Contracts Manager (Conservation)

The Woodland Trust is the UK’s leading woodland conservation charity. We are dedicated to the preservation and enhancement of Britain's native woodland heritage. We are currently seeking a Contracts Manager (Conservation) for our Mourne Park estate. This role is crucial for the successful delivery of The National Lottery Heritage Fund project, Mourne Park - 500 years of undiscovered natural heritage, ensuring it meets its targets and budget.

The Role: • Plan, tender, procure and supervise estate contracts to high professional standards, ensuring full FSC and Health & Safety compliance. • Deliver practical conservation work, including woodland creation, ancient woodland restoration, species recovery, and heritage management. • Carry out ecological monitoring and habitat assessments, using evidence from surveys and population checks to inform management decisions. • Manage and supervise contractors to ensure methods, timing, and standards support ecological objectives and minimize environmental impact. • Secure and adhere to all required environmental consents, such as felling licenses, protected species permissions, and planning approvals. • Work collaboratively with landowners, partners, agencies, and local communities to promote good practice and support habitat restoration. • Maintain accurate conservation records, monitoring data, reports, and financial information to meet Trust and Heritage Fund requirements. • Represent the Woodland Trust through events, engagement, and communications, supporting advocacy, volunteer coordination, wider project delivery, and assisting the Community Development Officer in work with children, young people, and vulnerable adults across community and educational settings.

The Candidate: • Extensive experience delivering complex, multi-disciplinary projects, ensuring effective planning, monitoring, and delivery to time and budget. • Strong background in forestry or conservation land management, including volunteer and community engagement. • Excellent verbal and written communication skills, with confident use of IT systems. • Preferably hold a relevant HND/degree in land, countryside, environmental or forestry management (or related field), along with a full UK driving licence.

Benefits and Wellbeing: • Enhanced Employer Pension • Life Assurance • Flexible & Hybrid Working Options • Generous Annual Leave - 25 Days Plus Bank Holidays (pro rata’d for part-time) • Buy and Sell Holiday Scheme • Enhanced Parental Pay • Employee Assistance Programme

This is a fixed term contract until December 2029. The successful candidate will be required to undertake an Enhanced Background Check, as part of our pre-employment screening.