Head of Land - England

We are looking for a new Head of Land for England, and are keen to hear from a wide range of candidates. We're seeking the right person with great leadership skills to further unlock the value of our network of brilliant reserves across the country, whilst also inspiring and building meaningful partnerships that can deliver results for priority habitats and species in England!

The experienced Land team is led by this role and includes:

• The Programmes and Projects team running a large pipeline of work including our East Coast Wetlands work;


• The Species team that is setting out plans and delivering projects to recover nature such as the Turtle Dove;


• The Rural Surveying team that sets standards and manages opportunities for our 60,000+ha RSPB reserve estate in England,


• The Ecology and Land Management team which delivers an RSPB standard of land and habitat management as a contractual service externally.


What's the role about?

The Head of Land role provides strategic leadership and a country overview of our work on recovering nature habitat management (on and off reserves), manages country-level relationships with national conservation bodies and is responsible for country land management compliance via management of our rural surveyors. As a member of the Country Leadership Team the post holder will have collective responsibility for the development and delivery of the Country Strategy and accountability for the ensuring that we have an effective overview of our conservation work in country, ensuring standards and support needs are met.

The role is responsible for representing the RSPB's conservation work in England to external national level audiences. Having an inspiring approach to communications and identifying collaborative opportunities and solving shared challenges in Nature Conservation would be welcome skills. The post holder will provide conservation leadership in country, maintaining an overview of progress against country species and habitats targets and ensuring that we are deploying the most effective interventions from our conservation toolkit in country.


• Sound knowledge of the land management sector in England (including the legislative, policy and fiscal frameworks which drive land use change and management);


• A knowledgeable conservationist with proven ecological knowledge and ability to draw on practical and personal knowledge and experience to communicate with credibility to internal and external audiences;


• Experienced programme, project and risk manager able to manage complex programmes, dependencies, costs, time and project teams;


• Experience of setting and leading compliance with standards and developing and managing systems (of oversight and monitoring and review);


• Proven ability to translate strategy into action, developing programmes, prioritising and leading change;


• Proven leadership and people management skills, able to develop team members for high performance and build a positive culture;


• Experience of leading and developing large, multi-disciplinary teams, and


• Proven ability to influence others, build partnerships and negotiate at a senior level.
  
  We are committed to developing an inclusive and diverse RSPB, in which everyone feels supported, valued, and able to be their full selves. To achieve our vision of creating a world richer in nature, we need more people, and more diverse people, on nature's side. People of colour and disabled people are currently underrepresented across the environment, climate, sustainability, and conservation sector. If you identify as a person of colour and/or disabled, we are particularly interested in receiving your application. Contact us to discuss any additional support you may need to complete your application.


The RSPB is an equal opportunities employer. This role is covered by the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974.

This role is not eligible for UK Visa Sponsorship - the successful applicant will need to have a pre-existing Right to Work in the UK in order to be offered an employment contract.