Associate Director – Nature and Biodiversity London: Bath; Leeds; Manchester , United Kingdom

Buro Happold group.; Manchester; Hybrid; GBP 60,000 - 80,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading consultancy firm in the UK seeks an Associate Director to lead their Nature and Biodiversity initiatives. This key role requires expertise in biodiversity net gain and managing multidisciplinary projects. The firm offers a supportive team environment with hybrid working and excellent benefits, focusing on innovation and client engagement. The successful candidate will play a vital role in driving strategic growth and mentoring a dedicated team.

Benefits

Private medical insurance

Generous company pension scheme

Flexible holiday arrangements

Strong commitment to employee development

Enhanced parenthood leave policies

Qualifications

• Experience leading technical components of complex UK projects.
• Commitment to fostering an inclusive team culture.
• Strong understanding of regulatory framework for biodiversity.

Responsibilities

• Support strategic growth of the Nature and Biodiversity team.
• Drive operational efficiencies and professional development.
• Mentor team of ecologists and promote technical excellence.

Skills

Leadership in technical delivery of complex UK projects

Managing multidisciplinary projects

Biodiversity net gain applications

Strong project management skills

Client engagement and trust building

Hands-on mentoring

Positive team culture fostering

CIEEM membership

Education

Full member of CIEEM or equivalent

Job description

The following content displays a map of the jobs location - London: Bath; Leeds; Manchester

Associate Director – Nature and Biodiversity

Job Reference burohappold/TP/901/1660

Number of Positions:

1

Contract Type:

Permanent

Competitive

Working Hours:

37.5

Location:

London: Bath; Leeds; Manchester

Closing Date:

28/12/2025

Job Category:

Engineering and Design

Business Unit:

UK+

Thrive on openness, respect and collaboration? Good. Us too. Join as our new UK Nature & Biodiversity as an Associate Director and thrive in a culture where wellbeing and tackling complex challenges is intrinsic.

The role can be based from any of our UK offices (Bath, London, Leeds, Manchester or Edinburgh) with hybrid working.

The Team

This is an opportunity to work with a dedicated and passionate team, in a bespoke organisation that values innovation, and real outcomes that make a difference. The Nature and Biodiversity team forms an integral part of the business and helps to shape entire projects by being involved at the outset and putting strategies in place to protect the environment, determine biodiversity priorities and weave best practice and net gain into their fabric. Our focus on strategic level projects, results in a highly varied and interesting workload.

The existing team’s ethos is supportive and collaborative and encourages independent thinking, allowing staff to work autonomously, and supporting them to grow their career in the direction that they choose. The team prides itself on the consistent use of best practice and the quality of its work. If you're looking to make a positive impact and create real change you will be rewarded with an excellent salary and access to extensive learning and development opportunities, generous pension contributions, private medical, life, dental and travel insurance, flexible leave, and more.

In this Associate Director role, you will be responsible for supporting the UK lead with the strategic growth of our UK Nature and Biodiversity team, as well as leading the delivery of some of our more complex ecological projects.

Additionally, you will be part of the wider senior leadership team, working with the Discipline Director to actively drive forward operational efficiencies, professional development and global strategy. As well as mentoring a small team of ecologists, this is an opportunity to collaborate across disciplines to provide holistic solutions to global climate issues and to expand our urban regeneration, biodiversity net gain and restoration, and strategic nature advisory work across the UK.

You will play a key role in building and maintaining strong relationships with clients and internal teams by providing clear, up-to-date advice on planning legislation and its implications for project delivery, policy, and design, as well as proactively supporting work-winning and positioning the team as a valued source of insight on regulatory change.

• Experience leading the technical delivery of complex UK projects and supporting others to do the same.
• Skilled in managing multidisciplinary projects, engaging with clients, and achieving biodiversity-focused outcomes through collaborative design.
• Demonstrated expertise in applying biodiversity net gain, nature-based solutions, and green infrastructure in planning and design.
• Strong project management skills, including resource planning, budget control, and responsibility for team deliverables.
• Experience contributing to work-winning activities, such as presentations and bids, and acting as a trusted advisor on policy and regulatory matters.
• Experience in hands-on staff mentoring and actively promoting technical excellence and team knowledge sharing at all levels.
• Commitment to fostering a positive, inclusive team culture.
• Full member of CIEEM or equivalent.
• Leading, and supporting others to lead, the technical components of complex UK projects
• Providing senior input into multidisciplinary projects, including leading client engagement and collaborating with design and multidisciplinary teams to maximise biodiversity outcomes.
• Advising on the application and integration of biodiversity net gain, nature-based solutions, and green infrastructure.
• Project management, including resource planning, managing budgets and team inputs, and being responsible for the team’s deliverables.
• Taking a proactive role in work-winning by positioning the team as a trusted partner on regulatory and policy matters, and contributing to bids and proposals that showcase our expertise.
• Providing hands-on mentoring and development to the UK sub-team, actively building a culture of knowledge sharing and technical excellence.
• Maintaining and developing the highest standards of technical quality, continuously seeking to develop the discipline through innovation and creativity.
• Forming part of the wider leadership team and working alongside the Discipline Director; contributing to improving operational systems, championing continuous improvement, and supporting knowledge share and professional development within both UK and international teams.

What we offer you

• Bring your knowledge and expertise to one of the world’s most respected consultancies.
• Hybrid working arrangements.
• Attractive salary and benefits package including, private medical insurance, life assurance and income protection.
• Holiday entitlement of 25 days per annum (exclusive of bank holidays) and flexible holiday arrangements.
• Generous company pension scheme.
• Flexible benefits including cycle scheme, dental insurance, optical cover, travel insurance, season ticket loans, and corporate discounts.
• Enhanced parenthood leave policies.
• 3pm finish on the last Friday of the month.
• A strong commitment to your continuous development. Whatever stage in your career, we have a learning and development programme that will enable and empower you.
• Entitlement to two memberships to professional bodies or subscriptions
• A commitment to your wellbeing through a comprehensive employee assistance programme and wellbeing activities.A supportive and inclusive environment that will welcome you through social and outreach activities from the Young Employees Forum to mentoring.
• An international culture that wherever your career takes you at Buro Happold, you won’t be far from the exceptional.

A place for everyone

Buro Happold values an individual's flexible approaches to working patterns as an important part of how you work and achieve balance. We welcome applications from those who are seeking flexibility in their careers.

Our exceptional portfolio of projects is the result of the diversity of thought, identities, backgrounds, and experiences that shape us. Appreciating each other’s differences is key, we want employees to feel they don’t have to mask elements of their identity to thrive.

We are working to change the lack of representation of marginalised groups in the built environment. We are particularly keen to hear from anyone who feels they are underrepresented in the industry. We have much to learn from one another.Embracing differences allows us to develop the most innovative and elegant solutions.

Please let us know if there are any adjustments we could make to the application process to make it easier and more comfortable for you. Contact [e-mail] so we can work with you to support you throughout your application.