Application deadline: Friday 7 August 2026 – 23:59 BST
Location: Cambridge, UK (hybrid working, minimum one day per week in Cambridge)
Full-time: 35 hours per week
Contract: Open-ended
Salary: £35,000 per annum depending on skills/experience, plus competitive 12% pension benefit
Annual Leave: 25 days pro rata in year 1, increasing by 1 day p/a to 28 days
We’re BirdLife International, the only global Partnership conserving birds and all life on our planet. We exist to give one voice to nature, and to unite and strengthen conservation across borders.
We are looking for a Biodiversity Data Officer to take responsibility for the management of BirdLife’s tabular datasets on species and important sites for their conservation.
In this role, you will be supporting the provision of data and information services to end users and disseminating BirdLife’s datasets.
How you will do this:
Managing BirdLife’s biodiversity data on Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas (IBAs) and Key Biodiversity Areas (KBAs) in the World Database of KBAs (WDKBA), including identifying and resolving issues with data integrity, implementing schema changes and supporting the integration of datasets.
Updating the KBA website and delivering site data to the Integrated Biodiversity Assessment Tool (IBAT) through a bespoke data pipeline.
Processing updates on sites, species and other datasets to the BirdLife DataZone.
Contributing to the ongoing functionality developments in the WDKBA (through schema support), KBA website and BirdLife DataZone infrastructure.
Assisting with the specification, design, and implementation of other information dashboards, data outputs and reports as required. Creating new or redeveloped dashboards as the data infrastructure develops.
Leading the development and maintenance of system documentation, change logs, user guides and data dictionaries relating to the WDKBA and the BirdLife DataZone.
What we are looking for:
Success in this role requires a degree in environmental science, computing, information technology or a related discipline (or equivalent relevant experience), with a relevant postgraduate qualification desirable. You will have proven experience managing, querying and maintaining large datasets, designing and delivering ETL processes and data pipelines, and ensuring data quality. Strong technical skills in relational databases (particularly PostgreSQL), Microsoft Azure and Power BI (or equivalent data visualisation tools) are essential. Skills in Python and R would be an advantage. You will be an analytical problem-solver with the ability to synthesise complex information, communicate technical concepts clearly to both specialist and non-specialist audiences, manage competing priorities, work collaboratively, and proactively contribute to improving processes and project delivery.
See the full job description here.
Some of our benefits:
We are able to offer a hybrid model of working on-site and from home/remote for most roles, which helps to ensure a flexible work-life balance.
A chance to work in the award-winning David Attenborough Building, which brings together much of the Cambridge-based conservation community on a ‘conservation campus.’
A generous pension scheme, up to 12% company contribution.
Holiday starting at 25 days excluding Bank Holidays and increasing for every year of service up to a maximum of 28 days.
Full access to LinkedIn Learning with access to more than 13,000 high-quality, on-demand courses.
Cycle to work scheme.
Employee Assistance Programme, including access to Health Assured online health portal.
BirdLife values a diverse workforce and welcomes applications from all sections of the community. Find out more about our Diversity statement.
We are committed to building and maintaining an inclusive and supportive culture, a place where we can all be ourselves and succeed on merit. We aim to promote a more inclusive environment, which attracts all candidates and signals our commitment to celebrate and promote diversity.
We know that everyone’s needs are different. If you need us to make any adjustments to our recruitment process, let us know, we’ll do our best to make it happen.
Please note: under the UK Government criteria this role will not be eligible for Visa Sponsorship.
Interviews: Interviews will be held from 19 August 2026.
Skills Required
- Degree in environmental science, computing, information technology or related discipline (or equivalent relevant experience)
- Postgraduate qualification in a relevant field
- Proven experience managing, querying and maintaining large datasets
- Experience designing and delivering ETL processes and data pipelines
- Experience ensuring data quality and resolving data integrity issues
- Strong technical skills in relational databases, particularly PostgreSQL
- Strong technical skills in Microsoft Azure
- Strong technical skills in Power BI or equivalent data visualisation tools
- Skills in Python
- Skills in R
- Ability to communicate technical concepts clearly to specialist and non-specialist audiences
- Ability to manage competing priorities, work collaboratively, and proactively improve processes
What We Do
BirdLife International is a global partnership of non-governmental organizations dedicated to conserving birds, their habitats, and global biodiversity. By uniting over 120 worldwide conservation organizations and a global team, they strive to prevent bird extinctions, safeguard critical sites, and empower conservationists. Their mission focuses on strengthening international conservation across borders to ensure that birds and all life on our planet can thrive.
