Head of Estate and Programmes – North

The Woodland Trust is looking for a Head of Estate and Programmes – North to join our North England Team. The Head of Estate and Programmes will lead the Trust’s estate team and related programmes of work in North England. They will take a strategic overview, identifying and shaping new initiatives to ensure that the estate and associated programmes are developed and managed to the highest professional standards and in accordance with the Woodland Trust’s management approach, policies and standards.

The Role:

• Lead the strategic management of the Trust’s woodland estate across the North, ensuring the highest professional standards, regulatory compliance, and delivery of landscape-scale conservation outcomes.
• Shape and deliver major estate-based programmes and projects, working collaboratively across teams and with external partners to achieve the Trust’s strategic objectives.
• Provide inspiring leadership to a multidisciplinary team of site managers, project managers, and programme staff, fostering a high-performance, values-led culture.
• Oversee the effective planning, management, and governance of a multi-million-pound estate budget, ensuring excellent value for money and efficient use of resources.
• Take overall responsibility for health, safety, risk management, and operational excellence across the Trust’s northern estate activities.
• Develop and implement the North’s long-term estate plans, aligning woodland, forestry, conservation, and land management priorities with the Trust’s UK strategy.
• Act as a senior ambassador for the Trust, building and strengthening relationships with partners, funders, stakeholders, land managers, and public bodies to maximise impact.
• Champion innovation, knowledge sharing, and partnership working, representing the North at a senior level and contributing to UK-wide initiatives that advance the Trust’s vision and influence.

This is a homeworking position with regular travel around the North of England. Occasional travel to other offices, remote locations and overnight stays may also be required.

The Candidate:

• Experienced leader with a proven track record of managing complex estates, large-scale programmes, projects and multidisciplinary teams to deliver ambitious strategic outcomes.
• Strong understanding of woodland, forestry, conservation, land management and the operation of large estates, with knowledge of ancient woodland management highly desirable.
• Commercially and financially astute, with experience managing significant budgets and balancing strategic priorities, operational performance and value for money.
• Confident in leading health, safety, risk management and governance activities within geographically dispersed operational environments.
• Skilled at building influential relationships and strategic partnerships, with the credibility to engage effectively with funders, land managers, public bodies, conservation organisations and other key stakeholders.
• Good understanding of England’s land-use, environmental and forestry policy landscape, particularly across the North, and the ability to translate this into practical outcomes.
• Highly organised and adaptable, with strong project management skills, confidence using MS Office and GIS systems.
• Professionally qualified to HND, degree level or equivalent in forestry, land management or a related discipline, with membership (or working towards membership) of the Institute of Chartered Foresters.
• Additionally, hold a full valid driving licence.

Benefits and Wellbeing:

Joining our team means you’ll be part of our fight for a greener, healthier planet for people and wildlife. We take good care of our staff, offering support and training opportunities. We also offer:

• Enhanced Employer Pension
• Life Assurance
• Flexible and hybrid working options (7am – 7pm)
• Generous annual leave – 25 Days plus Bank Holidays (pro rata for part-time)
• Buy and sell holiday scheme
• Enhanced parental pay
• Employee assistance programme

To support inclusivity and remove barriers for candidates, we publish all salaries upfront and proudly follow the We Show the Salary pledge. The salary listed is the set salary for this role, and we don’t ask applicants to state their current pay or expectations. If you choose to apply, we’ll take that as confirmation that the advertised salary meets your expectations.

About Us:

The Woodland Trust is the UK’s largest woodland conservation charity. We want to see a world where woods and trees thrive for people and nature. The Trust engages and inspires people to make a difference by protecting, restoring and creating woodland and getting more trees in the ground.

Our commitment to Diversity and Inclusion:

To achieve our mission, we need to better reflect society and the communities we work in. People of colour and disabled people are currently under-represented across the environment and conservation sector. If you identify as a person of colour and/or disabled, we particularly encourage you to apply.

Application information and advice:

For fairness we keep our candidates’ personal details hidden from the hiring managers, and we do not ask for your CV at application. Make sure that your personal statement clearly shows how your skills and knowledge link to the specifications in the job description and you share with us your passion for the role. Completed applications will be reviewed by a hiring manager and/or a member of the recruitment team, and you will receive an update on the outcome of your application via email.

Acceptable Use – Artificial Intelligence (AI):

We understand that candidates may choose to use AI tools to support their job applications. However, we ask that any information submitted reflects your own experience, skills and understanding. During interviews, candidates are expected to respond independently without the use of AI tools. Interviews will take place via teams on 18th and 21st of September 2026.

For queries about this role, reasonable adjustments, or support with your application, please contact: recruitment@woodlandtrust.org.uk