Building jobs in Horsham

THORNEMERE LTD

Senior Ecologist – Badger Specialist (Licensed)

Crown and Burrow, the badger division of Thornemere Ltd

Location

Field-based across Surrey, Sussex, Hampshire, Kent and the wider South East, with our office at Hivegrove, Kings Court, Burrows Lane, Gomshall, Guildford GU5 9QE

Salary

£45,000 to £55,000 a year depending on experience and licence status, plus a performance bonus

Hours

Full time, permanent. Some early mornings, dusk surveys and weekend work in the sett-closure season

Reports to

Managing Director

Start

As soon as possible

The role in one paragraph

We want an experienced badger ecologist to own everything badger-related at Thornemere: surveying sites, designing mitigation, applying for and holding our Natural England licences, supervising sett closures and artificial sett builds, specifying badger-proof fencing, and looking after the welfare of the animals throughout. You will be the named ecologist on our licences and the person who makes sure nothing starts on site until it is lawful to start. You will also help us grow this side of the business by turning site visits into clear, costed proposals that clients can say yes to.

About us

Thornemere Ltd is a Surrey-based environmental services group. Our brands include PGH Pest Prevention, Beegone (honey bee removal), Crown and Burrow (badger surveys, mitigation and fencing), Woodpecker Roofing and Sewerfix. Crown and Burrow works for developers, schools, estates, councils, care providers and private homeowners across the South East and beyond, and badger work is a steady year-round part of our turnover. We have a busy pipeline of sett closures, exclusions and fencing projects, and we want a specialist to lead it.

What you will do

• Survey. Carry out badger surveys (sett surveys, activity and use assessments, camera-trap monitoring, bait marking where needed) and write clear, evidence-based reports and method statements.
• Licence. Prepare and submit Natural England licence applications (individual sett licences and, where eligible, class licence CL35 site registrations), run the correspondence with Natural England, and keep every licence condition, monitoring requirement and return on track.
• Deliver. Plan and supervise sett closures and exclusions using one-way gates and soft blocking, artificial sett design and construction, and badger-proof fencing installations, working alongside our field teams and subcontractors.
• Protect. Be responsible for badger welfare on every job. Decide when work can start, when it must stop, and what needs to change, and have the standing to say so.
• Advise. Give clients, architects, planners and contractors straight answers on the Protection of Badgers Act 1992, planning conditions, seasonal restrictions (the closure season runs 1 July to 30 November) and what a compliant programme looks like.
• Build the business case. Turn surveys into priced, well-argued proposals. Help us decide which jobs to take, price them properly, and explain to clients why doing it right protects their project and their reputation.
• Raise the standard. Write and maintain our badger method statements, risk assessments and licence templates, train our field staff, and keep our records audit-ready.

What we are looking for

Essential

• Proven hands-on experience of badger surveys, sett closures and mitigation in England, including experience as a named or authorised person on Natural England badger licences.
• Working knowledge of the Protection of Badgers Act 1992, the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, Natural England licensing policy and the planning system as it applies to badgers.
• A relevant degree (ecology, zoology, environmental science or similar) or equivalent field experience, and membership of CIEEM or the ability to obtain it.
• Confident report writer who can produce a survey report, method statement or licence application that stands up to scrutiny.
• Practical and comfortable on construction sites, in all weathers, at dawn and dusk.
• Commercially aware. You can price a job, explain it to a client and see it through.
• Full UK driving licence and the right to work in the UK.

Desirable

• Registered Consultant status on Natural England class licence CL35, or the track record needed to apply for it (at least four sett-closure licences in the last five years, including main setts).
• Experience of artificial sett design and construction, and of specifying badger-proof fencing.
• Wider protected-species experience (bats, great crested newts, reptiles, nesting birds) so you can flag other constraints on site.
• Experience working with developers and principal contractors under CDM, and with ecological clerk of works duties.
• Experience of building or growing a service line in a consultancy or contractor.

What we offer

• Salary of £45,000 to £55,000 depending on experience and licence status.
• Performance bonus linked to the growth and compliance record of the badger division.
• Company vehicle or vehicle allowance, fuel and mileage for work travel.
• Professional membership fees (CIEEM) and Natural England licence and registration costs paid.
• Training and CPD budget, plus paid time for licence-related development.
• Phone, laptop, PPE and survey equipment supplied.
• Workplace pension, holiday entitlement and flexible working around survey and site demands.
• A genuine seat at the table. Small, growing company, direct access to the MD, and the freedom to shape how this division runs.

How to apply

Apply through Indeed with your CV and a short covering note telling us about the badger licences you have held or been named on, the sett closures you have supervised, and why you want to run this side of a growing business. We will read every application personally.

Thornemere Ltd is an equal opportunities employer. Applicants must have the right to work in the UK.

Pay: Up to £55,000.00 per year

Benefits:

• Company car
• Company pension
• Free parking
• Health & wellbeing programme
• On-site parking

Application question(s):

• What badger licences you have held or been named on?
• What sett closures you have supervised?
• Why you want to run this side of a growing business?

Language:

• English (required)

Licence/Certification:

• driving licence (required)

Work Location: On the road