Sustainability Advisor

The core of this role is translating SP Transmission's formal environmental and sustainability commitments, particularly under the RIIO-T3 settlement, into delivery. That means supporting the Sustainability Specialist (Biodiversity) in shaping strategies, then working with engineering and construction teams on individual projects so that nature commitments are embedded before ground is broken, not patched on afterwards. A large share of the work is likely baselining and analysis: understanding what habitats a project touches, what offsite improvement or compensatory planting is required, and quantifying that clearly. Alongside that, you would help build and improve the wider sustainability approach, contribute to environmental cost benefit analyses, and run impact assessments of new legislation and standards. Delivering biodiversity improvement schemes across the licence area is central, as is supporting regulatory report submissions and pilot innovation trials. The goals are both operational, keeping commitments on schedule within an £11bn capital programme, and strategic, moving the network toward nature-positive outcomes. Expect a mix of technical advising, data work, and coordination. You are not a lone ecologist, but a broker between ecological knowledge, project delivery and the regulator's expectations.

You would gain real fluency in the regulated utility world: how RIIO price controls translate into environmental obligations, how environmental action plans are structured, and how biodiversity commitments are monitored against capex programmes. That regulatory literacy is scarce and portable across energy, water and infrastructure. On the technical side, hands-on work with biodiversity improvement, compensatory planting, natural capital accounting and offsetting would deepen skills that are increasingly in demand as nature becomes a board-level issue. The role's pairing of baselining, cost benefit analysis and data management suggests you would sharpen analytical capabilities within a multi-project environment. Exposure to pilot projects and innovation trials is also a strong signal: you may get early sight of new methods and techniques, and the chance to influence how they are adopted. Working alongside engineering and construction staff builds the stakeholder and communication skills needed to make ecological arguments land with non-specialists.

The posting points to a degree in a relevant discipline (sustainability, environmental science or engineering) with practical experience in nature restoration or forestry scheme development and delivery. Beyond the credential, what stands out is the balance sought: someone with genuine ecological grounding who is also comfortable in spreadsheets, cost benefit models and project schedules. Knowledge of science-based targets, the net zero transition, circular economy, biodiversity and natural capital accounting, and offsetting is expected, as is awareness of how an electricity network operator actually works. A full clean driving licence is a minimum criterion, hinting at site visits. Strong report writing and presentation skills matter, because much of the value you add depends on making technical commitments legible to Directors, regulators and construction teams. The soft-skill profile is clearly weighted toward initiative and relationship-building. The ability to form effective working relationships quickly, at all levels, in a time-pressured, multi-project setting is likely to be as decisive as technical depth.

Tailor your application explicitly around the RIIO-T3 and environmental action plan framing in the posting. Generic sustainability CVs will blur here; candidates who can show they understand regulated network commitments and how biodiversity targets sit inside a capital programme will stand out immediately. If you have worked on compensatory planting, habitat baselining or natural capital accounting, make that concrete, numbers, hectares, scheme timelines. Because the job spans ecology and engineering delivery, weigh your CV toward evidence of collaboration with construction or infrastructure teams. A short example of influencing a project team before or during construction, and the nature outcome it produced, would be more persuasive than a list of frameworks. Mention familiarity with the utility or wider infrastructure sector, even if indirect. The cover letter should speak to why SP Energy Networks specifically, at a moment when it is investing over £5.5bn in transmission to enable renewables, and acknowledge the tension between grid expansion and biodiversity, rather than pretending it is simple. That shows the kind of analytical honesty the role requires. Prepare for interview conversations about blockers, conflicting deadlines and how you would prioritise competing project demands.

The sustainability centre of gravity here is nature and biodiversity, framed within a net zero transition. SP Transmission's environmental action plan and its RIIO-T3 commitments set the targets you would help deliver, with a focus on habitat improvement, compensatory planting and offsite nature schemes across the licence area. Beyond pure biodiversity, the role touches carbon and circular economy dimensions (science-based targets, offsetting, natural capital accounting) but these are likely secondary to nature delivery. The underlying sustainability question is how a major transmission build-out, largely enabling Scotland's renewable energy growth, can be carried out in a nature-positive rather than neutral way. You would also be close to regulatory reporting, meaning the role connects operational delivery to external accountability. The company's positioning as part of Iberdrola, a global leader in wind energy, suggests the nature agenda sits within a broader decarbonisation narrative rather than standing alone.

A likely core tension is that biodiversity delivery sits inside a construction programme driven by timelines and budgets. Getting project teams to adjust methods before work starts, when the cost of doing so is highest in their eyes, requires influence and persistence. This posting explicitly asks for someone who can highlight and address blockers, which tells you these are expected. Another challenge is data and baselining. In a multi-project environment, consistent environmental metrics are hard to maintain, and the role involves reconciling project-level information with programme-level reporting. Conflicting deadlines and multiple stakeholders will test organisation. Finally, regulatory and legislative change is constant in this space. Keeping up with new standards affecting carbon, circular economy and climate change, while still delivering existing commitments, means the goalposts may move mid-delivery. The pilot and innovation element adds another layer of uncertainty inherent in trialling new approaches.

A typical day might start with data work, updating baselines, reviewing a project's environmental metrics or preparing material for a regulatory submission. That could be followed by a meeting with an engineering or construction team to discuss nature impacts before or during a build, advising on habitat protection or planting requirements. You would likely spend time with the Sustainability Specialist (Biodiversity) and colleagues in the wider Sustainability Department, aligning priorities and unblocking issues. External stakeholders (regulators, land managers, ecological contractors, perhaps community or NGO contacts) may require calls or correspondence. Cost benefit analysis and impact assessments of new legislation can take concentrated desk time. The rhythm is probably hybrid: office days in Cambuslang, site visits across the licence area (the driving licence requirement hints at this), and periods of deadline pressure around reporting cycles or project milestones. Variability would come from the diverse mix of projects running in parallel.

The role sits within a large, regulated utility investing heavily in its network, and the posting itself mentions excellent career progression and support. From a sustainability advisor position focused on nature, natural next steps could include a specialist biodiversity role, a broader sustainability lead position within SPT, or moving into the wider Iberdrola group given its global footprint. Because the work touches regulatory commitments, carbon, circular economy and natural capital, you would build a broad enough base to pivot toward ESG reporting, strategy or carbon management later. Exposure to innovation pilots and new methods could also establish you as someone who shapes practice, not just applies it. Visibility is a factor: advising up to Director level and contributing to regulatory submissions puts your work in front of senior decision-makers. That kind of exposure typically accelerates progression for people who deliver reliably in complex, multi-project settings.

Internally, your closest working relationships are likely with the SPT Sustainability Specialist (Biodiversity), the Sustainability Department, and engineering and construction staff across SP Transmission. You would advise project teams regularly, which means building trust with people whose primary pressures are cost and schedule rather than ecology. You would also interact with management when raising blockers or reporting on commitment delivery. Externally, stakeholders could include regulators, since the role supports regulatory report submissions and RIIO-T3 commitments. Ecological contractors, land managers and partners involved in biodiversity improvement schemes and compensatory planting are probable day-to-day contacts. There may also be engagement with community or environmental groups connected to offsite nature schemes. The posting stresses forming relationships up to Director level, so senior internal visibility is part of the job, not an exception. The mix of technical peers, delivery teams and external parties makes communication versatility the connective skill across all of them.