Principal Ecologist / NSW Ecology Team Leader

• Industry Leading Ecology Team
• Genuine Flexibility and Industry Leading Parental Leave Policy
• Additional Benefit of a #ME Day (Paid Wellbeing Days)

About Umwelt

At Umwelt Australia, our purpose is to enable change for the better. As a leading Australian environmental consulting business, we are passionate about delivering sustainable outcomes for our clients, communities and the environment.

With over 30 years of experience and 8 office locations nationally, Umwelt has built a strong reputation for delivering high quality environmental and social advisory services across Australia. Our people are at the heart of our success and we are proud of the collaborative and supportive culture we have created.

Our national team of ecologists have a reputation for their extensive scientific expertise and thorough evaluations of biodiversity. Our services are in high demand due to new projects in the resource, infrastructure, and renewable energy sectors. We aim to use our experience to deliver specialised advice that balances development with impact avoidance and offsetting, for the best possible environmental outcomes.

Our Sydney office is currently seeking to appoint an experience Principal Ecologist / NSW Ecology Team Leader to lead our ecology projects.

About the Role:

As a Principal Ecologist, you will play a key project and people leadership role within our national Ecology team, providing technical expertise, strategic direction and mentoring to deliver outstanding environmental outcomes for our clients.

You will lead complex field survey programs, including projects in remote and logistically challenging environments, while delivering high quality technical reports and advice. Building and maintaining strong client relationships will be a core part of the role, alongside identifying new opportunities and contributing to the continued growth of our ecology services across NSW.

Key Responsibilities:

Technical Leadership & Expertise

• Lead and review complex ecological assessments, including biodiversity impact assessments, ecological surveys, and management plans
• Provide expert advice on state and environmental legislation
• Act as a technical authority, ensuring high standards of scientific rigour, compliance and reporting quality
• Support innovative and best practice ecological approaches across projects

Project & Client Management

• Lead and oversee multiple projects, ensuring delivery on time, within scope and within budget
• Build and maintain strong client relationships, acting as a trusted technical advisor
• Contribute to proposal development, tendering and project scoping
• Identify opportunities to expand services and support business growth

People Leadership & Mentoring

• Supervise, mentor and support junior and mid level ecologists, fostering technical development and career progression
• Provide guidance, coaching and technical review to support team capability
• Contribute to workforce planning, resourcing and team development initiatives
• Promote a positive, inclusive and collaborative team culture

About You:

• 10+ years of relevant ecological experience,
• Degree qualified in science, ecology, environmental science, botany or a related discipline
• Demonstrated experience in NSW biodiversity assessment including experience in medium and large scale ecological assessment, offsets and monitoring projects
• Strong understanding of relevant legislation, regulations and ecological policies and guidance
• Strong verbal and written communication skills including experience in preparing and reviewing reports. Willingness to take responsibility for delivery of reports to final quality
• Provide supervision, guidance and mentorship to colleagues, leveraging emotional intelligence and pragmatic attitudes

This is an exciting opportunity to help shape the future of our Ecology workstream, supporting business growth while influencing projects that make a positive impact on the environment and communities.

While our preference is for this position to be based in North Sydney, we offer flexibility for the role to be based in Newcastle.

What We Offer:

Our people are our number one asset, and we are committed to providing a workplace that supports our team to grow. As part of our team, you will be offered:

• A role collaborating with highly experienced professionals who are motivated to support your growth and development
• Paid parental leave for both primary and secondary carers
• Flexible work arrangements to support a work/life balance
• Opportunities to work nationally across diverse and technically challenging projects
• #MeDays: an Umwelt wellbeing initiative offering staff extra paid days off
• Generous additional hours policy and working away from home benefits
• Opportunities to join Umwelt’s Employee Share Plan (ESP) and share in business growth and profits
• A workplace culture of support, learning and personal development, with a mix of in-house and externally hosted training opportunities offered as well as mentorship
• Established and well considered wellbeing tools and initiatives and hands-on training
• A competitive salary based on skills and experience