Casework Officer (12-month Fixed term) - WFH/Hybrid

Job Description

Do you want to play a crucial role in protecting and enhancing our special places for wildlife?

We are looking for someone passionate about saving nature to join our UK Nature Protection team at a time of unprecedented challenges and opportunities for environmental protection. You will work on a wide range of cutting-edge cases affecting wildlife sites across the UK, using your skills and knowledge to help the RSPB make a real difference - whether it's new housing, marine renewables, or ensuring our protected areas are restored to favourable condition.

We’re offering a 12-month post in the RSPB’s UK Nature Protection team and looking for someone who’s passionate and motivated to make the case for nature and help the RSPB hold decision makers to account. This will include helping us harness the power of people to campaign to defend nature.

This role may be an Ideal Secondment opportunity.

What is the role about?

The post holder will work on a wide range of cases affecting some of the most important wildlife sites across the UK. You’ll use your skills and knowledge to provide technical support and advice as part of teams aiming to make a real difference to the UK’s special places for wildlife.

Key activities will include:

• Making the case to protect the most important wildlife places in the UK from damaging development and land-use change and using these cases to highlight how local and national policies need to change to ensure the UK’s best wildlife areas are better protected and managed.
• Being a key part of RSPB teams making the case for nature at public examinations and public inquiries. This will include undertaking analysis of development proposals and identifying the RSPB’s key concerns and supporting our expert witnesses in setting out the RSPB’s arguments for protecting nature. On the most high profile cases, this will include working with the RSPB’s campaigns and communications specialists to engage our supporters and the public in our cause.
• Working with other equally committed specialists at HQ and colleagues “on the ground” throughout the UK to help ensure the RSPB's work on key cases has the most strategic impact as part of our wider work to tackle the nature and climate crises and to halt and reverse the loss of biodiversity.

What we need from you

Essential skills, knowledge & experience:

• Educated to degree level or equivalent, or experience relevant to the role e.g. Environmental or Planning,
• Have knowledge, understanding and relevant experience of planning legislation, policy and practice (or other regulatory systems) in the UK,
• Able to analyse complex issues in a fast-paced environment,
• Good written and verbal communication skills,
• Strong time management and organisational skills,
• Able to negotiate with and influence others, including external stakeholders e.g. professional, persuasive, engaging, and confident,
• Able to contribute to and work within dispersed, multi-disciplinary teams as well as act independently to generate and lead on key areas of work.

Desirable skills, knowledge & experience:

• Knowledge of environmental and nature conservation issues in general,
• Experience of working in the planning system, especially development management and/or public inquiries,
• Experience of project management of cases at public inquiries/public examinations,
• Member or eligible for membership of Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI), and/or Chartered Institute of Ecology and Environmental Management (CIEEM), and/or Chartered Institute of Water and Environmental Management (CIWEM).

Additional Information

This is a full-time, 12-month, fixed-term contract - The RSPB reserves the right to make this role permanent at any time. This role may also be a suitable secondment opportunity.

Should you have any queries about this vacancy, please contact Andrew.Dodd@rspb.org.uk

Please note that as part of your application you will be asked to complete a form where you will have the opportunity to tell us how you meet criteria set out above.

Before applying - Please read through the candidate guidance notes attached to the top of our advert.

The RSPB is an equal opportunities employer. This role is covered by the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974.