We are a consultancy specialising in biodiversity management. Our main base is in Cambridge (UK) and we have a growing number of consultants located in strategic sites around the world. We work with leading clients across many sectors with the goal of achieving an environmentally sustainable basis for development, by delivering practical solutions for managing biodiversity risk and achieving conservation outcomes. We advise on some of the most environmentally complex development projects in the world, across sectors, including renewable energy (particularly hydropower, wind, solar, and geothermal), extractives (mining and oil & gas), agriculture, infrastructure, consumer goods and finance.

Person specification

You are an outstanding individual who is able to take decisions and a strategic approach to designing and leading projects in diverse situations in both English and French. You are highly self-motivated, at the same time you are an adept team player, comfortably able to work within dispersed multi-cultural teams in different environments and countries. You have had a developing-world focus in your work, and understand that human and biodiversity issues cannot be separated in such contexts.

An ability to think creatively and put oneself in the shoes of our clients is critical. This capacity to understand our clients’ views, coupled with core ecological principles and biodiversity knowledge common to conservation planners/ecologists/protected area specialists is the making of a TBC consultant. You are politically savvy and able to communicate your ideas succinctly and clearly to non-specialists. You enjoy building good relations with clients, colleagues and collaborators working in nature conservation and with business sectors, such as renewable energy, mining, project and investment finance, apparel, food and other consumer goods. We will look favourably on applicants with core ecological expertise and significant experience in one or more of the following sectors: supply chains/consumer goods, investment finance and/or development projects in developing countries.

Self-motivation and rigour will be essential. Importantly, you will possess a strong analytical mind with the capacity to transform complex problems into brief, scientifically and politically defensible solutions. You have outstanding writing skills, being able to digest, dissect and condense large amounts of information into readable, technically sound summaries. We need excellent communicators who can explain the benefit of our work, as well as write clear concise reports and papers.

You are already well-established within the field of business and biodiversity. You now relish the opportunity to play a leadership role in supporting and delivering TBC’s strategy, with a particular focus on our francophone clients and geographies.

Job description

Roles

• Project Management: consisting of technical design and critical review of complex projects, and ensuring timely delivery of on-budget projects to the requisite level of quality
• Planning and monitoring TBC resource allocation to upcoming projects, ensuring both the availability of effective project teams and reducing non-productive time for individual consultants
• Client relationship building and management
• Technical project work for clients, and building biodiversity and ecosystem services management / risk assessment capacity within client teams, including elements such as design and implementation of baseline surveys, biodiversity metrics, ecosystem services reviews, impact assessment, and mitigation hierarchy, including biodiversity offsets
• Direct negotiation and/or relationship building with industry, government, NGOs, international financial institutions and scientific institutions
• Developing strategic and innovative proposals of work with new or existing clients, and in new and existing sectors, including using your own network
• Public speaking on behalf of TBC to maintain our careful line between pragmatism and rigour (e.g. at conferences/industry events)
• Development of government biodiversity and offsets policies
• Working as an advisor to Financial Lenders on whether a client is meeting their standards; and conversely with the clients themselves to explain / negotiate what is required by these standards (Environmental and Social Due Diligence)
• Networking within the conservation movement and also with universities
• Leading stakeholder engagement processes, both remotely and in-country, with government, civil society and industry
• Researching and authoring scientific or policy papers and other articles
• Management of TBC associates and junior consultant(s). This consists of Personnel management (time / resources management) in addition to project management
• Contributing to the progressive and strategic development of TBC
• Standing in to Technical Directors in their absence
• Other Senior Principal Consultant level work, as requested by the TBC Directors.

Attributes

Essential attributes

• At least ten years’ experience in biodiversity conservation
• Experience of managing and delivering multiple complex projects
• Excellent writing and verbal communication skills
• An acute understanding of human politics and institutional dynamics
• Experience of supervising or managing individuals and/or small teams
• Interest and experience of working with the private sector; ability to understand their needs, and operate strategically within client organisations which might hold vastly different core values
• Familiarity with international biodiversity, ecosystem services, natural resource and livelihood issues, especially in the developing world
• An ability to provide intellectual leadership, creativity and simplicity to problem solving
• Sufficient GIS skills to design and evaluate analyses with our GIS team.
• Willingness and enthusiasm to travel globally and work in challenging environments
• Positivity and teamwork
• A good Honours and Masters degree or other postgraduate qualification in relevant disciplines
• Substantial project management and project sponsorship experience
• Good track record of business development and client relationship management
• Multinational mining, oil and gas, renewables, agribusiness, supply chain, consumer goods, investment finance and/or government experience
• Proven ability to work in French and English

Desirable attributes

• PhD in a relevant discipline
• Preferably a background as a field conservation specialist, understanding how to make conservation theory work in practice with communities and governments
• An expert in biodiversity priority setting; a conservation planner; a protected areas specialist; HCV specialist; ecosystem services specialist or in biodiversity policy.
• Experience and expertise in restoration ecology
• Experience of scientific publishing
• Solid consultancy experience
• Experience in management of ecosystem services and other human community/biodiversity issues
• Proven ability to work in Portuguese or Spanish
• Experience in community-biodiversity issues such as livelihoods and NTFPs
• Broad and deep experience of biodiversity or ecosystem services risk accounting and due diligence across the finance and insurance sectors
• More advanced knowledge of GIS.

Role details

• Title: Senior Principal Consultant
• Duration: Permanent
• Location: Cambridge, UK.
• Part-time/full-time: Full-time (near full-time also considered)
• Salary range: £50,000-£65,000 PA (Full time) + benefits (25 days’ holiday, work pension scheme, life insurance and flexible working opportunities)

Application details

Applications as early as possible. Deadline 04 September 2020: Send the following to recruitment@thebiodiversityconsultancy.com

• Up to date Curriculum Vitae
• A short application letter explaining your interest in the job, showing clearly how you meet our job and person requirements.
• Two short and succinct (maximum four pages each) extracts of work that you have written within the past two years – preferably one in French.

About The Biodiversity Consultancy (TBC)

We provide technical expertise, policy advice and field capacity to the private, public and NGO/science sectors. We deliver solutions to complex biodiversity challenges such as No Net Loss/Net Positive Impact, international lender and best-practice standards, and biodiversity offsets. We specialise in the environmental lending criteria of major international financial institutions, such as IFC PS6, EBRD PR6, WB ESS6. We conducted the first field pilots of the current IFC PS6, and are now watching these projects deliver both real biodiversity outcomes and business value.

We have leading expertise in quantitative – but clear and simple – metrics for biodiversity. This core capacity lays a foundation for emerging business needs such as biodiversity footprinting over complex value chains, measurement of loss and gain of biodiversity in impact assessment, offset design, and monitoring & evaluation. We are now part of Science-Based Targets Network, co-leading the Biodiversity Hub developing SBTs for biodiversity. We use our breadth of expertise to develop corporate and government policy and to build national capacity to run programmes we have initiated. We exercise a due diligence process and only work with clients who demonstrate a real motivation for quality and leadership. Known for pragmatic intellectual leadership, we are a resource for problem-solving and a platform for cross-sector engagement. Examples of our work can be found at: www.thebiodiversityconsultancy.com

We are a small consultancy that places high value on its experienced and expert staff. This is a new position which we hope will be shaped by you. We also welcome input into TBC’s broader strategic direction. We believe that the right individual will grow and flourish in TBC’s stimulating, collaborative and flexible culture. Personal development is important to us and as such we offer a comprehensive, tailored induction and ongoing in-house and external training opportunities.

At heart we are committed conservationists, who believe we can make more of an impact by working with industry. We take significant steps to live our values, from a careful due diligence process with our projects and clients to environmental policies covering the way we work. We invest in the environmental leaders of the future through our internship programme. TBC also donates 12.5% of its profits to environmental causes chosen by staff.