About Us
The City of London Corporation manages 11,000 acres of land in and around London, welcoming millions of visitors annually. The North London Open Spaces (NLOS) section oversees c. 1,000 acres of that portfolio and includes some of the UK's most iconic urban greenspaces, including:
- Hampstead Heath (including Golders Hill Park, Parliament Hill Fields, and Heath Extension)
- Highgate Wood
- Queen’s Park
- West Ham Park
These beloved green spaces boast spectacular landscapes and vistas, ancient woodland, diverse wildlife, world class sporting and athletics facilities, and heritage assets. We work closely with local communities and stakeholders to preserve and enhance these natural assets, helping to make London one of the most liveable large cities in the world.
About the Role
This is a rare opportunity to take a senior leadership role at North London Open Spaces, and directly contribute to and make a meaningful impact in the conservation and protection of these cherished green spaces.
As a member of the senior management team, the successful candidate will serve as the primary subject matter expert at NLOS for nature conservation, conceiving and leading on initiatives, advising colleagues, and working collaboratively both internally and externally. They will have responsibility for overseeing the day-to-day management of most of Hampstead Heath and all of Highgate Wood, and will also oversee a number of services that function across and support the four open spaces (eg, arboriculture and tree management, waste and recycling, conservation, and ecology).
For the better performance of their duties, the Head of Conservation will be required to reside in accommodation that is provided on site and will be scheduled onto an on-call and duty manager rota with other colleagues.
Key Responsibilities
- Serve as the primary subject matter expert for nature conservation at Hampstead Heath, Highgate Wood, Queen’s Park, and West Ham Park
- Oversee the day-to-day management of Highgate Wood and most of Hampstead Heath
- Oversee arboriculture / tree management, waste management, conservation, habitat creation/restoration and management, wildlife management, water body management, and climate change adaptation across North London Open Spaces
- Lead and motivate a team of 25-30 multi-skilled professionals committed to the conservation of these four sites
- Ensure compliance with all applicable legislation, including environmental protection, climate change, nature recovery, wildlife protection, flood risk management, and health and safety.
About You
We are looking for a high-energy and innovative leader with a strong background in nature conservation, open space management, and team leadership.
The successful candidate will bring:
- Demonstrable experience in managing complex public open spaces.
- Comprehensive experience developing and delivering biodiversity and land management programmes and projects in a range of habitats, ideally within an urban setting.
- Significant experience managing complex conservation work and projects across varied landscapes
- Significant knowledge of biodiversity and wildlife management, including land and water management.
- Strong experience managing a diverse team of professionals in an operational environment.
- Experience of implementing legislation and policy relevant to biodiversity conservation, planning guidance, and site designation for wildlife conservation and species status designations.
- A highly creative, entrepreneurial and ‘can do’ approach to problem solving, with the ability to remain resilient in the face of challenges.
- Strong quantitative skills and comfort interrogating and analysing data and budgets.
Why Join Us?
- Opportunity to join a prestigious organisation that protects some of London’s most treasured landscapes.
- Lead through a high-impact role with the opportunity to shape the future of these iconic spaces.
- Work within a supportive and collaborative team that is committed to conservation and community engagement.
- Work across multiple iconic sites.
- Competitive salary and benefits package.
How to Apply
If you are excited about the opportunity to play a pivotal role in preserving and enhancing London’s most cherished green spaces, we’d love to hear from you.
Provisional Interview dates: W/C 6th October & 13th October 2025
Closing date: 12 Noon on Monday 22nd September 2025
To apply please click the Apply button.
The City of London Corporation is committed to Equal Opportunities and welcomes applications from all sections of the community.
We reserve the right to close the advert earlier should we receive a high number of applications.
Because our roles are so varied, we don’t have a ‘one size fits all’ policy for workplace attendance. How many days a week you’ll be required to attend your workplace will depend on the requirements of your role. It’s important that you understand the requirements before applying to ensure you are able to meet them. We are committed to considering requests to work flexibly and job share. Requests will be considered by the recruiting manager in line with our policies and business needs.
For more information on our categories for workplace attendance, please view our guide.
We will be reviewing this policy and approach at regular intervals to ensure we’re meeting our attendance needs.
Thank you!
We’re looking for a proactive individual who is passionate about volunteering to join our team. Our Volunteer Coordinators are responsible for co-ordinating volunteer recruitments, providing volunteer management advice and guidance to staff who work with volunteers, and establishing positive relationships with volunteers to ensure they have a fulfilling volunteer experience at Battersea.
As well as administration and support, this role also has the opportunity to work on projects to improve our volunteer programme at Battersea.
This role will work directly with cattery volunteers at Battersea London. We work on a hybrid working rota of 3 days in the office, and 2 days from home per week. There may be the need to work on a weekend day on occasion.
What we can offer you:
In return for your commitment to our cause and to recognise the value of our employees, Battersea offers a range of benefits to support the wellbeing of our employees. These include:
- 28 days of annual leave (plus 8 days paid public holidays) per year
- Discounted gym memberships and cycle to work schemes
- Employee Assistance Programme and access to Wellbeing Resources
- Generous pension contributions - up to 10% employer contribution
- Free healthcare cash plan, where you can claim for a range of treatment including dental, optical, physiotherapy, chiropody and acupuncture every year
- Annual interest-free season ticket loans
We are also committed to providing learning and development to our employees. During your time with us, we provide support for your professional and career development, including access to digital and in-person training programmes, leadership and management training, mentoring and much more.
Our hybrid working model:
We operate an onsite hybrid working model, with our office-based staff splitting their time between site based and home working. This enables our office-based staff to balance the benefits of home working with onsite collaboration and maintaining a connection to our cause. As our Volunteer Coordinators support our onsite volunteers, the expectation in this role is to spend 3 days of every week onsite.
Diversity and inclusion:
We are committed to providing a welcoming and inclusive experience for all staff, volunteers and trustees and those hoping to join us. We operate an anonymised shortlisting process and actively seek to ensure our process is fair and equitable for all.
We understand the value of diverse voices, perspectives, and experiences to help us deliver even more for our dogs and cats, and we welcome applicants from all sections of the community.
As a Disability Confident Committed Employer we will ask about any adjustments you may need at application and/or interview stage, and if you are offered a role with us, we’ll talk to you about any workplace adjustments you may need to help you perform at your best.
More about us:
At Battersea, we aim to never turn away a dog or cat in need of help. We give each one lots of love, expert care and get to know their characters and quirks so we can find them a new home that’s just right for them. Join us and help us be here for every dog and cat, wherever they are, for as long as they need us.
Acceptable use of AI:
At Battersea, we value expertise. We recognise each candidate that applies to us will have a range of expertise they can offer us, so we want to hear about this in your own words. We understand the support that generative artificial intelligence (AI) software can offer but it can also lead to numerous applications presenting as generic and impersonal. This makes it difficult to gain understanding of your unique experience.
To best showcase yourself, we encourage you to write your responses without the assistance of AI. If you require the use of AI software to aid in completing your application, we ask you use the generative responses as a prompt for writing your answers and avoid copying and pasting. You must also ensure the information presented in your application accurately reflects your experience.
Closing date: 14th September 2025
Interview date(s): 22nd/23rd September 2025
For full details on the role, please download the recruitment pack. All applications must be submitted before the closing date advertised. We reserve the right to close the vacancy early if a high volume of applications is received.
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Battersea is here for every dog and cat, and has been since 1860. We believe that every dog and cat deserves the best.
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