6550 - Senior Reserve Manager, National Nature Reserve, Peterlee

6550 - Senior Reserve Manager, National Nature Reserve

Number of jobs available

1

Region

North East

City/Town

Peterlee

Building/Site

Castle Eden Dene NNR

Grade

SEO

Organisation Grade

NE Level 4.

Post Type

Permanent

Working Pattern

Full Time, Part Time, Part Time/Job Share

Role Type

Environment&Sustainability

Salary Minimum

£39,660

Job description

Job Description:

The Senior Reserve Manager (SRM) holds a pivotal role in the comprehensive management and enhancement of National Nature Reserves (NNRs), actively promoting Nature Recovery in the broader landscape. The role demands an understanding of land management techniques, biodiversity conservation, and strategic planning combining technical expertise with practical land management knowledge. The Senior Reserve Manager collaborates with staff, volunteers, local communities, and partners, contributing to Nature England's Vision, Mission and Aims. The role will be actively involved in the wider Area Team leadership group, working alongside other Senior staff and Managers.

The principal NNRs to be managed by this role are:

• Castle Eden Dene

• Teesmouth

• Cassop National Nature Reserves.

The post is based at our reserve base at Castle Eden Dene, Peterlee.

This is the main operational hub for the Castle Eden Dene NNR cluster and supports operational and strategic partnership working that delivers nature recovery and public health benefits across the region. It is a base for staff, volunteers, visiting schools and participants from the local community, and hosting a wide range of activities delivered by the Northumbria Area Team and partners.

The Senior Reserve Manager will lead the development and implementation of NNR work programs, aligning day-to-day management with a long-term nature recovery vision alongside partners. The role will be responsible for their own Health&Safety and of staff, visitors, volunteers and contractors on the reserves. They will line manage reserve staff, foster a positive working culture, provide financial management alongside working with colleagues to deliver Area Team priorities and strategic projects.

The post holder is required to have an active onsite presence and be based at Castle Eden Dene for a minimum of 3 days per week.The role may require some weekend, public holiday and evening work.

Key Tasks/Principal Accountabilities

• To provide strategic leadership to deliver Natural England ambitions and drive the NNR agenda, across reserves on a landscape scale

• Develop, review and deliver NNR management plans along with Area Team staff and partners and lead the development and implementation of NNR work programmes providing strategic leadership, setting priorities and risk management

• To be responsible for delivering high value and strategically complex work programmes on the NNR cluster, dealing with challenging and complex external issues

• Be a champion for ambition and implement strategic direction for engagement, delivery and visitor experience across NNR groups that aligns with national strategic and programme priorities.

• Seek opportunity to link into wider partnership ambitions and promote inclusion with diverse audiences.

• To provide functional (and/or) line management to NNR staff and volunteers including responsibility for H&S across the reserves.

• Manage budgets and seek external funding and income generating opportunities, identify long term strategic resource requirements and work with teams to ensure spend is tracked and audited

• Lead procurement processes relating to the spend of programme budgets and provision of capital goods and services including project management of capital works.

• Implementation of Health&Safety (H&S) Frameworks and Legislation, provide leadership of a safe working practice culture to all staff, ensuring robust management of all H&S risks pertinent to activities undertaken on the NNR are in place and controlled.

• Develop opportunities for local and regional networks and partnerships across NNR delivery, including with Approved Body partners and other potential NNR managing partners seeking mutual benefits

• Identify opportunities for local NNR science, research, evidence and monitoring to support or contribute to wider organisational evidence priorities and programmes.

Knowledge, Skills and Experience

• Leadership (essential)- ability to line manage and develop others and manage volunteers in a remote setting to achieve good environmental outcomes. Motivate individuals and groups and use coaching and a range of engagement styles.

• H&S (essential)- Including risk assessment and management. Ability to demonstrate good judgement and decision making in complex situations. Experience of the range of tasks required on site and the equipment associated and ability to operate machinery.

• Collaborating and partnerships (essential)-demonstrates honesty and integrity, steers, or leads NE's contribution to existing partnerships, has skills for issue resolution. Understands partners'objectives and needs; can apply strategic thinking to identify the potential for new partnerships/relationships and negotiating skills to establish them.

• Work delivery (essential)- ability to manage complex, landscape scale or Area Team (AT) - wide NNR projects and programmes. Evaluate and assess priorities between NNR groups and balance NNR resources across their area of responsibility. Working with Reserve Managers, ensure delivery is on time and to budget.

• Technical skills (essential)- knowledge of the purposes of NNRs, the principles of site selection and the mechanisms involved in tenure, declaration, and other relevant legal and regulatory processes. Strong understanding of the diversity of reserve activities and the types of methods, tools and equipment used. Competence in relevant IT. Budget management and planning skills, including external funding. Competence in prioritising and planning programmes of work across multiple sites and years.

• Environmental and organisational outcomes (desirable)- An understanding of (i) local, regional and national environmental issues; (ii) Local Nature Recovery

Benefits

At Natural England, we support a healthy work-life balance by offering full-time, part-time, and flexible working arrangements.

Weprovideexcellent opportunities for career progression, training,and development tailored to your role. This includestendays annually for personal learning and development, plusthreeadditionaldays for volunteering.

You'llreceive a generous leave allowance of25 days per year (pro rata), increasing by one day for each year of service up to 30 days (pro-rata), access to the Civil Service Pension scheme with a 28.97% employer contribution, and a range of benefits such as shopping discounts and a cycle-to-work scheme. Staff can also join the Civil Service Sport club for discounts on sports, leisure activities, and social events.

We are committed to fairness, equality, and inclusivity. Our employee-led diversity networks help foster a welcoming environment where everyone feels valued and supported.

Locations

Natural England has adopted hybrid working - which means our staff work from a flexible range of locations, encompassing home, offices (ours and our partners) and relevant sites. Allnew staffwill beformally linked to one of our 25 offices across England, and the expectation is that allnew staffwill be able to access their local office to be part of the community of staff in their geographical area. Staff are expected to attend their associated office for 20% of their contractual hours.

Staff membersare required tocarry out all their duties working in this way and cannot do so from an overseas location at any time. Travel expenses will be paid if work-related travel isrequiredbut does not apply to travel between home and your associated office.

View a map of our office locations here:

Pay

It is Natural England policy to employ at the entry point of the salary range.

You will become an active member of the relevant local leadership community, the group of senior Natural England staff in each of the localities acrossEngland who we ask to provide support and co-ordination for the local group of staff.

How to Apply

We welcome and encourage applications from all communities. Natural England is accredited to the Disability Confident Scheme, which denotes organisations which have a positive attitude towards disabled people. Disabled applicants who meet theminimumrequirements for the role at the shortlisting stage are guaranteed an invitation to interview.

If you require a reasonable adjustment at interview, or there is anything else you would like the panel to take into consideration, you shouldnotify usof this at application stage where possible, or well in advance of your interview.We now provide primary interview questions in advance for all formal recruitments.

This vacancy uses competency-based assessment.We'llassess you against …