This role is responsible for leading the Reserves Team to ensure that our reserves are managed in a way that demonstrates best practice and to maximise conservation benefits for key priority species.

This is a key role within HWT, managing the Trust’s 50+ nature reserves across the county, including our flagship sites at Queenswood Country Park and Bodenham Lake. We are currently in the process of re-assessing and re-aligning our nature reserves to ensure that they are strategically aligned and support nature recovery within the county and further afield.

The role will need to balance intellectual leadership with practical land management oversight; managing the Reserves Team, ensuring professional oversight of all our reserves, providing guidance and support to our reserve’s volunteers and wardens, and providing advice and delivery support to Reserves Officers and other colleagues.

Key responsibilities

Professional oversight, leadership and delivery

Provide intellectual leadership in the development, implementation and review of the Trust’s reserves management programme, ensuring it’s approach to land management is consistent with land conservation and sustainability, explore new funding opportunities for our reserves including Sustainable Farming Incentives and Biodiversity Net Gain, and work closely with our volunteers and partners.

• Steer the long term, strategic vision and strategic review of our nature reserves, including their role within Living Landscapes and Nature Recovery Networks.
• Maintain oversight of all aspects of land management including relationships with legal and land agent contractors, the Trust’s Rural
• Payment Agency portfolio, Health and Safety and land acquisition.
• Manage our reserve network in a way that develops resilience to the affects of climate change.
• Ensure HWT complies with, and demonstrates that it meets, legal requirements and best practice relating to agreements, leases, contracts, agri-environment schemes, European Protected Species and other legal obligations
• To review the site acquisition policy and to keep the current suite of reserves under review, including prioritisation scoring to allocate resources.
• To assess potential new site acquisitions, against the agreed criteria.
• Keep up-to-date through continued professional development and networking of changes in land management funding.
• Explore opportunities to increase income through new funding schemes, grants and Biodivesity Net Gain.

Liaise with colleagues to:

• Maximise the potential for people involvement in nature reserves, including oversight of physical access infrastructure, interpretation, events and learning opportunities;
• Ensure a coordinated approach is taken with volunteer tasks, shared machinery and tool use and maintenance;
• Create and build on opportunities to position our Reserves as key elements of living Landscapes and Nature recovery networks;

Management Accountabilities

As a member of the Management Team contribute to the effective management of Herefordshire Wildlife Trust by:

• Contributing to the formulation of strategic policies for the Trust
• Providing strategic oversight of all land management issues in the Trust
• Providing advice and updates to the Senior Management Team and Trustees as required
• Ensuring the promulgation and delivery of HWT strategies within the Reserves Team
• Ensuring Trust finances are appropriately managed, by taking the lead on compiling and managing the team budget, seeking to achieve good value for money and achieve maximum leverage for external funding
• Ensuring best practice in the management of human resources, in accordance with HWT policies and procedures and adherence to the HWT Health and Safety policy and all related H&S tools.

Staff and Volunteer Management

Inspire the Reserves team of staff, volunteers and trainees to create a shared sense of purpose and commitment to achieve HWT outcomes. Line manage the Reserves team effectively, by:

• Recruiting new staff, volunteers and trainees, providing individual counselling, mentoring and other support as appropriate;
• Ensuring that all individuals are working to clear objectives and undertaking staff appraisals within the Trust’s competency framework;
• Agreeing appropriate approaches and mechanisms to managing volunteer involvement
• Ensuring staff and volunteers undertake all work in accordance with organisational policies including those for Health and Safety and Equal Opportunities;
• Delegating responsibility where appropriate to manage team workloads and deliver timely results;
• Ensuring good communication between all relevant HWT staff, trainees, volunteers and Trustees

Financial management and fundraising

Oversee the production of robust and sustainable plans and budgets to ensure delivery of the Trust’s Nature Reserve programme.

• Maintain oversight and control of budgets in accordance with the scheme of delegation.
• Review monthly management accounts and provide quarterly reports and forecasts;
• Ensure that accurate, up-to-date, and timely records are kept, to comply with contractual and procurement rules and/or legislation and funder’s reporting requirements.
• Identify and pursue opportunities for external funding and projects to support the management of Trust Reserves and to enhance the future range and scale of the Trust’s land management work;
• Maintain oversight of projects from start to finish, ensuring that project implementation is effective from impact, relationship and financial standpoints and to achieve effective project completion.

Other duties

• Undertake any other work that might be deemed necessary by HWT commensurate with the level of responsibility of this post.
• Work with the broader HWT team on any other activities that match your skills and abilities as agreed with your line-manager
• Promote HWT through participation in HWT events, provision of ‘good news’ briefings for internal and external communications and engagement with the media
• Encourage, develop and support Trust volunteer involvement in your work (this being regarded as a major resource that makes a vital contribution to the Trust)
• Undertake Health and Safety duties commensurate with the post and as detailed in the Trust’s Health and Safety policy; and ensure any volunteers, trainees or 3rd parties do like-wise
• Comply with all other organisational policies and relevant legislation e.g. Equal Opportunities
• Take advantage of formal & informal opportunities for personal & professional development, participate in appropriate training activities in consultation with your line manager
• Cascade relevant skills and knowledge to relevant staff and volunteers;
• Act as an ambassador for Herefordshire Wildlife Trust, constructing and maintaining positive relationships with volunteers, visitors and other organisations.
• Actively encourage those with whom you come into professional contact to become members of HWT (all staff are regarded as membership recruiters)

Education, Skills and Other Requirements

• Experience of practical conservation land management
• Experience of developing and managing teams of staff and volunteers
• Experience of developing and reviewing land management plans
• Experience of budget management
• Understanding of agri-environment land management schemes
• Understanding of relevant health and safety legislation
• Experience of managing contractors
• Experience of preparing grant applications
• Excellent communication skills
• Excellent team working skills
• Ability to develop relationships with neighbours and stakeholders to establish trust and credibility
• A current driving licence.

Desirable Skills

• A degree or equivalent in conservation management or a related discipline
• Good ecological knowledge
• Experience of favourable condition monitoring of nature reserves
• Experience of working with statutory agencies
• High degree of initiative
• Excellent organisational skills
• Personal commitment to nature conservation and sustainable living