What does your job involve?
I’m responsible for national biodiversity, trees and forestry, access to nature, protected landscapes, peat and soil policy. I’m also senior sponsor for five arm’s-length bodies.
To do your job well you need...
A clear understanding of what ministers hope to achieve, some space to be creative and a brilliant team.
First job in government?
I helped to establish the nascent “public understanding of science” sector, before it was fashionable or even widely respected. I learned so much in that role, both about being a civil servant and about the wonder of science!
Proudest achievement to date?
Creating over 50,000 acres of woodland since we launched the Nature for Climate Fund, and putting the UK at the heart of the EU-US trade negotiations pre-Brexit. Quite different, but I’m very proud of both.
Most bizarre thing that’s happened to you at work?
Being applauded by a select committee at the end of my evidence session (a nice surprise, sadly not repeated since); the security arrangements before meeting a controversial statesperson; shuttling a minister’s shirts around the globe; being taken for a pub lunch in St Albans by 1980s TV presenter Johnny Ball.
If you weren’t a civil servant, you’d be...
I used to want to be a lawyer – specifically a barrister – and before that, an architect. I also really enjoyed working as an adviser to an energy company on its acquisition strategy. But I think a civil service career offers a variety and satisfaction that is hard to beat.
What’s the best piece of professional advice you’ve ever been given?
Always ask yourself: could I explain this decision convincingly in public?
If you could wave a magic wand over the civil service, what would you change?
I would love us to get more comfortable with taking more risk, when the benefit is worth it.