategic funding bids.

o   Experience of project design, particularly early project design when objectives may be unclear and need significant work with stakeholders.

• Experience of government Monitoring & Evaluation processes highly desirable.
• Knowledge of ecology and nature conservation work.  An in-depth knowledge of at least one topic (e.g., marine/ terrestrial plant/animal ecology, species specialism) and of key nature conservation approaches used in policy and practice are desirable.
• Excellent communication skills and ability to communicate complex technical information to an audience of varying levels of technical understanding and ability; ability to use standard MS Office 365 software, including Excel; Microsoft Project experience is desirable.

Behaviours

• Managing a Quality Service
• Communicating and influencing
• Delivering at Pace
• Making Effective Decisions
• Working Together

In the event that we receive a large volume of applications we reserve the right to conduct the sift based on the Lead Behaviour of Managing a Quality Service

Please see the CS Behaviours framework for more details at this grade:

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/717275/CS_Behaviours_2018.pdf

Nationality requirements 

This job is broadly open to the following groups: 

• UK nationals 
• nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK 
• nationals of the Republic of Ireland 
• nationals from the EU, EEA or Switzerland with settled or pre-settled status or who apply for either status by the deadline of the?European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) 
• relevant EU, EEA, Swiss or Turkish nationals working in the Civil Service 
• relevant EU, EEA, Swiss or Turkish nationals who have built up the right to work in the Civil Service 
• certain family members of the relevant EU, EEA, Swiss or Turkish nationals 

Closing date and interview date

The closing date for this post is 23:55 on Sunday, 27 August 2023

The anticipated interview date is week commencing Monday, 04 September 2023

How to apply: https://www.civilservicejobs.service.gov.uk/csr/index.cgi