6409 - Principal Officer – Lead Environmental Regulator
| Posting date: | 16 February 2026 |
|---|---|
| Salary: | £51,000 per year |
| Hours: | Full time |
| Closing date: | 06 March 2026 |
| Location: | UK |
| Remote working: | Hybrid - work remotely up to 4 days per week |
| Company: | Natural England |
| Job type: | Permanent |
| Job reference: | 6409 |
Summary
Natural England are yet to finalise the details of the 2025 Pay Review. This will be backdated to July 2025, and this could involve a review of our current terms and conditions alongside increases to the advertised pay ranges. If there are any changes to what has been advertised the vacancy manager will be able to provide further details ahead of any offers being accepted.
Join us in shaping a future where nature and people thrive. Whether you're drawn to hands-on conservation or playing a vital part behind the scenes, your work at Natural England will support lasting benefits for the environment and society.
Our Role
Natural England is the Government’s adviser for the natural environment and the Nature regulator with a wide range of statutory duties and powers. We provide the evidence, expertise and advice to recover Nature and shape better places for people to live. We do this working through and with others.
Strategic Outcomes for Nature
Our strategy is framed through four strategic outcomes. Each of these outcomes reinforces and amplifies the others, and together they address environmental, social and economic actions critical to thriving nature.
• Recovering Nature – Increased scale and quality of places where nature thrives.
• Building Better Places – Greener homes and infrastructure create healthier, more investable places, recognising we live better where nature thrives around us.
• Improving Health and Wellbeing – Build nature into everyday life so people can support, access and benefit from nature, wherever they live.
• Delivering Security through Nature – Nature helps us adapt to the threats of a changing climate and improves our national security, supporting more resilient food production, healthy soils, clean and plentiful water and clean air.
Find out more about the work of Natural England at
Natural England’s Strategy: Recovering Nature for Growth, Health and Security - GOV.UK
Job description
The Role
The Corry Review recommended the implementation of an approach called ‘Lead Environmental Regulator’ to streamline the regulatory service offered to major infrastructure projects by Defra Group Arms- Length Bodies (ALBs) - Natural England, Environment Agency, Marine Management Organisation and Forestry Commission.
This approach, a Secretary of State reform priority, is being initially piloted with a small number of projects. In summary, it involves establishing a robust approach to project managing the interactions with the developer across the relevant Defra Group ALBs, seeking to avoid unnecessary delay and improve the customer experience. An Operating Model and evaluation methodology have been established in partnership with the cross-Defra Project Board.
As a Strategic Lead for the Lead Environmental Regulator pilots, you will provide strategic oversight, leadership, and direction for one of Natural England’s most high profile and influential reform initiatives. You will be accountable for shaping how Natural England and the wider Defra Group engage with major national infrastructure projects, helping to embed a collaborative, consistent and customer-focused regulatory service. You will be accountable for shaping how Natural England and the wider Defra Group engage with major national infrastructure projects, helping to embed the LER approach.
This role requires a leader who can combine strategic thinking, system-wide influence and programme leadership, while representing Natural England at senior level with developers, regulators, and government partners with influence and programme leadership.
This is a high-profile work area, offering a fantastic opportunity to trial and shape the way that we work with some of the most significant development projects in our country.
The role will be based in the Major Planning Casework Team (MPCT) in National Delivery. This multi-disciplinary team works on significant, large-scale, complex casework and strategic programmes, providing expert support and technical leadership to area teams and coordinating major infrastructure programmes. Its current portfolio of projects includes High Speed 2 (HS2), Sizewell C, East West Rail and RAPID and other High Risk/High Opportunity casework.
Key Tasks/Principal Accountabilities
Leadership & Coordination
• Work closely with the Defra Lead Environmental Regulator (LER) team and ALBs to deliver current LER pilots.
• Serve as Natural England’s primary point of contact for the Defra LER team.
• Develop and maintain Natural England’s future pipeline of suitable projects for LER implementation.
Stakeholder Engagement
• Engage proactively with developers to identify opportunities for applying the LER model and to resolve emerging issues.
• Champion the LER approach internally, promoting awareness, understanding, and adoption across the organisation.
Integration & Reform Delivery
• Ensure the LER model is embedded into Natural England’s Sustainable Development (SD) critical reforms, including innovation and risk related activities.
• Support culture change by ensuring lessons learned on innovation and risk influence Natural England’s risk appetite statements and related programmes.
Organisational Implementation
• Oversee the effective rollout of the LER approach across Natural England’s 12 area teams.
• Work collaboratively with colleagues to identify and address barriers to adoption and ensure consistency in practice nationwide.
Join us in shaping a future where nature and people thrive. Whether you're drawn to hands-on conservation or playing a vital part behind the scenes, your work at Natural England will support lasting benefits for the environment and society.
Our Role
Natural England is the Government’s adviser for the natural environment and the Nature regulator with a wide range of statutory duties and powers. We provide the evidence, expertise and advice to recover Nature and shape better places for people to live. We do this working through and with others.
Strategic Outcomes for Nature
Our strategy is framed through four strategic outcomes. Each of these outcomes reinforces and amplifies the others, and together they address environmental, social and economic actions critical to thriving nature.
• Recovering Nature – Increased scale and quality of places where nature thrives.
• Building Better Places – Greener homes and infrastructure create healthier, more investable places, recognising we live better where nature thrives around us.
• Improving Health and Wellbeing – Build nature into everyday life so people can support, access and benefit from nature, wherever they live.
• Delivering Security through Nature – Nature helps us adapt to the threats of a changing climate and improves our national security, supporting more resilient food production, healthy soils, clean and plentiful water and clean air.
Find out more about the work of Natural England at
Natural England’s Strategy: Recovering Nature for Growth, Health and Security - GOV.UK
Job description
The Role
The Corry Review recommended the implementation of an approach called ‘Lead Environmental Regulator’ to streamline the regulatory service offered to major infrastructure projects by Defra Group Arms- Length Bodies (ALBs) - Natural England, Environment Agency, Marine Management Organisation and Forestry Commission.
This approach, a Secretary of State reform priority, is being initially piloted with a small number of projects. In summary, it involves establishing a robust approach to project managing the interactions with the developer across the relevant Defra Group ALBs, seeking to avoid unnecessary delay and improve the customer experience. An Operating Model and evaluation methodology have been established in partnership with the cross-Defra Project Board.
As a Strategic Lead for the Lead Environmental Regulator pilots, you will provide strategic oversight, leadership, and direction for one of Natural England’s most high profile and influential reform initiatives. You will be accountable for shaping how Natural England and the wider Defra Group engage with major national infrastructure projects, helping to embed a collaborative, consistent and customer-focused regulatory service. You will be accountable for shaping how Natural England and the wider Defra Group engage with major national infrastructure projects, helping to embed the LER approach.
This role requires a leader who can combine strategic thinking, system-wide influence and programme leadership, while representing Natural England at senior level with developers, regulators, and government partners with influence and programme leadership.
This is a high-profile work area, offering a fantastic opportunity to trial and shape the way that we work with some of the most significant development projects in our country.
The role will be based in the Major Planning Casework Team (MPCT) in National Delivery. This multi-disciplinary team works on significant, large-scale, complex casework and strategic programmes, providing expert support and technical leadership to area teams and coordinating major infrastructure programmes. Its current portfolio of projects includes High Speed 2 (HS2), Sizewell C, East West Rail and RAPID and other High Risk/High Opportunity casework.
Key Tasks/Principal Accountabilities
Leadership & Coordination
• Work closely with the Defra Lead Environmental Regulator (LER) team and ALBs to deliver current LER pilots.
• Serve as Natural England’s primary point of contact for the Defra LER team.
• Develop and maintain Natural England’s future pipeline of suitable projects for LER implementation.
Stakeholder Engagement
• Engage proactively with developers to identify opportunities for applying the LER model and to resolve emerging issues.
• Champion the LER approach internally, promoting awareness, understanding, and adoption across the organisation.
Integration & Reform Delivery
• Ensure the LER model is embedded into Natural England’s Sustainable Development (SD) critical reforms, including innovation and risk related activities.
• Support culture change by ensuring lessons learned on innovation and risk influence Natural England’s risk appetite statements and related programmes.
Organisational Implementation
• Oversee the effective rollout of the LER approach across Natural England’s 12 area teams.
• Work collaboratively with colleagues to identify and address barriers to adoption and ensure consistency in practice nationwide.