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Assistant Director of Operations
Salary: £72,000 per annum
Work Pattern: This is a permanent contract, working full time, Monday to Friday, 37.5 hours a week.
Location: Based at any of our Wetland Discovery Sites – Castle Espie BT23, Washington NE38, Martin Mere L40, Slimbridge GL2, Llanelli SA14, London SW13 or Arundel BN18.
For this role we can offer the opportunity for hybrid working. It is expected the role will need you to be present at each of your sites on a regular basis, at least once per month.
About The Role
WWT is the charity for wetlands.
This is a critical role in the recently restructured Operations Directorate at WWT. As Assistant Director, you will be directly responsible for the performance of our 7 Wetland Discovery sites. You will provide inspiring and professional leadership to your teams, whilst proactively collaborating cross organisation and externally.
Your focus will be on driving meaningful improvements at sites across our three ambitions of Restore, Inspire and Thrive, with emphasis on financial performance driven by visitor experiences. Reporting to the Director of Operations, you will directly manage two Heads of Operations, a Head of Retail and Head of Catering. You will indirectly lead more than 400 staff and volunteers across Living Collections, Reserve Management, Visitor Experience, Trading, Marketing, Facilities and Grounds.
You will work closely with Health & Safety and Sustainability leads to ensure good governance and compliance at sites and across the Operations Directorate.
You will have a background working in visitor attractions or a very similar sector, coupled with a passion for purpose-led organisations and a keen interest in the environment. You will be an inspiring leader with high levels of emotional intelligence and values & behaviours that align with WWT.
About You
To join as our Assistant Director of Operations, you will need to evidence:
- Experience in a senior position(s) held in the visitor attraction/events management sectors, directly accountable for site operations and visitor experience throughout the visitor journey.
- Strong skills in leading business planning, financial analysis, budget development and management, and delivery of significant capital projects across £multi-million business unit(s).
- Demonstrable ability to recruit, performance manage and motivate large (>100) diverse multi-disciplinary teams.
- The ability to develop, communicate and implement strategic change, turning organisational vision into improvements at scale.
- An inspirational and empathetic leadership style, able to role model an organisation’s values and behaviours, and to evidence strong emotional intelligence. Able to prioritise effectively, to collaborate, network and influence internally and externally at a senior level.
- A highly creative and inquisitive mindset, able to spot and exploit potential opportunities, keen to explore, test and learn as a means of driving continual improvement and excellence in the visitor experience.
- Experience of working collaboratively with insight, marketing and communications teams to deliver strong brand and marketing campaigns which drive footfall.
About Us
We’re WWT, and we’re on a mission to restore the super-powered ecosystems we call wetlands. There’s never been a more important moment for our work, and we’ve got some phenomenal people on the case.
Whether they’re taking a new visitor under their wing, or conducting ground-breaking research further afield, our team are second to none. And there’s nothing we love more than watching them soar.
Whatever you do here, you’ll be helping to restore wetlands and unlock their power. So, the only question left is, what role will you play?
Why you’ll love working at WWT
- Wake up every day knowing your work is helping to restore wetlands, and our world
- Be surrounded and inspired by our team of passionate, dedicated people
- 33 days annual leave (which goes up to 38 days after 5 years of service) – this includes bank holidays and you have flexibility to take those days whenever you want
- Free entry to all our wetland centres, including your family
- Free car parking and secure bike storage areas
- Colleague discount on shopping and memberships
- Cycle to work scheme
- Contributory pension scheme
- Life Assurance of three times your salary, for peace of mind for your loved ones
- Independent personal, workplace and financial advice from our Employee Assistance Programme
Closing Date: 15th February 2026
N.B. We reserve the right to close the advert early if we receive a sufficient number of applications from candidates who meet the required skills and experience. We therefore encourage early applications.
Interested?
If you would like to find out more, please click the apply button. You will be directed to our website to complete your application for this position.
WWT is an equal opportunities employer and all applications will be considered solely on merit.
No agencies please.
Registered Charity
101 - 500
Restore Wetlands and Unlock their Power
Thank you!
le Description
Working closely with both the Head of Development and Head of Strategic Projects and Planning, you'll be joining a growing team with the opportunity to shape your role and make a real impact on both the future of Ally Pally and the communities we serve.
Skills gained in the role could help you to build a career in fundraising, project delivery, or in assessing the social impact of heritage and culture.
Your work will help us to:
- Restore and reopen derelict spaces in the Victorian Palace for everyone to enjoy
- Improve key areas of the Park for both people and wildlife (including playgrounds, wetlands, wayfinding)
- Deliver our creative learning and wellbeing programmes, using the Palace's amazing spaces.
- Take forward our ambitious programme to help Ally Pally reach Net Zero
We are looking to recruit a strong administrator excited to learn and make change. We will consider applicants with previous experience in fundraising or project management in arts and heritage organisations, or transferable skills from customer-facing and administrative roles in other industries.
This is a full time, permanent post.
The below is a summary, please see the JOB PACK for further details including how to apply and interview dates
Key duties
Development Responsibilities
- Administer pipeline for trust, foundation and statutory funding bids
- Carry out desk research to identify potential trust, foundation and statutory supporters
- Deliver fundraising bids and impact reporting to a small portfolio of trusts and statutory funders, focused on bids to a value of £10,000
- Plan communications for regular fundraising and community newsletters
- Donation processing, documentation and thanking for trust and statutory income
Strategic Planning and Projects Responsibilities
- Meeting administration for Strategic Plan Working Group
- Administrative support to develop the Charity's stakeholder relationships
- Support with events for Capital Fundraising Campaign including London Festival or Architecture and Haringey London Borough of Culture
- Desk research into capital redevelopment in arts, heritage and green spaces
- Financial processing and budget tracking of team expenditure
Person specification
Essential
- Right to work in the UK
- Administrative experience ideally gained within either a fundraising or project management context
- Experience in customer service and / or communications with donors, clients or customers
- Long-form writing and / or copy writing experience
- Strong written, verbal and interpersonal communication skills
- Experienced user of microsoft 365
- Excellent accuracy and attention to detail
- Ability to manage own workload and meet deadlines
- Willingness to be flexible within a role supporting a range of development projects
Desirable
- Experience using a CRM system
- Bid writing experience
- financial admin experience
- Experience organising events and / or travel for staff, donors or clients
- Strong interest in charitable fundraising
- Strong interest in placemaking, culture and heritage redevelopment
Registered Charity
101 - 500
Our mission is: To repair, restore and maintain the park and palace for the recreation and enjoyment of the public forever.
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.
Thank you!
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Salary: €4.521,21 gross per month (Brussels) / £50,331 gross per annum (London)
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Location: Brussels or London
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Contract Type: Indefinite
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Hours: Full Time
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Closing Date: 9 February 2026
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First Interview Dates: 16 & 17 February 2026
About the role
Are you interested in an impactful fundraising role with global reach? At ClientEarth we are hiring a Philanthropy Manager to join our team in either Brussels or London. The Philanthropy team is key to securing unrestricted income and supporting the organisation to achieve financial resilience. You will represent the Philanthropy team internally and externally and provide key support across the philanthropy portfolio as well as manage their own portfolio of supporters and multi-year donors. This role will help lead on our prospecting plan and work across teams to implement fundraising initiatives.
Meet your Manager
In this role you will be managed by Clea Fergusson. Clea joined ClientEarth in March 2023 and is based in Berlin. Prior to joining ClientEarth, Clea worked as a fundraiser and marketing specialist for a number of humanitarian and development non-governmental organisations (NGOs), both nationally and internationally. She has led fundraising teams and strategies in countries such as the UK, France and Germany. Through her humanitarian and development work, she has had the opportunity to hear first-hand from many communities directly affected by the climate crisis around the world. Clea graduated with honours in French and Italian from the University of Manchester and obtained her Masters in Marketing from the University of Strathclyde in Scotland. She holds a Certificate in Fundraising Management from the British Institute of Fundraising and speaks English, French, German and Italian.
Main Duties
- Actively solicit and manage donor relationships across assigned portfolio to contribute to the global philanthropy income target with a focus on building new income and unrestricted income
- Build a resilient donor pipeline and manage prospects and donors through each stage of the pipeline, ensure annual renewals, uplifts and secure new income
- Develop compelling proposals and reports that engage prospect and meet donor priorities and requirements
- Build relationships with internal senior stakeholders including the CEO, Chief Impact and Programmes Officer, Trustees and the Development Board to achieve outcomes of the development strategy
See the job description (below) for a full list of duties for this role.
Role requirements
- Significant fundraising management experience working in the development or philanthropy fields (essential)
- Demonstrable experience of securing five or six figure gifts as well as multi-year commitments including unrestricted income (essential);
- Experience in writing, coordinating and submitting successful funding proposals (essential);
- Line management experience (essential);
See the job description (below) for a full list of requirements for this role.
Note to candidates: We know that long lists of criteria can be daunting and that some candidates will not apply for a role unless they feel they are 100% qualified. If you feel you meet at least some of the essential criteria, we still encourage you to apply.
Further Information
Have a question about this job? Please visit our Careers site for advice on applying, FAQs, and more.
Flexible working: We are proud to be a Flexa accredited Employer. Visit our Flexa Employer page for more information on our approach to flexible working. Our flexible working policy allows our people the choice to decide to work from home/another location in the country where their contract of employment is issued for 80% of their month, with the other 20% of their month being office-based See our Benefits page for more as well as our flexible working FAQ.
ClientEarth values diversity and inclusion and the benefits this brings. We aim to appoint the most suitable candidate at all times and welcome applications from people from all different backgrounds. See our equity, diversity and inclusion journey page for more.
Please note that ClientEarth is only able to employ those who have the pre-existing legal right to work in Belgium or the UK.
ClientEarth is not a law firm and does not provide legal advice or legal services to third parties.
Registered Charity
101 - 500
Using the power of the law to protect life on Earth.
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.
Thank you!
Your outstanding management of the Woodland Heritage Skills project will ensure that the project meets its objectives and in doing so help the charity in achieving its mission.
You will be a core part of how Woodland Heritage is achieving its mission and it will be an incredibly rewarding and varied experience!
Your work with the charity will be as part of a small, dedicated team of staff and a wider group of passionate trustees. Everyone will want you to succeed and will support you along the way.
Woodland Heritage is creating a thriving UK wood culture that benefits our environment, all people and our economy. We do this by championing the good use of home-grown timber from sustainable, productive woodlands for the benefit of present and future generations. Through a combination of demonstration sites, research, education, membership and outreach, we build on the wisdom and skills of the past to weather the challenges of tomorrow.
About the role
- The role is full time 37.5 hours per week for a fixed term of two years, with planned evening and weekend working as required.
- We can offer flexible working and hybrid working. You may wish to work at Whitney Sawmills, Herefordshire, for example for a day per week, though this is not required.
- 25 days plus Bank/Public holidays as paid leave
- Salary £35,000 PA FTE
- Your line manager will be the Chief Executive
- Employer contribution from nest pension
All other terms and conditions will be as per your contract. More details are available via our staff handbook which can be provided to shortlisted candidates.
This role is part of a £238,442 grant from The National Lottery Heritage Fund to create ‘Woodland Heritage Skills’; two years of educational workshops, digital educational assets and collaboration with its members and partners to deliver the charity’s new Open Woods & Workshops initiative.
A tremendous £13,547 of this grant is matched funding from the outdoor furniture B-Corp Gaze Burvill, a corporate member of Woodland Heritage, alongside fellow personal and corporate members of the charity.
About you
You will have a committment to the vision and values of Woodland Heritage and a desire to bring about positive change in the relationship between people and woodlands. You will have demonstrable experience of managing projects, delivering educational impact and a willingness to learn and to be flexible.
Visit our website to download the job specification and learn how to apply. We'd love to hear from you!
Registered Charity
1 - 5
Woodland Heritage is creating a thriving UK wood culture that benefits our environment, all people and our economy.
Thank you!
Your outstanding delivery of communications for the Woodland Heritage Skills project means you are a core part of how Woodland Heritage is achieving its mission which should make for an incredibly rewarding and varied experience!
Your work with the charity will be as part of a small, dedicated team of staff and a wider group of passionate trustees. Everyone will want you to succeed and will support you along the way.
Woodland Heritage is creating a thriving UK wood culture that benefits our environment, all people and our economy. We do this by championing the good use of home-grown timber from sustainable, productive woodlands for the benefit of present and future generations. Through a combination of demonstration sites, research, education, membership and outreach, we build on the wisdom and skills of the past to weather the challenges of tomorrow.
About the role
- The role is 22.5 hours per week for a fixed term of two years with a salary of £15,000 PA
- We can offer flexible working and hybrid working. You may wish to work at Whitney Sawmills, Herefordshire, for example for a day per week, though this is not required.
- Planned evening and weekend working as required.
- 25 days plus Bank/Public holidays as paid leave pro rata
- Your line manager will be the Woodland Heritage Skills Project Manager
- Employer contribution from nest pensions
All other terms and conditions will be as per your contract. More details are available via our staff handbook which can be provided to shortlisted candidates.
This role is part of a £238,442 grant from The National Lottery Heritage Fund to create ‘Woodland Heritage Skills’; two years of educational workshops, digital educational assets and collaboration with its members and partners to deliver the charity’s new Open Woods & Workshops initiative.
A tremendous £13,547 of this grant is matched funding from the outdoor furniture B-Corp Gaze Burvill, a corporate member of Woodland Heritage, alongside fellow personal and corporate members of the charity.
About you
You will have a committment to the vision and values of Woodland Heritage and a desire to bring about positive change in the relationship between people and woodlands. You will have demonstrable experience of communications delivery and a willingness to learn and to be flexible.
You will join a small, dedicated team of staff and a wider group of passionate trustees. Everyone will want you to succeed and will support you along the way.
Visit our website to download the job specification and learn how to apply. We'd love to hear from you!
Registered Charity
1 - 5
Woodland Heritage is creating a thriving UK wood culture that benefits our environment, all people and our economy.