Conservation Reserves Lead – North East Scotland

Location: Various - based at Crombie, Angus

Join us at the forefront of nature conservation, where your leadership will make a tangible difference. This is an exciting opportunity to take the helm of a diverse portfolio of wildlife reserves across North East Scotland, driving high-quality conservation outcomes while leading and inspiring a dedicated team. Combining strategic oversight with hands-on operational management, you’ll play a vital role in safeguarding habitats ranging from peatlands and heath to woodlands and coastal cliffs. As a key representative of the Trust, you’ll build strong relationships with communities, partners and volunteers, ensuring our mission to protect and restore nature is delivered with impact, integrity and ambition.

The Role:

The role provides operational leadership across a defined operational area of the Trust’s reserves, ensuring land management, people management and community engagement deliver strong conservation outcomes. It involves leading and developing the local team, supporting volunteers and representing the Trust locally and nationally, whilst building robust relationships. The post oversees planning, delivery and quality assurance of reserve and project work, ensuring compliance with policies, health and safety and regulatory requirements. It also manages budgets, risks and ecological data, embedding evidenced based decision making and maintaining accurate documentation and supporting long-term site and project development. Through this combination of leadership and operational oversight, the role helps safeguard the Trust’s reserves and advance its conservation mission.

Main objectives:

• Land management and project delivery: Manage wildlife reserve operations across the North East Reserves Management Area, including conservation and land management and monitoring of 1699 hectares across fourteen wildlife reserves with a range of habitats, including blanket bog, heaths, fens, maritime cliffs, lochs, grasslands, and woodlands.
• Representation and stakeholder engagement: Build and maintain positive relationships with landowners, volunteers, contractors, communities and interested parties. Represent the Trust professionally at local events and meetings, and proactively manage day-to-day issues with neighbours and partners.
• People management and teamwork: Line manage and develop the operational area team, leading recruitment, induction and performance. Foster a positive organisational culture, support collaboration across teams, and act as the key local contact for members and volunteers. Help recruit, train and retain volunteers, and provide local operational insight to support fundraising, communications and policy work.
• Information and operational management: Maintain risk registers, manage budgets, and promote a strong safety culture. Use ecological data to inform decision-making, ensure data governance compliance, and support effective reporting and monitoring of conservation outcomes through internal systems.

The successful candidate will ideally:

• HND in environmental conservation or similar (essential)
• Degree/post graduate qualification in environmental conservation, countryside management or similar (desirable)
• Minimum three years in similar role – to include experience of management planning and coordinating practical conservation work (essential)
• Health and Safety legislation/procedures relating to outdoor working (essential)
• Evidence-based decision making (essential)
• Demonstrable experience of securing permissions and consents required for conservation and land management activities on Trust managed wildlife reserves, as well as identification, mitigation and management of practical constraints, including but not restricted to environmental, ecological and archaeological (essential)
• Working knowledge of Construction, Design and Management Regulations in context of conservation projects (essential)
• Working knowledge of Controlled Activities Regulations (essential)
• Experience of delivering upland conservation projects including peatland restoration, urban reserve management, conservation grazing and/or woodland planting and regeneration.
• Experience of working within rural areas of Scotland.
• Demonstrable knowledge of deer management and conservation grazing for nature conservation purposes.
• Demonstrable knowledge of conservation and land management to mitigate against wildfire risk.
• Demonstrable experience of communicating the importance of maintaining and expanding healthy habitats for wildlife and people.

Closing date for applications: Friday 5th June, noon

Interviews will be held on: anticipated 26th June

What we offer:

• Salary sacrifice schemes including Cycle to Work & Pension schemes.
• We have always been hugely flexible in our approach to how you wish to work and continue to offer a flexible approach.
• One Wellness Hour per week
• Enhanced Pension rate upon completion of probation
• Enhanced Maternity/Paternity Leave
• Training and Development

The Trust is a passionate employer, proactive about creating a culture of diversity and inclusive workplace that promotes and values equal opportunities for all. We welcome individuals from all networks of life, backgrounds, and experiences.