Senior/Principal Ecologist

AtkinsRéalis

Senior Ecologist leading ecological projects and managing client relationships at AtkinsRéalis. Contributing to biodiversity assessments, ecological reports, and interdisciplinary collaboration.

Posted 7/2/2026full-timeBelfast • 🇬🇧 United KingdomSeniorWebsite

About the role

Key responsibilities & impact

Client facing/client interaction – The candidate will demonstrate a deep understanding of clients’ requirements and be able to reach back into the business to get the support required to fulfill those requirements and develop relationships/work
Leading on nationally important infrastructure projects, managing project programmes and budgets
Planning and undertaking field surveys; analysing and interpreting survey results with a strong focus on bat ecology
Designing and co-ordinating ecological mitigation
Authoring and checking/reviewing a range of ecological reports and licence applications
Leadership – the candidate will have a leadership role managing projects, building client relationships and work bank
Interdisciplinary engagement – the candidate will actively seek to engage with other areas of the business, seeking opportunities to cross sell and leverage AtkinsRéalis’ capabilities, preparing bids, supporting on strategic opportunities, building client relationships (internal and external) and driving work-winning in the region
Candidate will actively identify, raise, manage and mitigate risks, particularly within a Project/Framework environment
Candidate will proactively provide innovation on projects and within the ecology team
Candidate will coach, mentor and support other staff members in their development

Requirements

What you’ll need

Membership of the Chartered Institute of Ecology and Environmental Management (CIEEM), or equivalent, and chartership (CEcol or CEnv) or working towards this
Strong skills in report writing, including preparing Preliminary Ecological Assessments, Ecological Impact Assessments, Biodiversity Chapters for Ecological Impact Assessments and Habitats Regulations Assessment (including Appropriate Assessment)
Protected species survey licence(s)
Strong working knowledge and experience of UK Habitat survey, habitat condition assessments, and the Defra Biodiversity Metric
Demonstrable experience of undertaking Biodiversity Net Gain assessments
Experience of undertaking quality assurance and technical lead roles for projects
Demonstrable project management experience including technical, financial and quality assurance aspects
A desire to contribute to the growth and development of the team
A full UK/EEC driving licence

Benefits

Comp & perks

Competitive salaries
Employee rewards
Flexible working arrangements
Professional development opportunities
Hybrid working culture

ATS Keywords

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Applicant Tracking System Keywords

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Hard Skills & Tools

Preliminary Ecological AssessmentsEcological Impact AssessmentsHabitats Regulations AssessmentUK Habitat SurveyHabitat Condition AssessmentsDefra Biodiversity MetricQuality AssuranceTechnical Lead RolesField SurveysEcological Mitigation Design

Soft Skills

Client Relationship BuildingLeadershipCoachingMentoringInterdisciplinary Engagement

Certifications

CIEEM MembershipChartership (CEcol or CEnv)Full UK/EEC Driving Licence