Kent Planning Officer

Natural England is the Government’s adviser for the natural environment in England, helping to protect England’s nature and landscapes for people to enjoy and for the services they provide.


Our Sustainable Development work includes both land use planning, marine and wildlife licencing advice.


Natural England’s general purpose is ‘to ensure that the natural environment is conserved, enhanced and managed for the benefit of present and future generations, thereby contributing to sustainable development’.


The Sussex and Kent Area Team:


The iconic landscape of Sussex and Kent flows down the high chalk outcrops of the North and South Downs through agricultural lands on to the rich coastal and marine habitats surrounding these counties. At its heart is the High Weald, one of the best surviving medieval landscapes in northern Europe and home to diverse ancient woodland full of undiscovered archaeology. Kent and Sussex are some of England’s most wooded counties.



Through our priority landscape areas, Natural England will focus on the valuable habitats that the local people and wildlife love.


We ask ‘what do we need to do now to ensure they continue to thrive?’ We’re focusing on the real world and not on just rules and process.


Through our ’Outcomes Approach’ we will work with landowners and partners to share objectives for landscapes in Sussex and Kent. This way we can work together to secure a healthy environment, economy and society.


The Landscape-scale projects are also all about helping our most important habitats and wildlife to flourish. At the heart of all of this work is our ‘Outcomes Approach’.


We will be focusing on what we want to achieve, and by listening more to those we deal with, and agreeing common and shared objectives, we can go much further to achieving our desired outcome to secure a healthy environment, economy and society.


Job description


You will work as part of a team of colleagues across Sussex and Kent leading on our engagement with Local Planning Authorities to help shape their local plans, providing paid for advice to major developers on how they can avoid impact of their schemes, securing environmental enhancements to benefit our landscape focus areas, and where appropriate mitigate for any damage to the natural environment, and work with partnerships on establishing sustainable access management and monitoring strategy, for our most sensitive wildlife sites.


You will have the opportunity to work on a wide variety of high profile cases.


You will work with colleagues in Sustainable Development and our placed based teams to support the delivery of the Area Team plan and positively engage with shaping our Team’s response to the changes needed in meet Natural England’s ‘Towards 2020’ challenge as set out in our Conservation Strategy.


Our priority landscape areas in Kent are North and North East Kent Coasts, the Kent Downs and Dungeness. You will work with colleagues from across the business (marine, wildlife licencing, terrestrial biodiversity and conservation) to shape our ambitions on a landscape scale In these areas, delivering positive environmental outcomes on the ground, and in turn the aspirations of our Conservation Strategy.


We are looking for someone with an environmental background, understanding of the potential impacts of major infrastructure projects and new housing developments on the natural environment, and who is driven to work with colleagues and our customers to find solutions.


You don’t have to currently be in a planning role but it would be helpful to have an understanding of environmental legislation and the planning system.


In return we can offer the right candidate;


- Flexible working

- A generous annual leave package

- 10 learning and development days

- A wide range of other benefits


The role includes:

•Responding to planning consultations according to Natural England's professional and customer service standards, adding value to achieve the best possible environmental outcomes



• Building partnerships with customers and stakeholders to resolve complex and often contentious planning issues and to develop collaborative strategic sustainable development approaches to conserving and enhancing the natural environment.

•Using knowledge and skills consistently and flexibly to support the team’s work and supporting managers by showing leadership and sharing expertise with others.


•Working with a range of partners, customers and colleagues to implement changes in the delivery of sustainable development work to ensure excellent customer service at all times and to increase efficiency, effectiveness and consistency whilst delivering for the natural environment.

•Commercial acumen to support delivery and advice via Natural England's Discretionary Advice Service (DAS).

Attachments

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