Grow wild programme development manager jobs

Development Phase: Visitor Destination Development Manager

Fixed Term to November 2027

Yorkshire Wildlife Trust is one of the UK’s fastest growing nature conservation organisations and seeks to appoint a Visitor Destination Development Manager to transform our flagship nature reserves into pioneering places that inspire hope, drive action for nature and open their doors to everyone. 

This is a rare opportunity to manage a project supported by The National Lottery Heritage Fund at a pivotal moment. You'll oversee specialist consultants across visitor experience, accessibility, commercial development and community stewardship; coordinate our project Steering Group and ensure the programme is rigorously evaluated and reported to our funder. 

But this role is about more than process. You'll bring a wealth of experience and the confidence to drive real change – taking colleagues on the journey with you, building consensus and laying the groundwork for what comes next. Critically, you'll make sure everything we learn shapes the next chapter of development for our Flagship Nature Reserves.

You'll bring proven experience of managing complex, multi-strand programmes, ideally within the heritage, conservation or visitor destination sector, along with a track record of commissioning and managing external consultants to deliver high-quality outcomes. Strong stakeholder management skills are essential as you'll need to bring colleagues along on a shared journey, whilst managing funder relationships and reporting with rigour and care. You'll be able to synthesise complex information into clear recommendations and actionable next steps and communicate with confidence at a senior level. Above all, you'll be collaborative and inclusive, with the drive to embed learning and lasting change within the organisation.

About You. 

You will be a self-motivated and proactive senior trust fundraiser, excited about this new role and achieving our ambitious fundraising goals – approaching it with good humour, resilience and resourcefulness, and confident in your skills and abilities. 

Professional, reliable and highly organised, you will enjoy working collaboratively, able to inspire and support colleagues, and have a strong team ethos.Outgoing and engaging, you will be able to convey a passion for nature and wildlife to different audiences and feel confident when sharing our vision and impact with others. You will be able to nurture and develop relationships with key stakeholders, including those we do not already have a relationship with.

You will have a strong knowledge of Staffordshire and Stoke on Trent and be able to work/travel throughout the county.

We welcome applications from senior trust fundraisers, bid writers from the commercial sector and senior fundraisers from major donors or corporate partnerships who can demonstrate transferable skills and knowledge, and success at the income levels required. 

About the Role.  

We are investing in our Fundraising and Development team to deliver an ambitious 5-year fundraising strategy. The Trusts and Philanthropy Manager is pivotal in securing philanthropic support from trusts and foundations, legacies, major donors, and corporate partners.

 
Over the strategy period you will be responsible for developing annual trust and grant income to £500,000+, by securing grants of five figures and above and gaining multi-year donations.Using your experience in creating strong cases for support, including unrestricted costs, and pipeline development, you will work with two part-time colleagues to increase annual income from major donors, legacies and corporate partners to £250,000+ (excluding exceptional legacy gifts). 

With curiosity, you will identify funding opportunities and reach new audiences. You will thrive on building strong, long-lasting relationships, cultivating donors through verbal and written communications, and managing stewardship events.

As a senior manager, you will have budget responsibility, report regularly, and mitigate under performance.You will ensure joined-up planning and delivery, developing fundraising relationships across income streams, and you will enjoy line management, collaborating with others, and leading project groups to deliver targets on deadlines. 

A typical week is expected to include at least 2 days from our Wolseley Head Office, 1-2days in Staffordshire to secure new support and meet donors, the remaining time worked remotely, with flexibility as required. 

About Us. 

“Staffordshire Wildlife Trust protects and enhances the wildlife and wild places of Staffordshire and promotes understanding, enjoyment and involvement in the natural world.” 

A registered charity established in 1969, we are one of 46 county Wildlife Trusts throughout the UK and are supported by over 18,000 members. 

The Trust owns or manages 45 nature reserves covering an area of over 1900 hectares. We have around 140 staff, based in six locations around the county including our Headquarters at Wolseley Bridge, Stafford, with our work divided into four departments: Conservation Delivery & Engagement, Fundraising and Development, HR & Support Services, and Resources. The Trust has a diverse workforce including site wardens, wildlife surveyors, community and education officers, catering, retail and administration. 

In addition, we have a trading company which looks after the trading side of our business. This includes a café at The Wolseley Centre, charity shops in Leek, Penkridge and Codsall, and a retail shop in the Wolseley Centre. 

We’re Wild About Inclusion! To us, this means inspiring, empowering and engaging people from all backgrounds, cultures, identities and abilities, to change the natural world for the better. It means creating workspaces where difference is celebrated, everyone can be themselves and flourish, just like nature. 

Staffordshire Wildlife Trust is committed to keeping children and young people safe, you can see our policy on our website.Safeguarding and protecting our visitors, customers, members, staff and volunteers is the responsibility of every trustee, employee, and volunteer at Staffordshire Wildlife Trust. For applicable roles, applicants must be willing to undergo checks with past employers and Disclosure and Barring Service checks at the eligible level. 

Disability Confident Employer. As a Disability Confident accredited employer, we guarantee to interview all disabled applicants who meet the minimum criteria for vacancies. We particularly encourage applications from people who are underrepresented within our sector, including people from minority backgrounds and people with disabilities. We are committed to creating a movement that recognises and truly values individual differences and identities. 

At SWT, we are committed to creating a safe environment where discrimination, bullying, and harassment are not tolerated. We expect everyone to uphold, respect, and support our zero-tolerance policy.

Please be aware we may not accept applications if we have reason to believe they have been wholly produced using generative AI tools 

Staffordshire Wildlife Trust is a registered charity.Charity No: 259558.

Closing Date:  9am on Monday 30th March 2026 

Interviews: 1st stage - MS Teams call during the recruitment period 
2nd stage -Wed 8 April or Fri 10 April 2026

Philanthropy Manager
Location: ZSL London Zoo, Regents Park, London NW1 - Hybrid
Vacancy Type: Permanent
Salary: £40,000 per annum
Business Area: Enabling Functions and Professional Services

Purpose of the role

We are looking for a passionate and strategic Philanthropy Manager to help drive our mission to restore wildlife and create a world where wildlife thrives.  This role is focused on raising vital funds from individuals to support ZSL’s global ambition.  You will lead on engaging new and cultivating existing supporters, securing high-value and major gifts. As part of your stewardship and cultivation work, you will build deep, lasting relationships and grow a sustainable income stream that powers our global impact.

This is a hybrid role, with the expectation of spending two days a week in the office at a minimum, alongside attending occasional off-site meetings with donors and stakeholders.  As with many major gift roles, there may be some evening or weekend work to support events, donor visits, or special experiences.

Key responsibilities:

Fundraising Strategy: Contribute to strategic planning to ensure a coordinated and donor-centric approach that maximises philanthropic support, in collaboration with the Head of Philanthropy.

Donor Cultivation and Stewardship: To manage and grow a personal portfolio of high-value and major donors, securing income from high-value and major gifts.

Prospect Research: Identifying and researching potential donors who align with the organisation's mission and goals, with support from the Prospect Researcher.

Proposal Writing and Donor Reporting: Craft compelling and personalised proposals and presentations to secure funding, and work closely with the wider fundraising and project delivery teams to produce high quality reports.

Event Management: Support the organisation and delivery of events to cultivate relationships with donors and prospects.

Financial accountability: Keep accurate records and handle accompanying gift administration and recognition.

About you

• Experienced fundraising and donor development professional within the charity or cultural sectors, with a proven track record of securing five- and six-figure gifts from individuals, trusts, foundations, and institutional partners.
• Confident in developing compelling proposals and presentations that engage and inspire individual philanthropists.
• Experience working with fundraising databases and donor management systems.
• A proven track record in working with senior volunteers in a fundraising context.
• Knowledge of fundraising best practices and ethical considerations.
• Strong communication, interpersonal and relationship management skills.

About us

We’re ZSL, an international conservation charity. Through our unrivalled animal experts in our two zoos (London Zoo and Whipsnade Zoo), the work of our pioneering scientists, our dedicated conservationists, our purpose is to inspire, inform and empower people to stop wild animals going extinct. Our vision is a world where wildlife thrives and we’re working every day to achieve this. From investigating the health threats facing animals, to helping people and wildlife live alongside each other, we are committed to bringing wildlife back from the brink of extinction. 

What do we offer? 

At ZSL, we are proud of our approach to employee benefits. Our benefits include: 

• Our vision and purpose - you’ll work alongside colleagues who are passionate about science-led conservation, knowing that you will help us to inspire, inform and empower people to stop wildlife going extinct 
• Pension scheme - we offer a generous pension scheme with up to 12% contributory pension
• Flexible working – talk to us about your flexible working requirements and we will do everything we can to make sure you work in a way that suits you 
• Holidays – 25 days annual leave allowance, plus UK bank holidays 
• Wellbeing – access to a blended programme of wellbeing initiatives, including confidential access to our 24/7 Employee Assistance Programme 
• Life assurance – eligible employees will be enrolled in ZSL’s life assurance scheme from their first day
• Complimentary tickets – annual allocation of Whipsnade Zoo and London Zoo tickets, with a 30% discount in online and retail shops 
• Cycle2Work - our cycle to work scheme enables you to lease a bicycle 
• Season ticket loan - we offer an interest free loan for eligibly London-based employees to buy a season ticket for travel between home and work 
• Family friendly policies – we offer enhanced maternity, paternity, and adoption packages 

If you have any questions about this role, we’d love to hear from you! Please get in touch with our recruitment team

Closing Date: 6th April 2026

We may close this role early or extend the closing date due to the number of applications we receive, so we encourage you to apply as soon as possible.

The selection process will involve two stages:

First interview – held virtually via video call.
Second interview – held in person and will include a skills-based assessment.

We anonymise applications until interview stage to ensure a fair hiring process. It’s important to highlight your unique skills, experience, and knowledge. Over reliance on AI-generated content may miss key criteria outlined in the job description and reduce the effectiveness of your application.

Interested?

If you would like to apply and find out more about this position, please click the apply button to be directed to our website. 

This role is subject to standard pre-employment checks, including confirmation of your right to work in the UK. Visa sponsorship is not available for this position.

ZSL recognises that conservation is one of the least diverse sectors, and we actively encourage applications from candidates who identify as part of underrepresented communities. We are committed to building a supportive and inclusive workplace where everyone can thrive and celebrate the value of having a team of employees with diverse skills, experiences, and heritage.

No agencies please.

We are looking for a Philanthropy Manager to play a vital role in growing high value support for nature across Lancashire Manchester and North Merseyside. This is an exciting opportunity to connect people with purpose and help secure the future of our wildlife and wild places.

At the Trust, we believe that strong relationships drive lasting impact. In this role, you will lead the development of high value income through our Living Legacy pledge fund, major donors and philanthropic corporate partnerships. You will build long term, values led relationships with high net worth individuals and corporate supporters, ensuring they feel closely connected to the difference they are making.

You will also support our broader individual giving programme, making sure that impact reporting sits at the heart of everything we do and that supporters clearly see the difference they make.

Who we are looking for:

You will be an ambitious and experienced relationship builder with a strong track record of generating income through people centred approaches. You will be confident working with senior stakeholders and able to influence both internally and externally.

We are particularly keen to hear from people who bring a background in conservation or environmental work. Understanding the realities of habitat restoration, species recovery and landscape scale change will help you connect supporters more deeply to our ambitious objectives and tell powerful stories about our work.

You might come from a fundraising background, or you may be looking to move into philanthropy from a conservation role where you have developed strong stakeholder relationships. If you can inspire others with the importance of nature and build trust with a wide range of people, we would love to hear from you.

Flexible working arrangements are available as part of the role to support work–life balance, specifically a 9-day fortnight, 3-weekly Friday off, and Early Finish Fridays. These options allow full-time hours to be worked flexibly, while providing regular additional time away from work.

We offer 28 days holidays plus bank holidays per annum, increasing with length of service. A friendly and flexible working environment with the chance to be a part of the largest nature conservation body in the area, working together to improve our region for nature as well as engaging and inspiring people to connect and take action for wildlife.

Please review the Job Description before you apply.

Closing Date: Sunday 12th April 2026

Yorkshire Wildlife Trust was established 80 years ago and today is one of the UK’s fastest growing charities for nature. We seek to appoint a Digital Marketing Officer to join the communications and public affairs team.

We are looking for a digital marketing expert to lead and boost engagement online, drive footfall to our visitor centres as well as events, and inspire more people across Yorkshire to choose a wilder life. 

This is a role in which you could make a world of difference, by bringing wild experiences to more people through colourful content and stories, leading to positive action for wildlife and driving recognition for our trusted brand. 

Close collaboration with colleagues across the Trust is essential, working with communication, engagement, reserve and visitor services colleagues to promote events, and a growing programme of wildlife-themed festivals and wildlife watching experiences. 

You will have experience of planning and delivering strategy to reach different audiences through channels, as well as creating or commissioning content that reaches audiences with impact. You will have an ability and interest in using analytics to help bring continuous learning and improvement to our activity. 

People tell us that the best thing about working at the Trust is the people and you’ll join a dedicated communications and public affairs team, in the growing fundraising and engagement directorate. 

Yorkshire is home to some of the UK’s most amazing wildlife and wild places but much of it is under growing pressure and facing an uncertain future. We are part of UK wide movement restoring nature, helping people take meaningful action and creating an inclusive society where nature matters. You will have an opportunity to truly make a difference in one of England’s largest regions, to inspire more people to notice, enjoy and take action for Yorkshire’s incredible wildlife and wild places.  

As a Wilder Learning Officer, you’ll help shape and deliver an inspiring programme of outdoor learning, training and engagement that connects people of all ages with nature across Sussex. You’ll coordinate and deliver high‑quality sessions to teachers and children across EYFS, Primary and Secondary phases, in-school and outdoor settings. You’ll deliver and assess our accredited Forest School and Wild Beach training programmes to adults; advise on school grounds improvement for nature; and champion the benefits of nature connection through a wide range of activities and events. Alongside hands‑on delivery, you’ll support in marking, evaluation and planning; contribute to income generation; and help ensure our schools and learning programmes are safe, inclusive and reflective of best practice. You’ll play a key role in communicating our work—engaging with teachers, families, volunteers and external partners, acting as a friendly, knowledgeable ambassador for Sussex Wildlife Trust.

This is a varied and practical role at the heart of our Wilder Learning team, empowering educators and wider school communities to connect with nature and take meaningful action for wildlife in Sussex.

A valid drivers’ licence is required for this role.

This role is subject to an Enhanced DBS with Barred List check

Rewilding Officer (Isle of Wight)

Little Duxmore Farm, Rowlands Lane, Havenstreet, Ryde

£29,190 gross per annum

Permanent, Full Time (35 Hours per Week)

We are shaping a wilder future for our counties – protecting special places, restoring habitats and inspiring people to act for nature. As part of the UK’s fastest-growing movement for nature’s recovery, we lead with passion, integrity and bold thinking. Join a team where your work has purpose, your ideas matter, and you can help create lasting change for wildlife and people. 

We are seeking an Isle of Wight Rewilding Officer to join our cause.

The Isle of Wight is an amazing place to live and work, and you will be part of a friendly team working from our new office based on our rewilding site, Wilder Little Duxmore. This post offers a great opportunity to support in managing our two rewilding sites here on the Isle of Wight as well as our chalk downland nature reserves and a small number of sanctuary reserves which will also form part of this roles remit.

What you’ll be doing

You will be working to ensure these reserves are managed to the highest environmental and ecological standards and adapting to emerging challenges, such as climate changes. These form part of our ambition to create a connected corridor of wild places for local wildlife including adonis blue butterflies, yellowhammers and hazel dormice. The variety of work will involve managing scrub and tree management with a range of tools and machinery, building and maintaining fences to ensure they are stock proof, manging livestock and working with our local dedicated volunteer teams.

About you

You will enjoy working hands on, as part of a team and be confident using machinery, with a genuine passion for protecting and restoring nature at scale. You will bring energy, commitment, and a solid, time earnt understanding of practical conservation management. You will be keen to play a vital part in the team helping us to achieve a busy and varied work programme, keeping our reserves as special places for wildlife and people.

Wild About Inclusion!

As an inclusive employer we recognise that our workforce needs to better reflect the communities in which we live and work.  We encourage applications from all sections of the community, particularly those underrepresented within our sector, including people from black, Asian, minority Ethnic backgrounds and people with disabilities. We are committed to creating a Movement that recognises and truly values individual differences and identities.

Disability Confident. We are proudly a Disability Confident Committed employer. The scheme is helping us recruit and retain great people to meet our workforce needs. As a member of the scheme, we will ensure that a fair and proportionate number of disabled applicants that meet the minimum criteria for this position will be offered an interview.

To be considered for an interview under the Disability Confident Scheme you must:

• Identify as being disabled which under the Equality Act 2010 means a physical or mental impairment which has a substantial*, long term** adverse effect on your ability to carry out normal day to day activities; or a long-term health condition; and;

 (*Substantial is more than minor or trivial **Long-term means 12 months or more)

• Set out how you meet all the minimum qualifying criteria set out in the person specification for the post at the application and testing stages. This is a requirement for all candidates, not just those applying under the scheme.

We offer a wide range of benefits including a competitive salary, generous annual leave allowance, a contributory pension scheme, life assurance, learning and development support, 24-hour access to our employee assistance programme, discounted staff travel with our corporate partners Wightlink (subject to T&Cs), free parking at our sites and more.

Closing date:  06 April 2026

Interviews:  To be confirmed

To apply for the role, please click on the 'Apply Now' button at the top of the page. In the ‘supporting information’ section, you’ll need to demonstrate, with detailed examples, how you meet the job requirements using the Job Description and Person Specification below. Please note that we may occasionally close vacancies early when we have received enough applications that meet the required criteria.

Wetland Officer (Isle of Wight)

£29,190 gross per annum

Permanent, Full Time – 35 Hours per Week

We are shaping a wilder future for our counties – protecting special places, restoring habitats and inspiring people to act for nature. As part of the UK’s fastest-growing movement for nature’s recovery, we lead with passion, integrity and bold thinking. Join a team where your work has purpose, your ideas matter, and you can help create lasting change for wildlife and people. 

We are seeking an Isle of Wight Wetland Officer to join our cause.

This is an amazing place to live and work, and you will be part of a friendly team working from our new office based on our rewilding site, Wilder Little Duxmore. This post offers a great opportunity to play a major role in the on-the-ground work needed to provide the best conditions for wildlife along the Eastern Yar wetland sites, including water voles, marsh harriers and breeding waders that call our nature reserves home.

What you’ll be doing

You will work predominantly within the Eastern Yar catchment on the Isle of Wight, working to re-naturalise the river and floodplain, deliver wetland habitat improvements, help to support the Trust’s ambition for a wild living beaver population and support the Trust in expanding and connecting the estate to make it more resilient. The variety of work will involve managing scrub with a range of tools and machinery, building and maintaining fences to ensure they are stock proof, removing non-native plants, manging livestock, and working with our local dedicated volunteer teams.

About you

You will enjoy working hands-on, as part of a team and be confident using machinery, with a genuine passion for protecting and restoring nature at scale. You will bring energy, commitment, and a solid, time earnt understanding of practical conservation management. You’ll have significant experience in the sector and with a variety of higher-level reserves management equipment.

Wild About Inclusion!

As an inclusive employer we recognise that our workforce needs to better reflect the communities in which we live and work.  We encourage applications from all sections of the community, particularly those underrepresented within our sector, including people from black, Asian, minority Ethnic backgrounds and people with disabilities. We are committed to creating a Movement that recognises and truly values individual differences and identities.

Disability Confident. We are proudly a Disability Confident Committed employer. The scheme is helping us recruit and retain great people to meet our workforce needs. As a member of the scheme, we will ensure that a fair and proportionate number of disabled applicants that meet the minimum criteria for this position will be offered an interview.

To be considered for an interview under the Disability Confident Scheme you must:

• Identify as being disabled which under the Equality Act 2010 means a physical or mental impairment which has a substantial*, long term** adverse effect on your ability to carry out normal day to day activities; or a long-term health condition; and;

 (*Substantial is more than minor or trivial **Long-term means 12 months or more)

• Set out how you meet all the minimum qualifying criteria set out in the person specification for the post at the application and testing stages. This is a requirement for all candidates, not just those applying under the scheme.
•  

We offer a wide range of benefits including a competitive salary, generous annual leave allowance, a contributory pension scheme, life assurance, learning and development support, 24-hour access to our employee assistance programme, discounted staff travel with our corporate partners Wightlink (subject to T&Cs), free parking at our sites and more.

Closing date:  06 April 2026

Interviews:  To be confirmed

To apply for the role, please click on the 'Apply Now' button at the top of the page. In the ‘supporting information’ section, you’ll need to demonstrate, with detailed examples, how you meet the job requirements using the Job Description and Person Specification below. Please note that we may occasionally close vacancies early when we have received enough applications that meet the required criteria.

You will be building great relationships with our Corporate members and involving them with the work of the trust and inspiring them to support our range of inspiring projects. You will use your networking skills at events to proactively find new corporate supporters, and retain our existing supporters by running corporate events on our nature reserves across the county. You will further develop our corporate volunteering offering, working closely with our land management team, creating great days out for our supporters’ employees that they’ll recommend to their colleagues.

You will be an active member of the Fundraising team, sharing skills and ideas at regular meetings. The role will require extensive travel throughout the county, visiting networking events and arranging relationships between corporates and our wildlife projects, such as the Rye Harbour Discovery Centre. You will have a creative and innovative approach to the role, working on new ways to secure support from businesses from across the county. You will enjoy getting involved in fundraising events that include that whole fundraising department to create new income streams for the trust.