Marine Officer (Cymru)
Salary: up to £30,000 per annum
Location: Home-based with regular travel across Wales and the UK
Full time (35 hours per week)
Fixed Term Contract to March 2027
About Us
The Wildlife Trusts are a grassroots movement of people from a wide range of backgrounds and all walks of life, who believe that we need nature and nature needs us. We have more than 944,000 members, over 38,000 volunteers, 3,600 staff and 600 trustees. There are 46 individual Wildlife Trusts, each of which is a place-based independent charity with its own legal identity, formed by groups of people getting together and working with others to make a positive difference to wildlife and future generations, starting where they live and work.
Every Wildlife Trust is part of The Wildlife Trusts federation and a corporate member of the Royal Society of Wildlife Trusts, a registered charity in its own right founded in 1912 and one of the founding members of IUCN – the International Union for the Conservation of Nature. Taken together this federation of 47 charities is known as The Wildlife Trusts.
The next few years will be critical in determining what kind of world we all live in. We need to urgently reverse the loss of wildlife and put nature into recovery at scale if we are to prevent climate and ecological disaster. We recognise that this will require big, bold changes in the way The Wildlife Trusts work, not least in how we mobilise others and support them to organise within their own communities.
About You
If you are a passionate marine conservationist looking for a role that will deliver significant benefits for nature in Welsh seas with one of the UK’s best loved nature charities, then we have an exciting opportunity for you.
We are the largest non-governmental organisation working on marine issues in the UK, and are looking for a supportive, enthusiastic and knowledgeable colleague to join our team. Despite Blue Planet and more recently the Wild Isles series, we still have a job to do, to raise the profile of the sea and all that lives within it.
We know that our marine wildlife is under increasing pressure, and we need to do more to restore it for future generations – are you the person to help us do that? We are looking for an individual to join the Wildlife Trusts Wales team to deliver positive changes in marine recovery in Wales.
You will be organised and motivated, able to take the initiative and lead the effective delivery of marine recovery policy and new developments in marine funding in Wales. You will have an understanding of issues facing marine wildlife. You will have experience of advocacy work and ideally an understanding of Welsh environmental legislation. You will need to understand how to achieve marine habitat and species restoration at scale. Associated with this, an awareness of the emerging area of blue finance and marine net benefit. You will be supported by UK colleagues and individuals within the five local Wildlife Trusts in Wales.
The Wildlife Trusts value passion, respect, trust, integrity, pragmatic activism and strength in diversity. Whilst we are passionate in promoting our aims, we are not judgmental and are inclusive. 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.
RSWT take our Safeguarding responsibilities extremely seriously. Please click here to read our commitment statement. The Royal Society of Wildlife Trusts is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and adults at risk. For applicable roles, applicants must be willing to undergo checks with past employers and Disclosure and Barring Service checks at the eligible level.
As a Disability Confident employer, we are committed to offering an interview to anyone with a disability that meets all the essential criteria for the post. Please let us know if you require any adjustments to make our recruitment process more accessible.
RSWT are committed to increasing the diversity of its staff through its Levelling the Field recruitment pledge and will put any ethnic minority applicants that meet all the essential criteria for the post through to the next stage of recruitmen.
At RSWT, 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.
About the opportunity
As a Financial Accountant within our Finance & Assurance directorate, you'll be part of a team that's transforming how we deliver financial partnership across the organisation. We're on an ambitious journey to become the Society's single point of financial truth. We aim to be trusted partners and credible experts who enable the organisation to make faster, better-informed decisions.
This is a highly technical, hands-on role where VAT expertise is your primary focus. You'll prepare and review accurate VAT returns, manage partial exemption calculations, and ensure we optimise our VAT position while maintaining full compliance. Beyond VAT, you'll oversee Corporation Tax, Gift Aid claims, and other statutory tax obligations, acting as the go-to technical expert who ensures we meet every requirement on time and in full.
Your deep knowledge of tax regulations, combined with your ability to explain complex matters clearly, will help colleagues across the Society understand their tax obligations and make tax-efficient decisions. Working in partnership with colleagues across Finance and the wider organisation, you'll build relationships with HMRC and other regulatory bodies and proactively identify opportunities to strengthen our tax processes and optimise our position within the rules.
About you:
You're a qualified accountant with expertise in VAT compliance, particularly partial exemption, and broader knowledge of Corporation Tax, Gift Aid, and other statutory obligations. You understand that effective tax work optimises our position within regulations while helping colleagues make informed, tax-efficient decisions. You're comfortable managing complex VAT scenarios and thrive in a hands-on role where technical precision matters.
You'll have:
- A CCAB qualification achieved through education, or demonstrable equivalent knowledge and experience that evidences your understanding of the role's requirements.
- Proven experience preparing VAT returns and managing partial exemption calculations, with confidence navigating complex VAT scenarios.
- Strong working knowledge of UK tax regulations including VAT, Gift Aid, Corporation Tax, and other relevant statutory obligations.
- Experience working with HMRC and managing tax enquiries, demonstrating credibility and professionalism in regulatory relationships.
- Demonstrated experience as a Financial Accountant in a large or complex organisation.
- The ability to work effectively across departments and at all levels of the organisation. Translating complex tax matters into practical guidance that helps colleagues make informed decisions.
- Experience with cloud-based ERP systems (we use Unit4).
- A commitment to continuous improvement, bringing best practice and proactive thinking to tax compliance delivery.
What you'll focus on:
- Overseeing VAT compliance - preparing and reviewing accurate VAT returns, managing partial exemption calculations, and ensuring we optimise our VAT position while maintaining full compliance.
- Overseeing Corporation Tax and Gift Aid compliance as well as other statutory tax obligations, proactively support the wider Society to optimise our tax position.
- Building and maintaining strong relationships with HMRC, managing enquiries or audits with professionalism.
- Providing clear tax guidance across the Society, helping colleagues understand tax implications and empowering them to make tax-efficient decisions within regulations.
- Working seamlessly with colleagues across the Finance team to provide integrated, end-to-end financial partnership across the Society.
- Driving continuous improvement in tax compliance quality and efficiency, while role-modelling our values and fostering a culture of learning and accountability.
Can you see yourself as the tax expert who ensures Alzheimer's Society optimises every opportunity within regulations while maintaining full compliance? Are you ready to make tax something colleagues engage with confidently rather than avoid? Can you bring both technical precision and clear guidance to ensure our tax position protects our resources and enables our mission to end the devastation of dementia?
Important Dates
Deadline for applications: Wednesday 7th January
Invites sent by: Monday 12th January
There will be two interview stages taking place virtually, starting from week commencing 12th January
About Alzheimer's Society
Dementia is the UK’s biggest killer. One in three people born in the UK today will develop dementia in their lifetime.
At Alzheimer’s Society, we’re the UK’s leading dementia charity and the only one to tackle all aspects of dementia by giving help and hope to people living with dementia today and in the future. We give vital support to people facing the most frightening times of their lives, while also funding ground-breaking research and campaigning to make dementia the priority it should be.
Together with our supporters, we’re working towards a world where dementia no longer devastates lives.
Our values make sure that our focus is clear for the challenges and opportunities ahead and remind us of what we all stand for.
Our commitment to Equity, Diversity, Inclusion & Belonging
We need to ensure the voices around our table better reflect and understand the communities we exist to serve. We strongly encourage individuals to apply who have a disability, impairment or health condition or individuals who identify as Black, Asian or from another minority ethnic background, as these groups are currently under-represented at Alzheimer's Society.
We want everyone we work with, as a colleague, volunteer, supporter, or someone we support, to feel included and that they belong at Alzheimer's Society.
Our Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Strategy here along with our internal employee forum and Employee Lived Experience network groups help us promote inclusion and belonging, becoming an engaged and inclusive organisation for all our people.
Our hiring process
During your recruitment process we want to make sure that you bring your whole self and can be at your best. We are working hard to ensure our recruitment process is as inclusive as possible, so please do inform us of your experience and anything you think we could do better by completing our candidate survey when you apply. Please also contact Alzheimer’s Society Talent Acquisition Team via [email protected] for application support or any adjustments you might need.
To ensure fairness and consistency to select the best candidate for this role, all our applications are anonymised up until an interview has been confirmed. We recognise the benefits of AI, but if you're considering using it to submit your application, we encourage you to reflect on the value it truly adds. AI tools often lack the personal touch and authenticity that set candidates apart. We want to hear your unique perspective, experiences, and skills, so we encourage you to showcase them in your own voice.
We try to avoid closing roles early where possible, however if we receive a high volume of applications, we may close earlier than the advertised closing date. Should this occur, we will aim to provide you with at least 48 hours' notice.
We are committed to safer recruitment and ensuring the welfare of those we work with, due to the nature of some of our roles, we might need to carry out a DBS check at the relevant level.
Giving back to you
Our employees work hard every day to make a true difference in people's lives. We are proud to support them with a range of benefits, recognition and many options for working agilely, all contributing to a strong work life balance. We also have various learning programmes to support you in your development and help you grow to realise your potential and shape a career with Alzheimer's Society.
You can also visit our Working for Us pages, which give you more information about what it’s like to be an employee at the Society.