Wildlife conservation jobs

Senior Education Officer

Are you passionate about environmental issues, in particular nature restoration, climate resilience and biodiversity?

Do you have experience working with young audiences, preferably within a wildlife or conservation setting? Do you have a good grasp of ecology and be willing to travel around the country to support learning education opportunities as well as being confident running sessions or delivering train-the-trainer sessions online?

We are looking for a Senior Education Officer, with the skill set to inspire people to connect with nature, support teachers, deliver talks, presentations and education sessions, while developing further opportunities within the team for learning through the subject of beavers.

Position: Senior Education Officer

Location: Remote (his role requires frequent travel and overnight stays)

Hours: Full time (37.5 hours per week)

Contract: Fixed (2 years)

Salary: £32,827 pa

Benefits Include:  25 days holiday, plus Christmas day through to New Year’s Day paid, plus 6 days of floating holidays, pro-rata. Flexible approach to hours of work. Pension contribution of 3% of your total pay each month. One-off contributions toward the cost of an ergonomic office chair and toward purchases of essential devices (laptop, mouse and smartphone), monthly home working allowance, plus an annual contribution toward the maintenance and/or replacement of the essential devices.

Closing Date: 5pm on Tuesday 20th May We reserve the right to interview candidates and close the ad ahead of the closing date, should a strong candidate be identified.

About the Role

We are looking to hire a skilled and engaging Senior Education Officer to join a busy team, to further develop and implement an educational outreach programme which reaches children in Wales, Scotland and England. At present, this post has funding for three years from the National Lottery Heritage Fund, one year of which is now complete and we are looking to deliver the second two years of the project.

The purpose of the role is to extend the passion and knowledge of beavers into communities around Britain, to engage and enthuse young people and to reconnect (or reinforce) their love of nature. Using current materials and resources you will do so by delivering high-quality learning sessions within schools, community groups or virtual training sessions, sometimes delivered in conjunction with our beaver site partners and their education teams.

You will also be responsible for developing further aspects of the programme according to the requirements for each country and in partnership with relevant organisations

Key responsibilities include:

• Deliver a range of exciting, curriculum-linked workshops, talks, school and group sessions associated with beaver release sites.
• Network and build contacts and relationships with key personnel in schools, youth groups and community groups in order to create engagement with the education programme and expand its reach.
• Develop further resources and engaging activities or projects for group learning.
• Deliver standard level beaver ecology training to a range of age groups.
• Ensure the education programmes are up-to-date, accurate and complement the wider delivery of our mission.
• Monitor, collate and report on impact, working with the communications team to support the effective evaluation of our programme.
• Support volunteers and build capacity working with partner staff in the delivery of beaver education programmes.
• Work with the team to allocate resources ensuring education initiatives are well planned, deliver maximum value for money and remain within budget.
• Consider equality, diversity and inclusion in the approach to all education initiatives, supported with external expertise.
• Follow policies, standard operating procedures and safe working practices to ensure our work with visiting education groups complies with all relevant guidelines and legislation, including health and safety, safeguarding, copyright and GDPR.

About You

You will have the skill set to inspire people to connect with nature, support teachers, deliver talks, presentations and education sessions, while developing further opportunities within our team for learning through the subject of beavers. The successful candidate will have experience working with young audiences, preferably within a wildlife or conservation setting. You will have a good grasp of ecology and be willing to travel around the country to support learning education opportunities as well as being confident running sessions or delivering train-the-trainer sessions online.

Essential:

• A degree in a zoology, biology or conservation-related field, or a teaching/education qualification or equivalent experience in teaching across a wide range of ages and abilities, using different delivery methods including virtual delivery.
• The ability to communicate complex concepts in an innovative and engaging way to a wide (and/or young) audience.
• Good organisation skills including time management, administration, workload planning and meeting deadlines.
• A strong interest in nature, conservation and restoration and an understanding of the role beavers can play in our landscapes’ recovery.
• Working knowledge of safeguarding legislation and policies and procedures.
• Be prepared to undergo an Enhanced DBS with barred list.
• Experience in confidently using IT packages for teaching delivery, including the use of tablets, presentation software and audiovisual.

You will need to have a full valid UK driving licence and the right to work in the UK.

About the Organisation

Join a nature restoration charity, restoring beavers to regenerate our landscapes. Beavers were once a common and influential part of the British countryside, and as such, the team wants to reconnect people to this part of our heritage. As we continue to reintroduce beavers and support their expansion across Britain, it has never been more important to help people learn to coexist with this dynamic and impactful species.

The charity strives to be diverse and inclusive and a place where we can all be ourselves and we positively welcome applications from people from a wide range of backgrounds and experiences. We are committed to equality of opportunity for all staff and encourage applications from individuals regardless of their religion, beliefs, age, gender, race, disability or sexual orientation.

You may also have experience in areas such as Education, School, Programme, Campaign, Advocacy, Education Officer, School Officer, Programme Officer, Campaign Officer, Advocacy Officer, Conservation Officer, Nature, Trainer, Teacher, Coach, Mentor, Programme Manager. #INDNFP

PLEASE NOTE: This role is being advertised by NFP People on behalf of the organisation.

Fundraising Development Executive

Salary: £26,500.00 Per Annum, Plus Desirable Benefits

Full-Time, Permanent Position

Based at Port Lympne Hotel & Reserve

The Fundraising Development Executive is an important part of The Aspinall Foundation’s small fundraising team. The Fundraising Development Executive will drive donor engagement through strategic management of adoptions and lottery programmes, enhancing acquisition, retention and income.

The role involves crafting compelling communications, leading social media planning, and delivering excellent supporter stewardship. Collaborating with internal teams and external partners, they ensure accurate reporting, manage merchandise, and support compliance with fundraising regulations. This varied role combines creativity, data-driven insight and strong relationship-building to support The Aspinall Foundation’s mission and grow sustainable income streams.

A full job description is available on request.

Who we are looking for:

We are seeking a candidate who has a proven track record and passion for delivering exceptional customer support. The successful candidate will possess excellent IT skills, including proficiency in MS Office applications (Word, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint), and have prior experience using CRM databases. A broad education, combined with outstanding communication skills and meticulous attention to detail, is essential.

The candidate must be adaptable, able to respond to changing demands, and collaborate effectively within a busy team environment. While knowledge of GDPR and previous experience in the charity sector are preferred, they are not mandatory. Above all, the candidate should be dedicated to providing an exceptional experience to our supporters, ensuring they feel valued and appreciated.

A warm, engaging personality, a team-player attitude, and a genuine passion for animal conservation and rewilding are key. If you have a personal connection to our cause and a desire to make a real difference, we’d love to hear from you!

Contract details:

This is a full-time, permanent position, working 40 hours per week, Monday – Friday, 9-5pm. This role is based at Port Lympne Hotel & Reserve near Folkestone and Ashford. All applicants must have the right to work in the UK. A reliable mode of transport is recommended due to our remote location

About The Aspinall Foundation:

The Aspinall Foundation’s mission is to prevent the extinction of endangered animals.  Our overseas project teams work with communities and Governments in Gabon, Congo, Madagascar, South Africa and Java to develop a balanced and sustainable future with wildlife and people living harmoniously side by side.  By working in partnership with our two wild animal parks in Kent we have rewilded hundreds of captive-born endangered animals back to their natural habitat to support and restore native wild populations.

Why you should join us:

As well as walking to work surrounded by the calls of Howler monkeys and the roars from our pride of Lions, you will also join a supportive team who are passionate about their place of work.

You can also expect a host of other benefits including:

• 28 days annual leave inclusive of bank holidays, rising with length of service. (Pro-rated to start date)
• Comprehensive training and development opportunities, including workshops and e-learning
• Unlimited free entry for you and a person of your choice into both of our parks as well as friends and family tickets.
• Exceptional discounts on food, retail and accommodation at our parks.
• Numerous retail discounts and access to a 24-hour counselling line through our Healthy Extras Scheme.
• Company Pension.

Please note, this role may close early if we receive a high volume of applications.

Volunteering Development Officer - Local Groups
Reference: APR20257427
Location: Flexible in UK
Salary: £27,123.00 - £28,956.00, Per Annum Pro Rata
Hours: Part-Time, 22.5 hours per week
Contract: Permanent
Benefits: Pension Scheme, Life Assurance Scheme, 26 days' Annual Leave (pro rata)

The RSPB strategy to 2030 is all about saving nature through people. Our aim is that our volunteers and Local Groups are embedded in this strategy and continue to deliver impactful work to save nature. To do this, we want to build on our existing relationships and ways of working and harness their enthusiasm, working as one team for nature.

This role would continue the smooth transition from the Saving Nature through Local Groups project into core delivery, taking responsibility of the Vision and Local Group action plan.

What's the role about?

The successful candidate will raise the profile of our groups externally as well as empower and support staff to build productive and collaborative working relationships with the groups.

You will develop resources and guides that will help groups run efficiently, improve their activity programmes and grow their membership. Working closely with country teams you will deliver workshops, training and support to Local Groups as appropriate.

You will raise awareness and understanding of volunteering, championing it to ensure that it is valued and seen as a positive way of meeting business needs.

You will also deliver a recognised and respected source of leadership, support and transformational advice to the UKHQ team seeking to develop new volunteering initiatives.

This role would have an individual specialism but with the ability to be flexible to cover the priorities required across the department and the UK wide needs, ensuring that they identify and own the ‘once for all volunteering work’, i.e. the information, processes, procedures and projects that affect volunteering across the whole organisation, and support this through funding, project development, training and resources.

Essential skills, knowledge and experience:

• Understanding and knowledge of volunteering innovation, best practice and sector standards.
• Demonstrable track record of having successfully and effectively developed a range of volunteering roles and schemes across an organisation.
• Experience of providing operational advice and guidance on volunteer involvement to people at all levels.
• Building effective stakeholder relationships with a focus on community groups.
• Excellent planning and organisational skills; ability to manage and deliver a portfolio of work and balance the priorities and needs of multiple stakeholders.
• Ability to be proactive, use initiative and work independently.
• Strong skills in identifying and analysing problems, issues and areas of improvement, working collaboratively to develop creative strategies and solutions.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, successfully influencing, persuading, guiding, listening to, and negotiating with others, constructively challenging thinking.
• Experience of working in a customer-focused environment.

Desirable skills, knowledge and experience:

• Qualification in volunteer management.
• Good training, facilitation and coaching skills; ability to enthuse and inspire and increase others’ confidence.
• Experience of working in an HR/Customer database.

Closing date: 23:59, Wednesday 21st May 2025
We are looking to conduct interviews for this position from 4th June 2025.

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.

We are committed to developing an inclusive and diverse RSPB, in which everyone feels supported, valued, and able to be their full selves. To achieve our vision of creating a world richer in nature, we need more people, and more diverse people, on nature’s side. People of colour and disabled people are currently underrepresented across the environment, climate, sustainability, and conservation sector. If you identify as a person of colour and/or disabled, we are particularly interested in receiving your application. Contact us to discuss any additional support you may need to complete your application.

The RSPB is an equal opportunities employer. This role is covered by the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974.

This role is not eligible for UK Visa Sponsorship - the successful applicant will need to have a pre-existing Right to Work in the UK in order to be offered an employment contract.

As part of this application process you will be asked to complete an application form including evidence on how you meet the skills, knowledge, and experience listed above. Contact us to discuss any additional support you may need to complete your application.

No agencies please.

Site Manager - Newport Wetlands
Reference: APR20255795
Location: RSPB Newport Wetlands, NP18
Salary: £39,205.00 - £41,856.00 Per Annum
Contract: Permanent
Hours: Full-Time, 37.5 hours per week
Benefits: Pension scheme (7%), Life Assurance scheme, 26 days' annual leave (plus bank holidays)

Are you a dynamic leader with the energy and experience to shape the future of one of the RSPB’s most important visitor sites?

We’re looking for an inspiring and inclusive leader with experience in visitor operations and land management to oversee the visitor facilities at RSPB Newport Wetlands on the Gwent Levels.

As Site Manager, you’ll be responsible for delivering site objectives alongside a high-quality visitor experience. With over 70,000 visitors a year and a thriving membership recruitment operation, Newport Wetlands is a key site for connecting people with nature. You’ll lead and inspire a highly committed team of staff and volunteers to deliver excellence, therefore line management and leadership experience are essential for this role.

You will also work alongside a variety of colleagues from across the RSPB in a matrix structure, including (but not limited to) consultants within the Visitor Operations Team, health and safety, rural surveyors, ecology, fundraising, project management, communications and policy.

Newport Wetlands is a gateway site within the Living Levels landscape partnership, which is a strong and aligned partnership that is driving a range of ambitious initiatives across the Levels.

The successful candidate will be a capable manager who works well with a wide range of people and can collaborate effectively with partners at all levels. Your strong programme and people management skills will help the team achieve the best possible outcomes against our priorities.

You’ll lead work programmes and projects, so enthusiasm, initiative, and diplomacy are key. You’ll need to communicate your passion for nature to others and have a hands-on approach to solving practical challenges.

You’ll need experience of managing income and expenditure budgets and have a commercially minded approach to ensure that we deliver a great visitor experience and generate a profit. You’ll also need to be a good, clear communicator and have an eye for detail, be able to manage systems and processes to ensure that they are all legally, financially and organisationally compliant.

As Site Manager you will:

• Manage day to day operations for people, visitors, finance and legal compliance, habitats and species
• Inspire, lead and develop the dedicated team of staff and volunteers
• Be responsible for the review, update and implementation of the site business plan
• Act as the main point of contact for the local community, neighbours, and partner organisations in order maintain good relationships
• Enjoy the support of a very experienced local team, area manager, visitor operations consultants, ecologists, rural surveyor, safety advisor and other specialist RSPB staff.

Essential Skills, Knowledge and Experience:

• Visitor operation management experience
• Line Management experience (staff and/or volunteers)
• Experience of working within a multi-functional team
• Excellent Interpersonal and communication skills
• Leadership skills
• Knowledge of the ecological requirements of key species and habitats
• Land management experience
• Health, Safety, Environmental and Land management compliance experience
• Experience of managing contractors
• Effective project and budget management skills
• Practical Problem-solving skills
• Time management, organisational and prioritisation skills
• Influencing and negotiation skills
• IT, database and GIS skills

Desirable qualifications, knowledge, skills and experience:

• Degree level qualification in a relevant subject
• Reedbed/wetland management experience

Closing date: 23:59, Monday, 26th May 2025
We are looking to conduct interviews for this position on 5th June 2025.

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.

We are committed to developing an inclusive and diverse RSPB, in which everyone feels supported, valued, and able to be their full selves. To achieve our vision of creating a world richer in nature, we need more people, and more diverse people, on nature’s side. People of colour and disabled people are currently underrepresented across the environment, climate, sustainability, and conservation sector. If you identify as a person of colour and/or disabled, we are particularly interested in receiving your application.

The RSPB is an equal opportunities employer. This role is covered by the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974.

This role is not eligible for UK Visa Sponsorship - the successful applicant will need to have a pre-existing Right to Work in the UK in order to be offered an employment contract.

As part of this application process you will be asked complete an application form including evidence on how you meet the skills, knowledge, and experience listed above. Contact us to discuss any additional support you may need to complete your application.

No agencies please.

Charity Co-ordinator (Part-Time)
CPRE Avon and Bristol
0.4 FTE | Fixed-term for 1 year | Flexible working supported | Freelance or PAYE | Based in Bristol (Engine Shed) with flexible working

Are you passionate about nature, sustainability, and inclusion?
Join CPRE Avon and Bristol – part of the national network championing a thriving countryside for everyone – as our new Charity Co-ordinator.

You'll play a pivotal role in ensuring the smooth running of our charity, coordinating projects like Hedgerow Heroes, supporting volunteers, and helping us grow our impact. Reporting directly to the Chair and Trustees, you'll manage core operations, financial administration, and communications, with plenty of variety and opportunities to shape how we work.

Your key responsibilities will include:

• Coordinating charity operations and supporting project delivery

• Managing communications with members, volunteers, and stakeholders

• Assisting with governance, HR policy development, and a forthcoming Governance Review

• Providing line management for project staff

• Supporting our diversity and inclusion goals across all areas of work

• Helping to prepare project budgets and financial reporting with the Treasurer

We're looking for someone who:

• Is a confident and collaborative communicator

• Is highly organised and able to manage multiple priorities independently

• Believes in creating a sustainable countryside for all

• Has line management or volunteer management experience and an understanding of charity operations

• Is comfortable working flexibly and remotely, with occasional travel across the region

Desirable:
Experience or willingness to learn about charity fundraising and the planning system would be an asset.

We want to recieve applications from individuals under-represented in the land and nature sectors - this includes visibly minority ethnic groups as well as Disabled people. 

Salary: £26,000-£28,000, dependent on experience
Application Deadline: Friday 23rd May 2025 (Midnight)
Interviews: Week commencing 2nd June 2025 (online or in Bristol)

How to Apply:
Please submit your CV and a covering letter outlining your motivation and relevant experience. Applications without a covering letter will not be considered.

Environmental Education Programme Manager
Salary: £34,405 per annum
Contract: Fixed Term, until 31st August 2027
Hours: Full-Time, 37.5 hours per week (Mon – Fri)
Location: Flexible / Roving - The successful candidate will be required to travel to our seven Wetland Centres across the UK, we can offer flexibility around working from home if required.

About The Role

Are you passionate about connecting young people with nature? Do you believe nature is for everyone? Do you genuinely want to make a difference?

We have a fantastic opportunity for someone with the drive, skills and experience to lead Generation Wild, our nature connection programme for primary schools, children and families in disadvantaged areas. This ground-breaking project uses story, music, art, performance and puppetry to create a sense of magic and adventure, engaging a wide range of children irrespective of their background or ability.

You will join us at an exciting time as we are looking to develop our youth engagement work, building on the success of the Blue Influencers youth social action programme. You will support the ongoing delivery of this programme whilst having the chance to shape our youth engagement work going forward.

Join us as we inspire a new generation of nature lovers.

The Generation Wild programme is fully-funded until August 2027. An important part of this role will involve working with a Knowledge Transfer Partner to transfer and embed knowledge from the Psychology and Business Schools at Cardiff University, helping us to demonstrate the impact of the programme and develop new funding and delivery models to enable it to continue beyond August 2027.

For this role, we can offer flexibility around working from home if required. It is expected the role will need to work from their site base a few times a month and as required for key meetings. The successful candidate will be required to travel to the seven wetland centres across the UK where Generation Wild is delivered.

About You

We're looking for someone with a passion for opening up opportunities for all young people to benefit from connecting with nature, irrespective of their background or ability.

Ideally you'll have experience of:

• nature-based learning with young people alongside experience of managing large-scale projects.
• working with disadvantaged groups and young people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities would be an advantage.

This is a management role and as such does not involve direct delivery to young people. However, you will need to be able to support others in doing so and an understanding of the pressures facing schools and their teachers would also be an advantage.

When visiting our website, you will notice the position is referred to as Generation Wild Project Manager. This is how the role is known internally within WWT.

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?

Additional Information:

• This will involve stays away from home.
• This is a full time, fixed term contact until 31st August 2027, working Monday to Friday, 37.5 hours per week.
• Appointment to this position is subject to the successful candidate receiving an enhanced disclosure and barred list check (child).

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 Care first

Closing Date: Monday 19 May 2025

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.

Registered Charity Number England & Wales, no 1030884 and Scotland, no SC039410.

No agencies please.

Face-To-Face Membership Area Manager - Essex and North London
Reference: APR20256737
Location: Flexible in East and South East England - covering Essex and North London
Salary: £30,075.00 - £32,108.00 Per Annum
Hours: Full-time, 37.5 hours per week
Benefits: Pension Scheme, Life Assurance Scheme, 26 days' Annual Leave

About the Role

As a Face-to-Face Fundraising Area Manager, you'll lead and inspire a team of membership fundraisers based primarily in Essex and North London, with coverage across this vibrant area. Your leadership will play a crucial role in meeting ambitious fundraising targets while upholding the highest standards in ethical fundraising.

Please note that, given the travel associated with the role, applicants will require a valid drivers licence and be well-placed to reach all of this area.

This is a hands-on role-supporting, coaching, and motivating your team while also fundraising alongside them to lead by example.

Key Responsibilities

• Leadership & Coaching: Recruit, train, and develop a high-performing team of Fundraisers. Foster a positive team culture and lead by example to achieve fundraising targets.
• Performance Management: Monitor KPIs including membership volumes, average donation amounts, Gift Aid uptake, and attrition rates. Conduct regular reviews and provide coaching to continuously improve performance.
• Operational Oversight: Manage the daily logistics of your team, ensuring compliance with fundraising regulations and alignment with RSPB values.
• Travel & Flexibility: Regular travel across the East and South East (and occasionally wider regions) is required. A full UK driving licence is essential. Weekend work will be expected as part of the role.

What We’re Looking For:

• Proven experience in face-to-face fundraising and managing high-performing teams
• Strong leadership skills with the ability to inspire and develop team members
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills
• Knowledge of ethical fundraising practices and relevant codes
• Ability to plan, organise, and think strategically
• Comfortable giving and receiving feedback
• Experience with leadership frameworks such as SMART objectives, root cause analysis, and Situational Leadership
• Familiarity with the RSPB’s mission and values is highly desirable

Benefits:

• Vehicle: Company van provided for work travel and expenses paid for - Van for work purposes only.
• Leave: 26 days annual leave plus bank holidays, plus one extra paid volunteering day per year
• Flexible Working: Hours tailored to suit individual circumstances
• Wellbeing Support: Free 24-hour employee assistance programme for staff and close family
• Discounts: 20% off in RSPB shops and online store, plus holiday booking discounts
• Pension: RSPB matches contributions up to 7%
• Green Benefits: Cycle to Work scheme and green loans

Additional Information

• This is a full-time for working 37.5 hours per week.
• Weekend work will be expected as part of the role.

Inclusion and Diversity

We are committed to ensuring our workforce reflects the communities we serve. People of colour and disabled people are currently underrepresented in our sector, and we particularly encourage applications from these groups. Please contact us if you require any additional support during the application process.

Closing date: 11:21, Friday 30th May 2025
We will be looking to conduct interviews from early June.
Please note: We reserve the right to close this advert at any time once sufficient applications have been received.

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.

This role will require completion of a DBS in addition to the standard pre-employment checks.

The RSPB is an equal opportunities employer. This role is covered by the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974.

This role is not eligible for UK Visa Sponsorship - the successful applicant will need to have a pre-existing Right to Work in the UK in order to be offered an employment contract.

No agencies please.