Conservation officer salary in Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland conservation roles concentrate around NIEA (Northern Ireland Environment Agency, an agency within DAERA), DAERA itself and Ulster Wildlife. The NICS (NI Civil Service) pay framework runs separately from the UK Civil Service, and the data set is thinner than GB.
NIEA and DAERA structure
NIEA sits within DAERA (Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs) as an executive agency. Its conservation roles are NICS-graded: AA (admin), AO (executive support), EO1/EO2 (technical adviser), SO (senior officer), DP (deputy principal) and G7.
Local government pay in NI
NI's eleven councils use a separate local government pay agreement; pay sits slightly below the GB NJC equivalent at the same SCP for historical reasons. Conservation officer posts at councils are relatively rare; Ulster Wildlife and the National Trust (Northern Ireland) carry the larger NGO share.
Why NI data is thinner
NI is the smallest devolved employment market for conservation specialists; ONS ASHE NI cells are often suppressed because the sample falls below disclosure thresholds. We triangulate from DAERA/NICS published schedules, Ulster Wildlife job adverts and CJS NI subset rather than the ONS regional cut.