Location
Croydon or London, UK

Hours
Full Time

Salary
Competitive salary package

About the Role
Mott MacDonald is a global engineering, management, and development consultancy with over 20,000 employees across more than 50 countries and 140+ offices. We deliver impactful work across diverse industries, driven by our people’s expertise and collaboration. As an employee-owned business, we foster an inclusive and empowering environment where everyone can thrive.

Our Environment and Social division provides essential services and innovative ecological solutions across all sectors. We are leading the way in Nature Services and seek a Principal Ecologist to join our Ecology Team, helping integrate nature into developments and build a better future.

The Croydon Ecology Team consists of 8 members working on a diverse portfolio including flood defence schemes, biodiversity net gain (BNG) strategies and implementation, specialist species surveys, and landscape-scale planning. Projects include key infrastructure such as the Lower Thames Crossing, NHS hospital biodiversity improvements, water treatment nature-based solutions, and Environment Agency schemes.

As Regional Deputy Team Lead, you will support the Regional Lead in staff wellbeing, mentoring, career development, and line management for the Croydon and Reading Ecology Teams. You will collaborate with senior leaders to manage utilisation, recruitment, training, and team communications through regular briefings and meetings.

Your role will involve office-based work with some site involvement in your technical specialism. You will influence project design and delivery across all stages, promoting best practice and ecological excellence. This position offers excellent career progression opportunities within a dynamic, client-focused, and fast-growing business area.

Mott MacDonald supports agile working with a hybrid policy that values flexibility, wellbeing, and trust. We are committed to equality, diversity, and inclusion, creating an environment where everyone feels valued and able to contribute.

We offer a comprehensive benefits package including private medical insurance, health cash plans, pension matching, life assurance, income protection, generous holiday entitlement, enhanced family leave, and extensive learning and development opportunities. Our employee networks support diverse communities and social outcomes.

Experience
- Over seven years' experience in Ecological Consultancy or equivalent with transferable skills
- Proven project management skills
- Experience of people management is desirable
- Experience preparing costs and text for bids is advantageous
- Willingness to travel throughout the UK

About you
- Dynamic, proactive team player
- Strong communicator able to engage multi-disciplinary teams, clients, and regulators
- Skilled report writer with experience acting as a checker/reviewer for ecological deliverables
- Able to support staff wellbeing, mentoring, and career development
- Committed to promoting best practice and ecological standards

Qualifications
- Degree in Ecology or directly related subject; higher degree advantageous
- Full Member of the Chartered Institute of Ecology and Environmental Management (CIEEM) or equivalent
- Chartered Environmentalist, Chartered Ecologist, or Chartered Biologist status (or able to achieve within 6 months)
- Technical specialism such as protected species mitigation licences or advanced botanical skills
- Level 1 and 2 Bat Licence is desirable