Biodiversity Science Advisor

Posting date:	18 February 2026
Salary:	£42,665 to £50,495 per year
Additional salary information:	National £42,665 - £46,765 London £46,060 - £50,495 For details of our pay on appointment policy, please see below under the heading ‘Salary’.
Hours:	Full time
Closing date:	23 February 2026
Location:	York
Company:	Government Recruitment Service
Job type:	Permanent
Job reference:	448995/4

Summary

You will be part of National Biodiversity Evidence and Analysis Team within the Biodiversity, Land Use and Investment Directorate. This is a multidisciplinary team of natural scientists, economists and social scientists. We support several policy teams responsible for delivery of national biodiversity policy for nature recovery which includes delivery of Environmental Improvement Plan Commitments and the governments legally binding targets under the Environment Act. Delivering and monitoring biodiversity outcomes cuts across multiple areas of Defra including species recovery, water policy, protected sites, Environmental Land Management Schemes and land use.

We are seeking 3 Senior Scientific Officers to join the team who have experience in biodiversity science, ecology or closely related relevant disciplines.

In this role, you will work closely with policy teams and other evidence and analysis colleagues to deliver Governments statutory biodiversity targets. Your role will require you understand evidence needs and will use technical knowledge and expertise to develop, manage and deliver a range of scientific evidence and research activities that support policy.

Your role will involve significant coordination and collaboration across organisational boundaries to ensure team outputs are aligned with the evidence standards and policy objectives, while meeting statutory requirements. Scientists in the team work alongside policy and evidence teams across Defra, it’s arms length bodies as well as the research community. Your role working at the science/policy interface will be crucial in helping to translate rich environmental data and evidence into accessible insights that support policy decisions across Defra.

We are looking for people who will bring a strong scientific background to provide advice on complex environmental problems. It is essential that the post holder is able to maintain good networks, critically assess the evidence available as well as effectively communicate the evidence to expert and non-expert audiences.

The main focus of the roles will be to develop the evidence base to support delivery of Environment Improvement Plan commitments for nature recovery, as well as legally binding targets under the Environment Act. The successful candidates will help to better understand and communicate how we continue to best deliver for the targets, the potential impact of future policies on biodiversity in England and how to monitor progress towards commitments and targets. Successful delivery of the biodiversity targets is critical to Defra’s commitment to restoring and enhancing the UK’s natural environment within a generation.

You will also have the opportunity to play a leading role in organising and delivering R&D projects as part of our wider programme of evidence.

Candidates will join the Directorates’ Science Professional Community that provides a peer group for professional learning, development, and support.

These science posts are eligible for a Specialist Skills Supplement. Please see below under the heading ‘Salary’ for further information.

There are three roles available, these will cover a breadth of areas, including but not limited to biodiversity modelling, monitoring and spatial analysis.

Proud member of the Disability Confident employer scheme

About Disability Confident

A Disability Confident employer will generally offer an interview to any applicant that declares they have a disability and meets the minimum criteria for the job as defined by the employer. It is important to note that in certain recruitment situations such as high-volume, seasonal and high-peak times, the employer may wish to limit the overall numbers of interviews offered to both disabled people and non-disabled people. For more details please go to Disability Confident.