Land Agent National Nature Reserves(Ref: 5960)
Natural England
Apply before 11:55 pm on Monday 30th September 2024
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Property
Valuation
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About the job
Job summary
Job description
Do you have a passion for nature and the environment? Do you want to make a real difference and secure significant environmental gains in the present and the future? Do you enjoy working in a team? Can you see yourself advising communities and customers to maximise gains for the Natural Environment?
If this appeals to you, a career at Natural England offers rewarding opportunities to secure environmental improvements and play your part in creating a better future for people and nature.
The priority work Natural England is delivering includes:
- Establishing a Nature Recovery Network to help wildlife thrive
- Monitoring environmental changes to identify and help reduce the effects of climate change
- Working with farmers and landowners to develop greener food production methods
- Advising on plans for new developments to maximise gains for nature
- Providing ways for people to better connect with nature, including green social prescribing
We are the Government’s Adviser for the natural environment, playing a vital role in delivering the Government’s 25 Year Environment Plan, an ambitious vision which brings new opportunities to protect and enhance and to achieve real outcomes for the environment.
Find out more about the work of Natural England at www.gov.uk/government/organisations/natural-england
Natural England requires a Chartered Surveyor to carry out land agency work in order to support nature recovery and manage natural capital and ecosystem services on the Natural England Estate. The role is free from fee target pressure and offers flexible working opportunities.
This is an opportunity to work for the Estate Management arm of Natural England who hold a mixed leasehold and freehold estate of some 65,000ha of land, workshops, offices, and other buildings. The Estate comprises 134 National Nature Reserves (NNRs) covering some of the most important and iconic wildlife sites in England.
Chartered Surveyors are essential to the Estate fulfilling its conservation and income potential whilst meeting the organisations legal obligations and providing value for money.
You will be joining a national team of Surveyors/Land Agents working across the country and be part of a wider team of conservation professionals. This role will predominantly cover casework in the North of England (Cumbria, Northumbria, Cheshire, Lancashire and Yorkshire), albeit national strategic work will also be required at times.
The role offers flexibility for home or office working or a mixture of the two. There is flexibility in your location base, however it is expected that you spend 2 – 3 days per fortnight working with the Area Teams and on their NNRs, supporting local delivery. You would be expected to work out of an NE office once a week (minimum).
Job description
Key areas of work include:
- Estate Management - manage all tenure casework for a particular geographic area.
- Professional advice - the post holder will provide advice on casework, legal and valuation matters related to the management of the Natural England estate. This may include engagement of internal and external advisers on such matters. Internally, this will involve working with our Area Teams, NNR staff, the National NNR team and Natural England’s legal team.
- Work with wider NE teams to provide Land Agent input to emerging policy areas and/or schemes and to align the NE Estate processes with NE regulatory needs – e.g. tenure and protected sites such as Telecoms or wildfowling guidance.
- Income generation - explore traditional and new potential of Estate assets and drive forward opportunities from emerging environmental markets such as Biodiversity Net Gain & Nutrient Mitigation.
- Acquisitions and declarations - advise the relevant geographic team on NNR acquisitions and National Nature Reserve designation.
- NNR records - updating and maintaining of property records and mapping.
- Finance - work with support staff to deliver accurate payments and receipts from the Estate tenure and assist with procurement for valuation and other contracts.
- Contribute to reviews and updates of upcoming Government policy and Estate Management procedures.
Benefits
Wherever possible Natural England accommodates requests for both full-time and part-time hours and other flexible working patterns to help employees achieve a good work/life balance and maintain their health and wellbeing.
Natural England provides excellent opportunities for career progression, training and development tailored to your role. From induction to ongoing learning and development, everyone in Natural England is supported to develop their skills and capabilities. Everyone has 10 days to devote to personal learning and development, as well as an additional 3 days to volunteer.
You will have access to Civil Service Pension and benefits arrangements and generous leave allowances (33 day per year pro rata), as well as flexible working, to help you achieve a work-life balance that works for you and us.
You will have access to a range of benefits including discounts on shopping vouchers, cycle to work scheme, and childcare vouchers. You can also join the Civil Service Sport club which offer discounts on a range of sports and leisure opportunities as well as social events.
Natural England is a fantastic place to work, where difference is celebrated.
We’re committed to fairness and equality for all, so you feel valued for who you are and what you do. Our shared values help us work together to benefit the communities we serve. Our thriving employee-led diversity networks support our inclusive culture and contribute to our Diversity Action Plan.
Locations
Natural England is adopting hybrid working – which means our staff work from a flexible range of locations, encompassing home, offices (ours and our partners) and relevant sites. All new staff will be formally linked to one of our 25 offices across England and the expectation is that all new staff will be able to access their local office to be part of the community of staff in their geographical area. Full time staff are expected to attend their associated office for a minimum of one day a week.
Staff members are required to carry out all their duties working in this way and cannot do so from an overseas location at any time. Travel expenses will be paid if work related travel is required but does not apply to travel between home and your associated office.
National team roles can be linked with any Natural England office while Area Team roles will be linked with an office in the relevant geographic area.
View a map of our office locations here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/natural-england-office-locations
Pay
It is Natural England policy to employ at the entry point of the salary range.
Natural England has undertaken a review of its Staff Framework to ensure that it continues to be fit for purpose for the future and able to deliver its ambitions as an organisation. It will enable us to attract, retain, and grow our people to deliver our ambitious mission to build partnerships for nature recovery and provide enriching careers for our people. Role responsibilities have not changed as a result of the review, but all roles have been assessed against the new Staff Framework and will be aligned to one of the new 3 Job Families (Shaping, Enabling and Delivering). Line Managers are currently holding conversations with their teams to discuss the impact the changes will have on individuals job roles.
How to Apply
We welcome and encourage applications from all communities. Natural England is accredited to the Disability Confident Scheme, which denotes organisations which have a positive attitude towards disabled people. Disabled applicants who meet the minimum requirements for the role at the shortlisting stage are guaranteed an invitation to interview.
If you require a reasonable adjustment at interview, or there is anything else you would like the panel to take into consideration, you should notify us of this at application stage where possible, or well in advance of your interview.
This vacancy uses competency-based assessment. We'll assess you against the competencies below during the selection process:
- Personal Effectiveness
- Work Delivery
- Putting People at the Heart of the Environment
- Technical Skills and Knowledge
When completing the application form you should present relevant examples using the STAR format. Give us an example of how you have demonstrated the competency (which can be work related or from another area of your life) and tell us about the Situation, the specific Task you had to undertake, the specific Actions you took, and the Result (both immediate and in a wider context) of your doing so.
Please note that STAR format is not required when answering the Technical Skills & Knowledge competency.
Examples should be given in no more than 250 words for each competency.
Next Steps
If you are successful at the shortlisting stage, you will be invited to attend an interview via MS Teams or a suitable alternative, where you will be asked to give examples for all four competencies as set out in the Job Description.
Successful candidates will be allocated roles in merit order based on scores achieved at interview and in accordance with location preferences, taking into account the work area to which successful candidates are most suited, wherever possible.
Competencies
Competence 1
Professional competency
Detail Instance 1
Personal Effectiveness
Description Instance 1
- Use clear and appropriate language, communication styles and techniques that engage your audience (practitioner)
• Make and explain objective decisions which combine your professional judgement and evidence (expert)
• Progress your personal development and take responsibility for keeping your knowledge and expertise current (practitioner)
Competence 2
Professional competency
Detail Instance 2
Work Delivery
Description Instance 2
- Manage and deliver your workload to meet agreed targets and deadlines (expert)
• Consider the financial implications of your work and seek income from our products and services (practitioner)
Competence 3
Professional competency
Detail Instance 3
Putting People at the Heart of the Environment
Description Instance 3
- Nurture trusting partnerships and collaborate to achieve pragmatic outcomes that help deliver the vision, mission and aims of the organisation you represent (practitioner)
Competence 4
Professional competency
Detail Instance 4
Technical Skills and Knowledge
Description Instance 4
- You will be a qualified member of The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors and will be required to keep professional membership up to date. Professional membership of the Central Association of Agricultural Valuers is not essential but preferable (essential)
• Knowledge and experience of property management, preferably rural, including legal and valuation matters and working with a range of landowners, occupiers and farmers will be valuable (essential)
• Experience in all aspects of Rural Estate Management of a wide and varied portfolio (essential):-
o Lease negotiations, rent reviews, lease management, tenant relations.
o Valuations – freehold and leasehold.
o Rent and debt management
o Estate utilisation and rationalisation
o Property Transactions – purchases, leases, easements, wayleaves
o Stakeholder Engagement
o Estate Terrier Management
Person specification
Qualifications
Memberships
Benefits
- Learning and development tailored to your role
- An environment with flexible working options
- A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity
- A Civil Service pension with an average employer contribution of 27%
Things you need to know
Selection process details
Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.
Security
Nationality requirements
Working for the Civil Service
We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles (opens in a new window).
Diversity and Inclusion
Apply and further information
Contact point for applicants
Job contact :
- Name : Philip Bowler
- Email : philip.bowler@naturalengland.org.uk
- Telephone : 07801547948
Recruitment team
- Email : defra-recruitment-enquiries@gov.sscl.com
Further information
