Lead Marine Consents Officer

About The Role

Permanent Role – UK Wide / Hybrid Working -  Full Time

The UK has set out its ambition to be net zero by 2050 and the energy industry is responding – together we are building a cleaner, greener Britain.

Due to an internal promotion, we are seeking a Lead Marine Consents Officer, joining National Grid Strategic Infrastructure, Nationals Grid’s newest Business Unit. 

You will join a small team of around 10 consenting professionals working across 2 transformative projects, Eastern Green Link 3 and 4

You’ll help get the necessary permissions to make these major electricity infrastructure projects happen.

You’ll be working on new subsea cables, which may form part of a wider project with underground cables, substations and overhead lines.  These types of projects need many different consents, environmental surveys and assessments. 

Not only will work like this allow us to connect new nuclear, offshore wind and solar, it will also help the UK become energy independent, as we generate and utilise more of our own power.

Our existing team are geographically dispersed across the whole of the UK and so applications based in any UK location are welcome. We continue to offer hybrid working from office and home.

We are open to full time and part time applicants, as well as flexible working arrangements. 

About You

What we do isn’t just important – it’s essential. That’s why we look to recruit experts in their field. In this case, we’re looking for someone who has:

• Marine consenting experience with past success with Development Consent Orders.
• A strong commitment to energy security and Net Zero, keen to help us accelerate and make things happen faster. The quicker we gain the consents we need the sooner our projects can go ahead.
• You’ll be happy to speak up, challenge the status quo, and show us how we could be doing things better.
• String resilience and compassion. You can understand the concerns a local resident might have about a project and will do whatever you can to help support them. A collaborative mindset is essential.

Don’t meet every single requirement? Studies have shown that women and people of colour are less likely to apply for jobs unless they meet every single qualification. At National Grid, we’re committed to building a diverse, inclusive and authentic workplace for everyone. So if you’re excited about this role but your experience or qualifications don’t match the job description exactly, we encourage you to apply anyway. You might just be the right person for our growing business in this role or another one.

What You'll Do

Your leading responsibilities will include:

• Obtaining consents for your project(s) and enabling them to be developed and delivered to programme and cost, whilst maintaining or enhancing the reputation of National Grid. You could be working on one large project or four or five smaller ones.
• Serving as the marine consenting expert for your projects and the direct point of contact for Project Managers you may be leading and managing all the necessary environmental survey and assessment work.
• Supporting senior managers, you will provide guidance to Project Managers and Engineers on subjects such as consenting strategy and processes, consenting and environmental risks, and associated costs and timelines. 

Additionally your responsibilities will include:

• Engaging effectively and professionally with external stakeholders (who can often determine whether a project goes ahead). You know how to bring them along with us and build their considerations into how projects are developed and delivered.
• Consulting with a variety of people in a range of different ways. For example, you might be talking to MPs, local residents or authorities, either face-to-face, in town hall meetings or online webinars. 
• Quickly building effective and enduring working relationships with the organisations that make consenting decisions, such as the Marine Maritime Organisation. You will also build relationships with key stakeholders and consultees, such as Natural England, the Environment Agency and the Joint Nature Conservation Committee.
• Leading and managing technical consultants as they produce environmental assessment reports that support project consent applications.
• Managing various technical environmental disciplines, including marine environmental specialists.  Even if you’re not an expert in such disciplines you will know how and when to ask intelligent questions to ensure we always produce robust, resilient consent applications. 
• Forming excellent, enduring working relationships with Engineering, Legal, Lands and External Affairs teams, challenging and collaborating in a mutually supportive way.

What You'll Get

A competitive starting salary between £55,000 – £65,000 dependent on capability, plus special £3000 non-performance based annual supplement.

As well as your base salary, you will receive a bonus based on personal and company performance and a competitive contributory pension scheme where we will double match your contribution to a maximum company contribution of 12%. You will also have access to a number of flexible benefits such as a share incentive plan, salary sacrifice car and technology schemes, support via employee assistance lines and matched charity giving to name a few.

About Us

The British Energy Security Strategy set out the Government's ambition to connect up to 50GW of offshore generation to the electricity network by 2030. Facilitating this ambition will require significant reinforcements to the onshore electricity transmission network. National Grid Strategic Infrastructure will make this happen.

Here at National Grid, we connect homes and businesses to power, making sure supply and demand match each other. We make sure the lights are on in schools, operating theatres, and sporting arenas; we’re thousands of people working on behalf of millions of people.

Our investment in Strategic Infrastructure via the Great Grid Upgrade will mean more home grown power, greater energy security and a cleaner future.

Whatever your role, wherever you work with us, you’ll help us hit stretching targets and achieve our far-reaching goal: to secure, clean energy that supports our world far into the future. Here, you will be at the heart of energy.

More Information

This role closes on July 10th at 23:59, however we encourage candidates to submit their application as early as possible and not wait until the published closing date as adverts can be closed early. Interviews will be held via MS Teams around July 21st. Interviews are typically single stage for 1 hour but can vary.

We work towards the highest standards in everything we do, including how we support, value and develop our people. Our aim is to encourage and support employees to thrive and be the best they can be. We celebrate the difference people can bring into our organisation, and welcome and encourage applicants with diverse experiences and backgrounds, and offer flexible and tailored support, at home and in the office. 

We're committed to building a workforce that represents the communities we serve, and a working environment in which each individual feels valued, respected, fairly treated, and able to reach their full potential.

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