Passionate about developing and achieving significant conservation gains?

Are you a talented and experienced land manager with excellent communication and leadership skills who is passionate about developing and achieving significant conservation gains in the nature reserves you are responsible for?  Would you enjoy a busy, challenging, and varied role, including the management of some of the UK’s most important and highly designated conservation areas? 

If so, this could be the role for you – we are looking for an Estate and Conservation Manager (North) to manage our Northern Hampshire nature reserves and the passionate staff and volunteers who support them.

Key Responsibilities: 

This permanent role involves the management of a team of staff and volunteers responsible for a suite of Trust nature reserves and sites in the North. You will be responsible for a complex and varied range of sites including flagship Trust nature reserves. These sites are home to internationally significant and diverse populations of wildlife species and key habitats.

The post requires regular on-site visibility to help coordinate and oversee management works on the ground as well as contribute to aspects of practical delivery. Forward planning, effective project management skills and excellent time management, to ensure the multiple and varied aspects of the team are all delivered on time and on budget, are essential.

The post requires clear thinking, good negotiation skills and diplomacy, representing the Trust and promoting its policies to several external stakeholders including local authorities, Environment Agency, Natural England and other eNGOs. This is a crucial part of being able to ensure this post is carried out successfully to secure effective and long-term management on some of the UK’s most highly designated conservation areas. As part of the Trust’s bold new strategy to help nature recover – Wilder 2030 – we see our nature reserves as vital nodes in the ‘nature recovery network’. We have set ourselves a goal of doubling our estate in ten years and are campaigning for 30% of land and sea to be restored for wildlife. It is an exciting time to be joining the Trust!

Through your excellent leadership, clear thinking, and persuasive influencing skills, you will lead the vision and direction of the nature reserves in your patch, ensuring that ecological issues and risks are addressed effectively and efficiently through the development and delivery of medium and large-scale project work. 

Who we’re looking for:

The full Job Description and Person Specification is provided in the Recruitment Pack but in summary, the following is required:

• Relevant conservation, ecological and land management experience and qualifications.
• Proven skills in managing people and leading a team
• Experience of managing budgets
• A proven track record of managing large and complex sites and delivering objectives
• Contract management experience
• An understanding and experience of working with and around livestock (cattle and ponies) and setting grazing regimes to meet conservation objectives
• Extensive experience of practical, hands on, estate management.
• Experience of working with Agri-Environment Schemes
• Demonstrable experience of managing sites with public access, carefully balancing the needs of conservation, wildlife, and people.
• Very good task leadership skills, and experience of making and implementing effective decisions.
• Proven ability to manage risks, compliance and health and safety on sites.
• A passion for wildlife and nature conservation, with excellent communication skills.

As part of the Trust’s bold new strategy to help nature recover – Wilder 2030 – we see our nature reserves as vital nodes in the ‘nature recovery network’.  We have set ourselves a goal of doubling our estate in ten years and are campaigning for 30% of land and sea to be restored for wildlife. It is an exciting time to be joining the Trust!

Benefits

• Pension​:  Contributory pension of 6% from the Trust and employee contribution of 2%
• Holidays:  25 days holiday plus 8 bank holidays each year. Your holiday entitlement will increase with your length of service to a maximum of 30 days per year.
• ​Health and Wellbeing:  We offer enhanced sick pay above your statutory entitlement, and an Employee Assistance Programme that includes face-to-face counselling sessions.
• Learning and development:  We commit to ensuring that our employees have the skills, knowledge and experience they need in order to excel at their role.  We recognise talent and actively support professional training and career development
   

Closing Date: 08 December 2021

Interviews: 13 December 2021
 

To apply, please download and complete both parts of the application form (parts a and b) and return to recruitment@hiwwt.org.uk. Please note that we do not accept C.Vs.