Simon Lewis Jennings
London SE12
simonlewisjennings@gmail.com
DOB 25th September 1964
UK Citizen by birth
Married
1992-93: MSc., Environmental Technology. Imperial College Centre for Environmental Technology, London. Research project on community-based wildlife conservation.
1983-86: BSc. Hons., Biology. First Class. Imperial College of Science & Technology, London.
2009-2024 (current): Senior Proposals Manager, Permits & Environment, ASN, Greenwich, London
Alcatel Submarine Networks (ASN) builds international fibre optic telecommunication cables and installs them in the ocean to carry data around the world.
Our offer to Customers includes taking care of siting and environmental licensing, including environmental and social impact assessment and related compliance.
I support bids for new projects with convincing proposals and defensible positions on licensing timeframes, costs, risks and mitigation. This demands an accurate view of regulatory contexts in numerous international jurisdictions. The work has similarities with my first job (1987!) as a telecoms market researcher collecting and curating information gathered through international networks.
2008-2009: Head of Sustainability, Capital Projects, BAA, Heathrow Airport, London
A quality control role. I led a technical advisory team (2 direct BAA reports and external environmental consultants) to implement an Environmental Management System across the construction programme to track and improve performance on measures of design quality, energy, carbon, water, waste, supply chain, materials. We also piloted (no pun intended) the application of the Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method (BREEAM) to a new passenger terminal.
2004-2008: Environment & Community Manager, United Utilities PLC, Warrington
With United Utilities (UU) I did three jobs connected with environmental, regulatory and reputational risk management. These encompassed land management, nature conservation, community engagement and regulatory compliance.
· Partnership Manager (UU Communications): I led “United Futures”, a private-charity partnership between UU and the regeneration charity Groundwork UK, to deliver environmental improvements in urban neighbourhoods affected by large water and wastewater network infrastructure projects.
· Catchment Estates Manager (UU Environment & Community), Central Catchment, West Pennine Moors estate, based near Bolton
My job was to deliver through an estate department strategic management of an extensive and disjunct upland water catchment landscape (about 10,000 ha) in NW England.
The estate included large open access areas, nature reserves, visitor amenities, woodlands, heritage sites and working farms; all managed in accordance with UU’s statutory responsibility to protect raw water quality while upholding the Water Industry Code of Practice by managing its extensive landholdings to maximise social benefits of access, amenity, heritage, education and biodiversity conservation.
· Regulatory Compliance Manager, Water Regulation Team, Transformation Directorate, UU Water (UUW) , Warrington
Worked in the UUW Economic Regulation team at Corporate HQ in Warrington, mainly on statutory reporting to the economic regulator and inter-company trading within the Group. I reported into the Directorate of Water Regulation and interacted occasionally with the UU leadership in connection with the 2006 June Return.
1998 - 2003: Director, Sungura Ecological Consultants, Maun, Botswana
I set up a conservation consultancy based in Maun, near the Okavango Delta in northern Botswana to provide technical support to conservation and development projects including:
· Business plans, management plans, fund raising proposals and tenders for private sector-community joint venture opportunities, sustained yield harvesting and wildlife tourism. These plans were usually done as a lead author within a multidisciplinary team of technical, social, financial and design specialists. Worked in extensive rangeland, wetland and coastal systems in east and southern Africa. Locations including
o Kiunga Kenya
o Rufiji Tanzania
o Botswana:
o Okavango
o Kalahari
o Ngamiland
· Design and implementation of Ecological Monitoring and Environmental Management Systems; EIAs; Environmental Audits; Geographical Information Systems; landscape and habitat mapping.
1995-1997: Director, Institute of Tropical Forest Conservation, Uganda, World Wide Fund for Nature
Based in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, Kigezi, south-west Uganda. Managed a forest research programme across three sites. This had a strong education focus, linked to programmes in local universities. Emphasis was on stabilising the Institute after a difficult period, developing its capacity and creating a better funding situation with a longer horizon; I was accountable for staff and budget management, welfare of students, visitors, fundraising and institutional/programme development.
1993-95: Associate Professional Officer, ODA, Ruaha Ecosystem Wildlife Management Project
I worked for ODA (Overseas Development Administration) In Ruaha National Park as a junior technical officer in a team supporting Tanzania National Parks in development of an improved management programme for Ruaha National Park (10,000 sq. km)
1992-1993: Masters field research in Kenya – Community Based Wildlife Management
This work in Kenya was supported by a NERC studentship obtained via Imperial College, and by an award from the David Shepherd Conservation Foundation. The research aim was to define basic management information requirements that could assist wildlife conservation as an economically viable land use in rangelands of Kenya.
1991-1992: Wild Dog Lycaon pictus reconnaissance in the Tsavo Ecosystem, Kenya
In collaboration with the National Museums of Kenya, Kenya Wildlife Service I undertook a reconnaissance of the Tsavo region to collect evidence on the occurrence and distribution of wild dogs, in response to concern about an apparent decline in all range states.
1990 – 1991: Intern, Wildlife & Protected Areas Unit, UN Environment Programme, Nairobi, Kenya
Environmental policy review work; research and review of proposals under consideration by UNEP for support as biodiversity conservation actions. Areas of interest included Biosphere Reserves, Integrated Conservation and Development, National Conservation Strategies, and other areas of Sustainable Development.
1990-1991: Mkomazi Game Reserve Tanzania/University of Cambridge, Dept. of Zoology
I registered for a PhD at the University of Cambridge (Churchill College) in early 1990. For various reasons this did not work out as hoped. After discounting other PhD project options in Tanzania I went to Kenya to investigate possibilities there. I was not to complete the PhD.
1987-1990: Pensions Consultant, Hanover Pensions, Throgmorton Street, London, EC2N 2AT
Financial services – bespoke retirement planning advice to private clients and technical regulatory compliance liaison with the tax authorities (then Inland Revenue). Administrative work included editing Trust deeds and performing scheme reviews and funding and benefit projections.
1986 – 1987: Market Researcher, CIT Research, Hanover Square, London WC1
Researching mobile telephony (i.e., cell/mobile) markets across Europe. Desk based research across 15 countries in Europe. In 2025 I am still gathering and analysing information in a similar way but across a much wider geographical range.
English (native); Swahili (fluent conversational); French (basic).