At Atkins, our team of ecologists work throughout the UK to deliver a diverse range of challenging and exciting projects that benefit our clients, biodiversity and society.
We are proud to promote nature-based solutions across a range of market sectors; collaborating with clients to positively contribute to the carbon net zero agenda and biodiversity and climate emergencies. We are particularly passionate about the implementation of biodiversity net gain on our projects and have placed ourselves at the forefront of this approach.
We positively encourage pushing boundaries, promoting innovation, knowledge sharing and working inclusively across our diverse team. We are fully committed to promoting Equality, Diversity and Inclusion. We want everyone to feel respected, empowered and able to realise their full potential as important members of our team.
Flexible working is a core part of our culture at Atkins and we appreciate that different people have different priorities. We recognise that a healthy work/life balance is integral to wellbeing and we are extremely supportive of individual requirements for flexible and remote working.
To meet our growing project workload and help us design and apply new approaches to our work, we are looking for an experienced and self-driven Ecology Practice Manager to lead our Northern Ecology Practice. This region includes offices in northern England, Scotland and Northern Ireland and the successful candidate can be based in any one of these offices.
Working closely with two other Regional Practice Managers and reporting directly to the UK Ecology Practice Director you would collaborate with the market and business development teams to actively engage with clients and sell our services. You would also be responsible for recruitment, managing resources and staff development. Joining us, you will have the opportunity to contribute to nationally significant and high-profile projects, with many of our projects winning awards for biodiversity enhancements, innovation, and knowledge sharing. Our ecology team also won the inaugural CIEEM Large-Scale Consultancy of the Year Award in 2018 and has been highly commended in the same award category each year thereafter.
Please see a link to our Atkins Ecology video We are the Ecology Team on Vimeo.
See below for more information about the role.
Your objectives will be to:
- Enthuse our people through effective performance and development plans that align to their career preferences and organisation goals
- Build and maintain utilisation within the team through efficient resource management whilst facilitating the flow of work to the Global Design Centre and our extensive supply chain partners
- Liaise with the Ecology Practice Director and other Regional Practice Managers to ensure we have sufficient resources with the right skills to develop our current and future market strategies
- Support the technical development of staff within the team
Requirements
- Experienced people manager
- Strong interpersonal and conflict resolution skills
- Strong communication skills to interface with clients and internal stakeholders
- Strong collaborative behaviours to interface with multi-disciplinary teams, market teams, and other stakeholders
- Proven experience in a similar position, preferably in the same discipline area, or alternative comparable areas would be an advantage .
More about the Role and your Responsibilities
- Provide line management for Local Team leaders, oversee career and talent development and manage employee performance
- Support technical best practice, knowledge sharing and process standardisation/optimisation across the practice
- Establish resource demand based on the pipeline of opportunities in collaboration with multi-discipline divisional resource managers
- Manage practice performance with focus on meeting or exceeding targets
- Work with the Practice Director to ensure skills and capacity meet the needs of the target markets through targeted recruitment and focused staff development
- Act as Project Manager or Project Director and undertake technical delivery
- Responsible for winning work through maximising additional/repeat/follow-on work from clients
- Help drive innovation in service offerings
- Identify opportunities and foster client relationships
- Ensure that business activity conforms to the Business Management Systems and does not present an unacceptable risk
- Support and lead strategic bids, both ecology led and within other discipline groups.
What will the successful candidate be like
- Motivational – to build and motivate a team and demonstrate good management qualities
- A high expectation of performance – both for themselves and other members of the team, coupled with a drive for continuous improvement
- Excellent communication – both interpersonal and organisational skills, verbally and in writing
- Approachable – to be supportive and encouraging to all members of the team, coupled with a passion for staff development
- Professional – to lead the practice team so that it has a reputation for technical excellence and quality of delivery in a relevant discipline
- Flexible – be able to travel throughout the UK where required (travel restrictions permitting), while maintaining a beneficial balance
- Hard working – someone who is reliable, proactive and innovative, whilst able to keep calm under pressure and when working to often demanding deadlines
- Adaptive –able to adapt to different cultures and working environments to build rapport with both clients and practice teams
What we offer
Here at Atkins, well-being is at the forefront of everything we do. We recognise that there is more to life than work and that making time for the other things is crucial for health and happiness. Therefore, if working from home, working part-time or having flexible start and finish times will help with this, we are more than happy to discuss individual requirements (and to keep these requirements flexible going forward). We utilise a paid overtime and TOIL system, which also helps individuals to make time for the things that are important to them.
We offer a competitive salary that is regularly tested against other consultants with a default 25-days leave each year plus bank holidays and options to buy some or sell of that leave.
To support and safeguard your physical and mental wellbeing we provide an employee assistance programme offering advice and support in times of need. Our offices run their own sports and social club providing activities such wine tasting, as surf trips, and a kids’ Christmas party. You will also have access to our Flexible Benefits, where you can opt in to a wide range of benefits to complement your work/life balance: such as medical insurance, gym membership, the cycle-to-work scheme, child care vouchers, charitable giving, additional pension contributions etc.
In addition to a competitive salary and core benefits, Atkins offers a fantastic range of benefits, which you can tailor to suit your own health, wellbeing, financial and lifestyle choice.
All the information you need to know is available on our dedicated benefits portal; your reward, https://yourrewarduk.snclavalin.com/#welcome
Atkins are committed to promoting Equality, Diversity and Inclusion. We have a commitment to identify and recruit from the most diverse talent pool and develop new and improved ways to sponsor talent from underrepresented groups. We have a range of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion network groups encouraging an inclusive workplace where all employees can flourish, including Embrace (supporting minority ethnicities), Enable (supporting visible and invisible disabilities) Equilibrium (for LGBT+ colleagues), Menopause at Work, Neurodiversity (for variations in learning, attention and other mental functions), ParentNet, and Empower (providing professional support by and for women).
Training
We are committed to developing the knowledge and skills of our ecologists. As well as providing an attractive individual training budget, the successful candidate will benefit from tailored mentoring and support towards achieving their career goals. We recognise that there are many potential pathways through a career in ecology and so we encourage and support individuals to carry to work on projects that they find particularly rewarding and enjoyable, guiding career progression and enabling individuals to contribute to shaping new thinking and approaches in areas of their choosing.
We are a Living Wage employer and we offer competitive salaries commensurate with experience and qualifications.Atkins will support you in your professional development, whether with CIEEM, IEMA, CIWEM or others, we support staff in achieving and maintaining membership of relevant institutions, this includes paying your annual membership and providing access to training
“This role may require security clearance and offers of employment will be dependent on obtaining the relevant level of clearance. If this is necessary, it will be discussed with you at interview. If applying to this role please do not make reference to (in conversation) or include in your application or CV, details of any current or previously held security clearance.
Atkins recognise that there are many well qualified people who are looking to further their career, but who cannot commit to full time employment. We support flexible working arrangements and are interested to discuss how we can accommodate individual requirements. ATKINS, part of the SNC Lavalin Group, is committed to having a diverse and inclusive workforce. As an Equal Opportunities Employer, we value applications from all backgrounds, cultures and ability.”
