Head of Ecology

Overview

In this role you will lead and grow an ecology and environmental services team to support onshore wind, solar, and BESS projects across the UK. You will set strategic direction, provide technical leadership, and oversee ecological deliverables for a growing portfolio. You will navigate environmental planning, protected species legislation, and planning processes to enable major renewable energy developments. This is an opportunity to shape a consultancy offering in a fast-growing sector and drive cross-disciplinary collaboration.

Responsibilities

• Lead and develop the ecology team with mentorship and professional development
• Develop and implement the ecology growth strategy aligned with renewable energy opportunities
• Support business development including client engagement, bids, and proposals
• Build and maintain relationships with developers, planners, regulators, and industry stakeholders
• Represent the business at industry events, conferences, and client meetings
• Provide technical oversight and QA for ecological assessments and deliverables
• Lead ecology input from feasibility to planning consent and construction on wind, solar, and BESS projects
• Oversee delivery of PEA, EcIA, HRA, protected species surveys and mitigation, BNG assessments, CEMP, and HMP
• Advise clients on environmental constraints, planning risks, and mitigation strategies
• Ensure compliance with UK and devolved environmental legislation and policy
• Manage team resourcing, project allocation, and utilisation targets
• Oversee budgets, programme delivery, and commercial performance
• Support recruitment and expansion of the ecology function
• Drive continuous improvement in technical standards, systems, and service delivery
• Collaborate with planning, landscape, engineering, and environmental assessment specialists

Key requirements

• Degree in Ecology, Environmental Science, Biological Sciences, or related discipline
• Significant professional ecological consultancy experience including leadership or senior management
• Experience delivering ecology services for renewable energy infrastructure (onshore wind, solar, BESS)
• Strong knowledge of UK ecological legislation, planning policy, and licensing
• Extensive experience managing complex ecological assessments and multidisciplinary projects
• Proven ability to lead teams, manage clients, and contribute to business growth
• Excellent report writing, communication, and stakeholder engagement skills
• Full membership of CIEEM or equivalent accreditation
• Chartered Environmentalist (CEnv) status desirable

• leadership
• stakeholder engagement
• communication
• ecological assessments (PEA, EcIA)
• HRA
• BNG assessments

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