We are a consultancy based in Cambridge (UK), specialising in biodiversity management. 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 work on some of the most environmentally complex development projects in the world, across sectors, including energy (particularly hydropower, wind, solar, and geothermal), extractives (mining and oil & gas), agriculture, infrastructure and finance. We wish to recruit an exceptional Senior Principal Consultant, with a particular focus on the implementation of biodiversity mitigation, to deliver a number of key projects and manage client relationships. We are seeking a natural resource management expert with international experience of planning and implementing biodiversity conservation on the ground.

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. At the same time you are an adept team player, comfortably able to work within 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 countries.

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 and socio-economic principles common to field-based conservationists 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 colleagues working in nature conservation, renewable energy, mining, oil & gas, environment ministries, and multilateral and commercial banks.

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 value of our work, as well as write clear concise reports and papers.

You are already well-established within industry, consultancy or nature conservation. You now relish the opportunity to take a leadership role in providing on-the-ground support to our clients as they seek to design and implement good-practice mitigation of biodiversity impacts.

Roles

• Technical project work for clients, and building capacity within client teams, including design and implementation of baseline surveys, ecosystem services reviews, impact assessment, design of mitigation, biodiversity offset feasibility and implementation, and monitoring & evaluation. In this role there is envisaged to be a particular focus on supporting projects during construction and early operational phases to design and set up sustainable and effective biodiversity management systems and to build capacity for their long-term implementation (including training and mentoring clients’ biodiversity and natural resource management teams).
• Contributing to the strategic development of TBC, with a particular focus on TBC’s strategy for supporting clients to implement biodiversity mitigation on the ground. This could include: identifying / retaining / recruiting in-country staff, establishing local hubs / offices and marketing TBC’s capacity in this area.
• Project management, consisting of technical design and critical review of projects, and ensuring timely delivery of on-budget projects to a high level of quality
• 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
• Leading stakeholder engagement processes, both remotely and in-country, with government, civil society and industry
• Direct negotiation and/or relationship building with industry, government, NGOs, international financial institutions and scientific institutions
• Winning and undertaking work overseas by developing strategic and innovative proposals of work with new or existing clients, and in new and existing sectors, including using your own network
• Speaking on behalf of TBC to maintain our careful line between pragmatism and rigour
• Networking within industry, the conservation movement, and academia
• Delivering presentations, writing scientific or policy papers and other articles, dependent on client commitments, focusing on capitalising on practical lessons learned with biodiversity management on the ground
• Managing staff and/or interns, i.e. personnel management in addition to project management
• Recruiting, contracting and managing subcontractors
• Other work, as requested by the TBC Directors.

Attributes

Essential attributes

• At least ten years’ practical experience in biodiversity conservation, natural resource management, socio-economic assessment or environmental consultancy
• Significant field experience in sub-Saharan Africa (e.g. at least 5 years working full-time on the ground in implementation of biodiversity conservation or natural resource management related activities, ideally in several different sub-Saharan African countries)
• Experience of managing and delivering complex projects
• Experience of advising, managing and implementing HSE projects within the extractive and/or renewable industries, with a focus on managing impacts on biodiversity.
• Thorough understanding of the mining sector.
• Excellent writing and verbal communication skills, able to convince sceptical stakeholders
• An acute understanding of human politics and institutional dynamics
• Experience of supervising or managing individuals and/or teams
• An ability to develop new business and maintain and strengthen existing relationships with individuals and organisations from a range of backgrounds.
• 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
• Willingness and enthusiasm to travel globally and work in challenging environments
• Positivity, self-motivation and teamwork
• Proven ability to work in French
• A good Honours, or preferably Masters, degree or other postgraduate qualification in a relevant discipline.

Desirable attributes

• Training and practical experience as an ecologist or similar, including in-depth knowledge of at least one particular region / ecosystem / taxonomic group.
• A background as a field conservation specialist, understanding how to make conservation theory work in practice with communities and governments
• Experience of working in multi-disciplinary, multicultural international teams
• Expertise in design and/or management of protected areas / biodiversity offsets
• Familiarity with scientific publishing
• Sufficient GIS skills (map making and basic analysis) to communicate with our GIS team.

Details

Position details

• *Location: Cambridge, UK for an extended induction/settling in period of one year. At this point the post will transfer to a mutually agreed location in sub-Saharan Africa appropriate to the role and to TBC’s needs (subject to visas/permits). There will potentially be significant international travel, with the possibility of extended trips.
• Full-time (near full-time also considered)
• Salary range:  Equivalent to £54-70,000 (Full time). TBC has a profit-share and performance related bonus scheme.
• Fixed term: Two-year contract, with the hope of extension subject to business needs and performance.

Application details

Applications as early as possible. By 20 September 2018 at the latest: Send the following to recruitment@thebiodiversityconsultancy.com

• Curriculum Vitae
• A one-page application letter explaining your interest in the job and showing clearly how you meet our job and person requirements
• Two short and pithy (maximum four pages each) extracts of work that you have written within the past two years
• Details of where you saw our job advert.

Interviews: Will be held by phone or in person.

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 measurement of loss and gain of biodiversity in impact assessment, offset design, and monitoring & evaluation. 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.