Senior / Principal Ecologist (Botany)

Arcadis
United Kingdom
On-site

Who this role is best for

Best suited to ecologists with field botany experience and project leadership skills working in Scotland's environmentally sensitive landscapes.

Best fit for

  • Candidates with proven upland habitat survey experience and leadership potential in ecological consultancy
    — “proven experience of surveying upland habitats in Scotland”
  • Individuals with technical reporting skills and a focus on sustainable development outcomes
    — “Excellent technical reporting, project management and communication skills”
  • Professionals interested in mentoring and growing the ecology team in Scotland
    — “Mentoring and supporting junior ecologists”

Things to consider

  • The role requires a strong grasp of Scottish planning and consenting frameworks
    — “Experience in NVC survey and the wider Scottish planning and consenting environment would be highly beneficial.”
  • Candidates should be prepared for a mix of technical delivery and client-facing responsibilities
    — “You will be involved in a varied and rewarding mix of technical delivery, project leadership and client support”

How to stand out

  • Highlight your experience with upland habitats and peatland management in your resume and interview
    — “Providing specialist advice on upland habitats, peatland and habitat management”
  • Demonstrate your ability to manage projects with attention to quality, programme and budget
    — “Managing ecological projects to meet quality, programme and budget requirements”
  • Showcase your work on biodiversity strategies and Natural Capital in your portfolio
    — “Supporting the development of biodiversity strategies and Natural Capital work”
  • Emphasize your field botany skills and FISC Level 3+ certification in your application materials
    — “A FISC Level 3+ certificate, or equivalent demonstrable botanical expertise”
Pace · SteadyCollaboration · MediumAutonomy · MediumDecision Impact · Team

Derived from job-description analysis by Serendipath's career intelligence engine.

What success looks like

  • led and contributed to botanical and habitat surveys
  • delivered ecological inputs to Ecological Impact Assessments (EcIA) and Environmental Impact Assessments (EIA)
Typical background
strong field botany and habitat survey skillsFISC Level 3+ certificate or equivalent demonstrable botanical expertise

Skills & requirements

Required

Botanical ExpertiseHabitat AssessmentSurveyingProject Management

Preferred

NVC SurveyBiodiversity Strategies

Stack & domain

Botanical ExpertiseHabitat AssessmentNVC SurveyProject ManagementCommunicationFISC Level 3+ CertificateEcologyEnvironmental Planning

About the role

Original posting from Arcadis

Arcadis is the world's leading company delivering sustainable design, engineering, and consultancy solutions for natural and built assets.

We are more than 34,000 people, in over 30 countries, dedicated to improving quality of life. Everyone has an important role to play. With the power of many curious minds, together we can solve the world’s most complex challenges and deliver more impact together.

Role description:

We are looking for Senior and Principal Ecologists with strong botanical expertise to join our growing team in Glasgow or Edinburgh. This is an excellent opportunity for experienced ecologists who want to play a leading role in delivering high-quality work across Scotland, while developing their careers within a collaborative, forward-thinking consultancy.

Our ecology team supports a wide range of projects across the UK and internationally, including major infrastructure, renewable energy, transport, water, and development schemes. In Scotland, we are particularly focused on supporting projects in environmentally sensitive landscapes, and we are keen to hear from individuals with strong field botany skills and experience of surveying upland habitats in Scotland.

As a Senior or Principal Ecologist, you will provide technical leadership across a broad range of ecological commissions, with a particular focus on botanical survey, habitat assessment and upland ecology. You will work closely with multidisciplinary teams and clients to deliver high-quality advice that supports sustainable development and positive environmental outcomes.

Depending on your level, you will take responsibility for managing projects, overseeing survey programmes, mentoring junior colleagues, and helping to grow Arcadis’ ecology capability in Scotland.

Role accountabilities:

You will be involved in a varied and rewarding mix of technical delivery, project leadership and client support, including:

Leading and contributing to botanical and habitat surveys

Delivering ecological inputs to Ecological Impact Assessments (EcIA) and Environmental Impact Assessments (EIA)

Providing specialist advice on upland habitats, peatland and habitat management

Supporting the development of biodiversity strategies and Natural Capital work

Managing ecological projects to meet quality, programme and budget requirements

Mentoring and supporting junior ecologists

Contributing to the continued growth of our ecology business in Scotland

Qualifications & Experience:

We are particularly interested in hearing from candidates who have:

Strong field botany and habitat survey skills

A FISC Level 3+ certificate, or equivalent demonstrable botanical expertise

Proven experience of surveying upland habitats in Scotland

A strong understanding of Scottish habitats, vegetation communities and upland land use

Experience delivering ecological advice for projects such as renewables, grid and transmission, transport, water, or major development

Excellent technical reporting, project management and communication skills

The ability to build strong relationships with clients, colleagues and stakeholders

Experience in NVC survey and the wider Scottish planning and consenting environment would be highly beneficial.

Why Arcadis?

We can only achieve our goals when everyone is empowered to be their best. We believe everyone's contribution matters. It’s why we are pioneering a skills-based approach, where you can harness your unique experience and expertise to carve your career path and maximize the impact we can make together.

You’ll do meaningful work, and no matter what role, you’ll be helping to deliver sustainable solutions for a more prosperous planet. Make your mark, on your career, your colleagues, your clients, your life and the world around you.

Together, we can create a lasting legacy.

Join Arcadis. Create a Legacy.

Our Commitment to Equality, Diversity, Inclusion & Belonging

We want you to be able to bring your best self to work every day which is why we take equality and inclusion seriously and hold ourselves to account for our actions. Our ambition is to be an employer of choice and provide a great place to work for all our people. We believe that by working together diverse people with different experiences develop the most innovative ideas. Equality, diversity and inclusion is at the heart of how we improve quality of life and we work closely with our people across six ED&I Workstreams: Age, Disability, Faith, Gender, LGBT+ and Race. A diverse and skilled workforce is essential to our success.

Source: Arcadis careers

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