Please ask for: / Direct dial:
Angie Beale / 01823 355209
Please quote this reference: / Fax:
10395/AMB / 01823 355091
Email: / Date:
/ June/July 2017

Dear Applicant,

Technical Advisor – Ecology, Somerset Ecology Services, Planning

Thank you for your enquiry regarding the above post. Please find enclosed:

  • Job details and Person specification
  • 4 C’s Information Sheet
  • Terms and conditions
  • Disclosure & Barring Service Information Sheet
  • Application form & Equalities monitoring form

To apply for the post, please complete the application and equal opportunities monitoring forms and return them by 12 July 2017at 5pm. The form can be submitted from the link in the vacancy on the Somerset County Council Website, or can be emailed to or posted to: The Recruitment Team, Floor A2W, County Hall, Taunton, TA1 4DY.

Unfortunately, due to the considerable number of enquiries for vacancies, we are unable to acknowledge receipt of your written application unless you specifically request this by enclosing a stamped addressed envelope. If you have not heard from us within 3-4 weeks of the closing date, you should assume that your application has been unsuccessful on this occasion.

If you would like further information about this post, please telephone Philip Higginbottom , Service Manager – Planning Control, Enforcement & Compliance on 01823 356939 or Barry James, Strategic Manager on 07919 540086.

Yours faithfully,

Angie Beale

Senior Recruitment Assistant

Recruitment Team

JOB DETAILS

Job title: Technical Advisor – Ecology, Somerset Ecology Services, Planning

Reference number:10395/AMB

KEY TASKS AND RESPONSIBILITIES
Main Responsibilities & Duties
  1. Acting as an ecological advisor to the Planning Control, Enforcement & Compliance Service, to the Director of Economic, & Community Infrastructure Operations and the County Council’s expert in relation to the Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations 2010. Also providing advice to elected Members and other senior managers.
  2. Acting as an ecological advisor to the Planning Control, Enforcement & Compliance Service, to the Director of Economic, & Community Infrastructure Operations and the County Council’s expert in relation to the Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations 2010. Also providing advice to elected Members and other senior managers.
  3. Reviewing existing planning permissions and undertaking appropriate assessments in accordance with the Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations 2010. This includes assessing the ecological impacts of individual proposals and the in-combination effects of multiple permissions in or near a European protected site e.g. Special Protection Area for birds (SPA), Special Area for Conservation (SAC).
  1. Providing advice to Planning Officers in relations to Planning Applications and as necessary undertaking appropriate assessments in relation to such applications, to comply with the Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations 2010
  1. Regularly discussing work programmes and progress with the relevant conservation bodies, negotiating with them to secure survey information, and agreeing the outcomes of appropriate assessments with them.
  2. Establishing and maintaining constructive liaison with the minerals and waste operators within the County, to assist with reviews under the regulations and to promote best practice. Sometimes this will require great tact and diplomacy, as many operators are suspicious of regulatory bodies.
  3. Disseminating information to other staff and reporting to elected members, by written and verbal reports to the Regulation Committee.
  1. Commissioning and supervising contract surveys, to provide additional ecological information to support the work of the County Planning Authority.
  2. Compiling ecological assessments through the collation and consideration of a wide variety of ecological data, including undertaking field survey work, as appropriate. Maintaining a record system of survey results, monitoring information and assessments undertaken to allow easy retrieval by other Council officers.
  3. Preparing evidence for and representing the County Council in planning appeal inquiries on controversial waste and minerals applications when necessary and in relation to policy development. This includes acting as an expert witness, including cross-examination by the legal representatives of opposing parties.
  1. Contributing to group, departmental and corporate projects as requested by Senior Managers. As the only dedicated ecologist within the Service, the postholder’s ecological expertise is likely to be sought on a fairly frequent basis.
  2. Representing the County Council on national, regional, county and local groups as an ecological expert, including Chairing of the Somerset Local Sites Partnership group, and representing SCC on the Routes to River Tone Partnership board and Pawlett Hams Steering Group.
  1. Understand, uphold and promote the aims of the council’s equality, diversity and inclusion policies; health, safety and wellbeing of self and others; and Organisational values in everything you do. Equality and Diversity practice covers both interaction with staff, service users and communities and includes challenging discrimination and promoting equality of opportunity for all.

FURTHER INFORMATION SPECIFIC TO THIS POST
Somerset County Council is subject to Part 7 of the Immigration Act (2016) and therefore the ability to speak fluent English will be an essential requirement for customer-facing roles.

PERSON SPECIFICATION GRADE9

All applicants should demonstrate a commitment to our four key values – Customer Focus, Can Do Attitude, Collaboration and Care and Respect

You can find more information by following the link below: :

1. Key Competencies
Organisation & Planning /
  • Identifies strategies for moving the service towards longer term service improvement aims and objectives, seeing beyond the day to day detail and challenging the way things are done.
  • Confidently initiates and generates ideas for change, providing workable solutions to problems.
  • Sets performance standards which incorporate both quality and quantity and which integrate with corporate and cultural vision and aims
  • Identifies resources needed to accomplish tasks.
  • Plans activities and projects taking into account the possibility of changing demands or other obstacles.
  • Monitors performance against deadlines and milestones.
  • Makes a contribution to the service planning process through ideas, approaches or insights.

Interpersonal Skills /
  • Identifies ways to motivate and empower others.
  • Provides staff with development opportunities and coaching.
  • Takes proactive steps in helping staff develop professional expertise.
  • Provides professional advice which meets the needs and understanding of different audiences.
  • Manages conflict.
  • Establishes good working relationships with staff & customers.
  • Identifies staff and customers expectations and influences changes to normal boundaries of delivery.

Analysis & Problem Solving /
  • Applies specialist and detailed technical expertise to produce a range of solutions to complex problems
  • Demonstrates an understanding of sensitive and/or controversial issues and uses judgement to manage these appropriately.
  • Responds calmly to situations where solutions are not always found within existing policy

Communication Skills /
  • Takes responsibility for championing efficiency and effectiveness across the service
  • Promotes the service through the establishment of good relationships with customers, staff and partners
  • Promotes ideas, Influencing fresh approaches to work activities

Knowledge Management /
  • Structures information to meet the needs and understanding of the intended audience
  • Builds wide and effective networks of contacts inside and outside the organisation
  • Develops job knowledge and expertise through continual professional development
  • Promotes equality, diversity and innovation, creating an open climate where people feel able to share ideas and think creatively
  • Active commitment to professional standards

2. Work Experience
Essential / Desirable
  • Wide experience of ecological work including desktop and site survey work, and ecological assessments.
  • Experience of commissioning and supervising contract surveys.
  • Consideration and interpretation of ecological data.
  • Experience of project management.
  • Writing and presenting technical ecological reports to wide audiences and clients.
/
  • Experience of providing ecological advice to planning officers particularly via consultation responses to planning applications.
  • Experience of providing ecological advice to other Local Authority departments, elected members, members of the public, and private clients.
  • Experience of preparing ecological evidence for and representing local authorities/clients at planning appeals and planning policy development.
  • Experience of undertaking Habitats Regulations Assessments.
  • Holds protected species licences.
  • Managing Service Level Agreements.
  • Supervision of staff.
  • Working experience with political structures, ideally Council Councils.

3. Qualifications
Essential / Desirable
  • A degree or equivalent experience in ecology.
/
  • A post-graduate qualification in ecology.
  • A qualification or equivalent experience in project management and/or contract management.

4. Knowledge/Skills
Essential / Desirable
  • Sound understanding of key ecological legislation including the Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations 2010, and policy, and their application.
  • Negotiation skills.
  • Tact and diplomacy.
  • For customer facing roles, the ability to speak fluent English as stated in Part 7 of the Immigration Act (2016
/
  • Knowledge of service/department issues and business objectives.
  • Knowledge of the minerals and waste industries.
  • Knowledge of peat-related ecological issues.
  • Chairing partnership group meetings.
  • Ability to read and interpret plans and technical drawings.
  • Knowledge of research and investigative skills and techniques, including ecological data capture and recording.
  • Knowledge of Local Government administration and its processes.
  • GIS skills.

5. Personal Attributes
Essential / Desirable
  • Able to take direction well but to work with minimal supervision when required.
  • Able to work as part of a team and support/mentor colleagues.
  • Ability to travel regularly to sites throughout Somerset.
  • Excellent interpersonal and communication skills.
  • IT literate.
  • Ability to work with a high degree of interruptions and remain calm in difficult situations.
  • Enthusiastic and self-motivated.
  • Outgoing and approachable.
  • Committed to a continuous process of self-development and training.
  • Willingness to contribute to the service planning process through ideas, approaches or insights.
  • Honesty and integrity.
  • Able to attend meetings away from County Hall, sometimes in remote locations with occasional attendance at meetings/events outside normal working hours.

Our Values – 4 Cs

At work, thewaywe do things matters as much aswhatwe do. At Somerset County Council we have four key values – the 4Cs – that all employees are expected to work to. They will form part of every member of staff’s personal review.

Customer focus

This is about putting the customer at the heart of everything we do.

Collaboration

This is about working with others to deliver our services.

Can do attitude

This is about getting the job done and doing it well.

Care and respect

This is about treating others as they would wish to be treated – with care, respect, dignity and understanding.

What does this look like in practice?

The 4Cs describe our values. In practice, this means that we think from a customer or a community perspective to make sure we get things right first time and continually improve the services we provide. We must have a clear view of what our customers and service users say they need, rather than build services based on what we think they need.

We operate a ‘no wrong door’ policy – whichever authority or department deals with the customer’s query, we help them get there. As we build links with other authorities and organisations we talk to each other and our managers about how we think we could change, even the smallest things, for the better.

We work together, establishing positive, respectful and empowering ways of working as strong teams. We act with integrity, communicating clearly, admitting to our mistakes and striving to learn from them. When we think we need to speak out or challenge, we are prepared to do so in a constructive and positive way, but we remain objective.

Important Information about the Job and Your Application

JOB TITLE

/ Technical Advisor – Ecology, Somerset Ecology Services, Planning

GRADE

/ 9

SALARY

/ Between £32,486 and £36,379per annum
Appointments are normally made at the bottom of the salary scale.

LOCATION

/ The location for this post is County Hall, Taunton, TA1 4DY.
GENERAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS / In accordance with the Scheme of Conditions of Service agreed by the National Joint Council for Local Government Services (commonly know as the Green Book).

HOURS OF WORK

/ Normally the working week is 37 hours. The hours of work will be in agreement with the line manager.

CONTRACT

/ The contract offered is permanent.

PROBATIONARY PERIOD

/ The appointment will be subject to a probationary period of 6 months. Internal applicants who have already completed their probationary period would not normally be expected to complete this again.

LEAVE

/ The annual leave for this post (based on full time hours) is27 days.
On top of this, 2 additional days (called statutory days) can be taken each year, as well as the usual 8 bank holiday days.
Annual Leave stated will be pro–rata for part-time and fixed term contract posts.
The annual leave year starts on 1 April or 1 of the month in which contract commences.

NOTICE PERIOD

/ Following successful completion of the probationary period, this post will be subject to a notice period ofthree calendar months on either side.
DISABILITY DECLARATIONS / Applications for all vacancies are particularly welcome from people with disabilities. Somerset County Council has a policy of shortlisting for interview all disabled applicants who meet the essential requirements of the post (as detailed in the Person Specification enclosed).

DISCLOSURE & BARRING SERVICE

/ Not applicable for this post.
POLITICAL RESTRICTIONS / Not applicable for this post.
SMOKING POLICY / Somerset County Council recognises that the health, safety and welfare of employees, sub-contractors and anyone else directly affected by the Council's operations are of prime importance. Therefore, smoking is strictly prohibited everywhere on Somerset County Council premises except where it is both practicable and appropriate to designate an outside smoking area. This is at the discretion of local management. Smoking breaks during paid working time will not be permitted.
Somerset County Council has signed the Charter for Employers who are Positive about Mental Health.
The Charter for Employers who are Positive about Mental Health is a voluntary agreement seeking to support employers in working within the spirit of its positive approach. The Charter is one element of the MINDFUL EMPLOYER® initiative which is aimed at increasing awareness of mental health in the workplace and supporting businesses in recruiting and retaining staff.
MINDFUL EMPLOYER is a UK-wide initiative.