Nature Recovery Manager - North West
| Posting date: | 22 May 2026 |
|---|---|
| Salary: | £40,388 to £43,482 per year |
| Hours: | Full time |
| Closing date: | 14 June 2026 |
| Location: | LA22 0QJ |
| Company: | Government Recruitment Service |
| Job type: | Permanent |
| Job reference: | 462702/1 |
Summary
This is an exciting and diverse job, with the opportunity to work on landscape scale projects across the north of England. Forestry England is already engaged in a number of important and high-profile nature recovery projects in Cumbria, including Wild Ennerdale, the Upper Duddon Landscape Recovery project, and Nature Rich Mitredale. The Nature Recovery Manager role will lead, co-ordinate and develop our active involvement in these partnerships alongside colleagues, ensuring they support delivery of our Biodiversity plan, forest plans and wider objectives. In addition the successful candidate will also focus on establishing and developing new projects where Forestry England has the potential to be involved, both on our land and working with local partners.
Please see the job description below for more information and details about what we need from you.
Where you’ll work…
The post will be based at Forestry England's Grizedale Office, with hybrid home working available. Travel across England will be required.
Key Responsibilities & Accountabilities
Main responsibilities
1) Detailed project planning, control and implementation, including:
- Managing a project in line with standard Project Management procedures, such as writing and following a Project Management Plan, working with a Project Board
- Identifying and managing project risks and issues, managing project scope, overseeing change control, and escalating where necessary
- Procuring, commissioning and managing contracts and contractors, especially for practical land management, ecological survey and monitoring, and feasibility studies
- Ensuring the project integrates Forestry England’s principal functions of timber production, nature recovery and engagement with visitors, resolving cross-functional issues at project level
- Monitoring project progress and performance, including through milestones and gateway reviews, and reporting on these to Project Boards and the Forest Wilding Programme
2) Provide strong technical leadership in ecology and nature-focussed land management, and its integration with forestry, especially through:
- Working with technical experts, contractors and colleagues to implement the strategic land management priorities on the ground
- Using best practice, technical knowledge and scientific evidence to develop nature recovery strategy in relevant projects to maximise the potential for progress
- Working with the Forestry England Resilience Strategy and forester colleagues, to lead new approaches to longer term forest resilience in the context of climate, wildfire and pests and diseases
- Working with the Forest Wilding Programme team to support the implementation of a coherent evidence framework, which both supports our decision making and monitors the outcomes of our land management
- Providing support and technical knowledge of strategic land management to support additional relevant projects when funding is available, such species recovery projects.
3) Develop and manage strong relationships with internal and external stakeholders, including:
- Supporting the Project Board, in providing confident and coherent leadership and governance to the project
- Managing the engagement and communications with colleagues and internal stakeholders about the project across the Forestry Commission family
- Managing the engagement and communications with external partners and stakeholders on the project, especially those with a high risk factor and high influence on the outcomes of the project.
- Representing Forestry England and the Forest Wilding Programme with relevant external projects,
working groups, conferences and other forums, both in district and nationally
4) Work with Forest Wilding Programme team to explore, secure and develop external funding for the relevant projects, for example through:
- UK Government grants, especially DEFRA’s Environmental Land Management Landscape Recovery
Scheme - Corporate sponsorship
- Biodiversity net gain
- Green finance
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