Head of Nature Reserves

Head of Nature Reserves

Salary: £41,428 - £44,174

Location: Shrewsbury, Shropshire - some flexible working offered

Full Time, Permanent

35 hours per week - Evening and weekend work will be required from time to time.

Closing Date: 11 March 2024

1st Interviews: 15 March, on Teams

Second interviews: 21 March, in person

The Trust’s estate has grown in recent years to almost 1,000 hectares. It includes iconic habitats and some outstanding exemplars of conservation land management. Some already have significant visitor footfall. We do not plan to expand our holding significantly, but we need to address two emerging priorities which will have implications for the way we manage our land. The first is the need to attract a more diverse audience to spend time in key Nature Reserves, whilst maintaining the highest standards of ecological management. The second is to acquire and manage land to demonstrate the conservation potential of new 'green finance’ mechanisms such as Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG).

What you will be doing:

We’re looking for someone who can help our Nature Reserves play an enhanced role in achieving our strategic goals in conservation, people engagement, and natural capital.

Ideally you will come in and get to know our reserves and the reserve team members, you’ll be able to identify improvements that can be made and take leadership of the team. Taking a strategic view on the land we have; you’ll work on how to get the wider public involved in our reserves and look at new options for funding.

What we’re looking for:

• Significant experience of land management / conservation / Estate Management or another relevant sector.

• Strong leadership and organisational skills are essential (deleted full stop.)

• Outstanding project management (abilities deleted)

• The ability to build positive working relationships both internally and externally

• Good financial planning and management skills

• A valid UK driving license is essential

Why work for us - benefits we offer:

• Flexible working

• Home working

• Salary sacrifice benefits

• Generous pension

• Employee Assistance Programme

• Support with training and development to assist career progression

• Inclusive & supportive work atmosphere

The Trust is committed to building an equal, diverse and inclusive workforce we encourage applications from a diverse range of suitably qualified candidates.

No enquiries from agencies or for further advertising will be taken.

About us:

Shropshire Wildlife Trust (SWT) has a vision of a thriving natural world, where Shropshire's wildlife and natural habitats play a valued role in addressing the climate and ecological emergencies, and people are inspired and empowered to take action for nature. We combine projects across Shropshire (including Telford & Wrekin) with advocacy and campaigning to restore nature and to engage people. We manage over 40 Nature Reserves and have almost 50 staff, 300 volunteers, and over 9000 members. SWT is an autonomous charity, but we are increasingly working collectively, as part of The Wildlife Trusts (TWT), to ensure that our local actions have a national impact and help to address global issues.