Senior Consultant – Nature and Environment

Overview

In this role you will drive technical delivery and project management for Defra-related natural environment work, shaping policy-relevant evidence and practical recommendations. You will lead multidisciplinary teams, oversee delivery quality, and mobilise new work across biodiversity and environmental policy areas. You’ll translate research into actionable insights for policy audiences and help grow ICF’s nature and environment portfolio. This is a hands-on consultant role balancing technical contributions with project leadership in a fast-paced environment.

Pay / Benefits

• Hybrid working policy
• Private medical insurance
• Dental insurance
• 25 days annual leave + bank holidays
• Pension scheme with employer contribution
• Life assurance and income protection

Responsibilities

• Provide technical delivery in monitoring, evaluation, research and learning for natural environment projects
• Design evaluation questions, theories of change, monitoring frameworks and evidence synthesis approaches
• Carry out qualitative and quantitative research, analysis and reporting for policy audiences
• Apply UK environmental policy knowledge to interpret evidence and derive practical conclusions
• Provide technical review and quality assurance for junior staff and partners
• Manage a portfolio of nature- and environment-related projects (planning, resourcing, budgets, risks, quality, client reporting)
• Mobilise new projects with governance, roles, workplans and controls
• Coordinate multidisciplinary teams and ensure timely delivery and integration of inputs
• Maintain client relationships and manage changes to scope or delivery expectations
• Contribute to project plans and bids, shaping methods, workplans, resourcing and budgets
• Support priority projects and emerging client needs across the environment portfolio
• Develop reusable methods, tools, guidance and learning across the team
• Coach junior staff on technical and delivery development

Key requirements

• Degree or equivalent professional experience in environmental policy, ecology, environmental science, social research, evaluation, economics or related discipline
• Relevant consulting, research, policy or programme delivery experience with project management responsibilities
• Knowledge of UK natural environment policy and delivery (biodiversity, nature recovery, protected sites, land management, monitoring)
• Experience in monitoring, evaluation, applied research or evidence-based policy work
• Strong project management skills (planning, resourcing, risk management, budget oversight, quality assurance)
• Ability to contribute technically while overseeing delivery, commercial performance and client requirements
• Strong analytical, written and verbal communication skills for client-ready outputs
• Experience working with multidisciplinary teams and external partners

• Delivery-focused
• Organised and able to manage competing priorities
• Collaborative and pragmatic
• Monitoring and evaluation
• Qualitative and quantitative research methods
• Evidence synthesis

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