Biodiversity Officer

Salary
Graduate: £18,000 - £27,000
Employee with 10-15 years in the role: £25,000 - £35,000
Senior employee: £35,000 - £45,000

Main Employers

Government bodies and nature conservation agencies
Local and regional government
Consultancies
Charities and pressure groups
Nature reserves, national and country parks, private estates
Water authorities
Research and academic institutions
The Forestry Commission

Job Profile
Biodiversity officers promote the value of biodiversity to the local community. They co-ordinate, review and develop the implementation of local and national Biodiversity Action Plans (BAPs). This involves providing a focal point for biodiversity action in the local area. Often the BAPs need to be integrated into other community plans and will help meet the local authority’s responsibilities under the Nature Conservation Act. Biodiversity officers are involved in fisheries, flood risk, waste management, agriculture, coastal management, river restoration.

Role and Responsibilities
Jobs will vary according to each employer; however you could expect to be involved in:

Developing, promoting and overseeing the implementation of biodiversity conservation, planning, management and training programmes
Promoting public awareness of biodiversity issues
Providing high quality advice and assistance to public
Working collaboratively with partners on relevant biodiversity and species issues, activities and programmes
Assisting with the preparation of technical and feasibility studies
Providing technical expertise on planning applications and consents

Qualifications
Relevant further education subjects include: Applied Life Science; Biology; Botany; Earth Science; Ecology; Environmental Management; Environmental Science; Marine Biology; Oceanography.

Technical knowledge is essential and a post graduate qualification would be an advantage). Pre-entry experience, either paid or voluntary, is also essential and will boost your chances of securing a first position.

Career Development

There is considerable competition for jobs and applicants have to be able to demonstrate a passion for the issues. In many organisations there is no established career hierarchy. Promotion often means moving organisation or location. Senior posts are likely to mean greater involvement with planning, budgets, people management, and the administrative aspects of environmental management, while less time is spent in the field.

The number of jobs is slowly increasing and the opportunities for career development are improving in both the public, voluntary and, particularly, the consultancy sector.

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