Youth development officer jobs

The Woodland Trust is looking for a Contracts Manager (Conservation) for our Mourne Park estate.They will undertake the successful delivery of The National Lottery Heritage Fund project, Mourne Park - 500 years of undiscovered natural heritage, to target and budget.

The Role:
• Plan, tender, procure and supervise estate contracts to high professional standards, ensuring full FSC and Health & Safety compliance.
• Deliver practical conservation work, including woodland creation, ancient woodland restoration, species recovery and heritage management.
• Carry out ecological monitoring and habitat assessments, using evidence from surveys and population checks to inform management decisions.
• Manage and supervise contractors to ensure methods, timing and standards support ecological objectives and minimise environmental impact.
• Secure and adhere to all required environmental consents, such as felling licences, protected species permissions and planning approvals.
• Work collaboratively with landowners, partners, agencies and local communities to promote good practice and support habitat restoration.
• Maintain accurate conservation records, monitoring data, reports and financial information to meet Trust and Heritage Fund requirements.
• Represent the Woodland Trust through events, engagement and communications, supporting advocacy, volunteer coordination, wider project delivery, and assisting the Community Development Officer in work with children, young people and vulnerable adults across community and educational settings.
• This is a fixed term contract until December 2029. 

The Candidate:
• Extensive experience delivering complex, multi disciplinary projects, ensuring effective planning, monitoring and delivery to time and budget.
• Strong background in forestry or conservation land management, including volunteer and community engagement.
• Proven ability to work with, develop and manage relationships with landowners and land owning partners.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills, with confident use of IT systems.
• Experience in public facing communications such as consultations, media work, lobbying and event management.
• Knowledge of native woodland creation techniques, woodland design for conservation and economic outcomes, and management of woodland creation sites.
• Commercially aware, innovative and collaborative, with the ability to deliver value for money, act with initiative and meet deadlines professionally.
• Preferably hold a relevant HND/degree in land, countryside, environmental or forestry management (or related field), along with a full UK driving licence.
• The successful candidate will be required to undertake a Enhanced Background Check, as part of our pre-employment screening.

Benefits and Wellbeing:
Joining our team means you’ll be a big part of tackling environmental and climate issues. We take good care of our staff, offering support and training opportunities. We also offer:
• Enhanced Employer Pension
• Life Assurance
• Flexible & Hybrid Working Options
• Generous Annual Leave - 25 Days Plus Bank Holidays (pro rata’d for part-time)
• Buy and Sell Holiday Scheme
• Enhanced Parental Pay
• Employee Assistance Programme

About Us:
The Woodland Trust is the UK’s leading woodland conservation charity.  We want to see a world where trees and woods thrive for people and nature. The Trust engages and inspires people to make their difference tackling the nature and climate crisis helping protect, restore and create our vital woods and trees.
Our Commitment to Diversity and Inclusion:
To achieve our vision of a world where woods and trees thrive for people and nature, we need to better reflect society and the communities we work in. All people, no matter their background, identity, ability, or circumstance, should benefit from trees.  
People of colour and disabled people are currently under-represented across the environment and conservation sector. If you identify as a person of colour and/or disabled, we particularly encourage you to apply. 
Please contact us to discuss any additional support or adjustments you may need to complete your application.

Application Advice:
For fairness we keep our candidates’ personal details hidden from the hiring managers, we do not ask for your CV at application stage OR so they do not see your CV until shortlisting is completed. Make sure that your Personal Statement clearly shows how your skills and knowledge link to the specifications in the job description and you share with us your passion for the role. Even if you don't meet every requirement of the role, we would encourage you to apply.

Acceptable Use - Artificial Intelligence (AI):
We understand that candidates may choose to use AI tools to support their job applications-for example, to help structure or edit written responses. We welcome the use of AI in this way, particularly where it helps improve accessibility, such as for neurodivergent applicants. However, we ask that any information submitted reflects your own experience, skills and understanding. During interviews, candidates are expected to respond independently without the use of AI tools. 

Apply Now:
If you're ready to make a difference and grow with us, send in your application today. We might close the job opening early if we get a lot of applications, so it's a good idea to apply soon. If we do close the advert early, and you have an application in process, we will email you prior to closing to give you time to complete.

Interviews will be held via Microsoft Teams on April 28th and April 29th. 

BACKGROUND

Church of England Birmingham (CofEB) is on a journey of growing churches at the heart of every community. Through this we are seeing growth in many exciting ways. Financially we are at a challenging point. We have had an operational deficit for a number of years and this cannot continue. The National Church has agreed to partner with us around this through their Diocesan Investment Programme enabling us to have the time, and resource, to tackle this head on. One key aspect of this is for us to increase our Common Fund returns (the giving from our parishes that supports the costs of our life together). We are taking a radical new approach to our finances which includes intentional reallocation of income to support the costs in our most economically deprived parishes and deeper relationships with each parish around finance through conversation rather than correspondence. Over the next five years we are hoping to be able to move to a financially sustainable platform which will enable us to better serve our communities in the future.

We have recently recruited a new Head of Generosity, who is also Bishops Advisor for Common Fund, to lead on this work and we are now looking to recruit the team to work with them. The focus of the team is to develop long term relationships with all of our parishes leading to:

• Greater support for our parishes.
• Increased generosity by, and within, our parishes.
• Increased Common Fund.

The current plan is to recruit two Giving & Generosity Advisor roles and one Giving & Generosity Support Officer role. Together this team will work with all of our parishes to roll out our financial approach, through in person meetings, and the support that is on offer as part of this. 

JOB DESCRIPTION

The primary focus of this role is to work with parishes to:

• Understand their current financial situation and how this links to the wider Church of England Birmingham situation.
• Understand our model and how support is on offer for parishes who are economically deprived.
• Assess with them the support needed to increase generosity and giving at a local level and create an action plan around this that is bespoke and contextual.
• Create a long-term plan for their participation in the common fund.

We have 146 parishes and the Head of Generosity will manage the team so that all parishes can be engaged as quickly as possible. It is the Head of Generosity and two Giving & Generosity Advisors who will be carrying out the in-person meetings with each parish. These roles will work closely with a range of people and teams across Church of England Birmingham so that this work is integrated within our wider strategy and parishes are not confused by multiple disjointed initiatives. This will mean working with Archdeacons and Area Deans, Mission Support Team, Ministry Team, Property Team, Finance Team, Community Regeneration Team and Communications Team as well as others.

Key responsibilities will include:

• Develop strong relationships with parishes that will enable this project to flourish and also help increase the connection between parishes and the DBF. Signposting to other teams and projects will be important.
• Inspiring and encouraging parishes in their Christian approach to giving and generosity
• Creating bespoke multiyear plans for Common Fund with parishes with the support of a Steering Group that includes the Archdeacons and other key stakeholders.
• Provide consultancy, resources, and hands-on support to parishes to grow regular giving, legacies, and other forms of financial support. This work will be able to draw on the resources developed by the national church as well as the data held on their Cornerstone Grants Platform. The post-holder will be expected to engage in the work of the National Giving Team as part of the development of these wider resources.
• Develop and deliver training for clergy, lay leaders and PCCs on the theology and Christian practice of giving and generosity and also practical financial management (in conjunction with the Finance Team).
• Work closely with the Finance Team in matters of technical accounting, governance and financial management identified as needed by parishes.
• Encourage and assist parishes in the implementation of the Parish Giving Scheme, introduction of contactless giving mechanisms and related diocesan resources.
• Source, develop and curate practical resources (digital and print) to support local stewardship campaigns and initiatives.

• Evaluate the impact of stewardship and generosity initiatives and adapt strategies accordingly to achieve the project outcomes.
• Working with our Communications Team, create compelling communication tools that articulate the impact of generosity.

As we are looking to recruit two people into these roles there is flexibility to appoint people with complementary skill sets who may have greater expertise in certain elements of the role.

PERSON SPECIFICATION

Essential Qualifications & Experience:

• Strong understanding of church governance structures and financial operations and requirements.
• Knowledge of generosity principles and Christian financial stewardship.
• A prayerful Christian with a deep commitment to the Church’s mission (Genuine Occupational Requirement).
• Experience of working in a sensitive environment and handling confidential matters with tact and diplomacy.

Essential Skills & Attributes:

• Resilient and adaptable, able to handle challenges and maintain momentum in a demanding role.
• Strong people skills, able to engage effectively with parishes and church communities.
• Good communicator being able to engage a wide range of stakeholders and hold their attention.
• Trustworthy and credible, able to build and maintain confidence with a wide range of stakeholders.
• Empathetic towards parishes and deeply committed to supporting the local church.
• Excellent conflict resolution skills, capable of handling difficult conversations with care and professionalism.
• Highly organised, able to manage multiple priorities and keep track of numerous ongoing responsibilities.
• Capable implementer, ensuring initiatives are successfully delivered, both at a local and diocese wide level.
• Financially literate, with a good understanding of budgets, stewardship, and sustainability within the Church.
• As the role involves visiting parishes across the diocese, including some locations not accessible by public transport, candidates must be able to travel independently. This requires holding a valid driving licence and access to a suitably insured vehicle.
• Be a person of integrity. 

Other Considerations:

• The role requires significant evening and weekend work, demanding flexibility and commitment.
• Local presence is essential—the role must be delivered in an incarnational way, engaging directly with communities.

TERMS AND CONDITIONS

The post-holder will be employed by the Diocesan Board of Finance for a fixed term ending on 2nd November 2030, subject to funding.

Salary and Pension: Salary of £35,000 plus membership of the Church Worker’s Pension Scheme with 12% employer contribution. We are open to discussion especially if you are ordained and are moving out of parish ministry. 

Hours: Full-time 35 hours (5 days) per week. Weekend and evening work will be required, for which the equivalent time may be taken back from standard working hours. We are happy to consider requests for flexible working and candidates seeking part-time hours. Please do mention in your application if you would be interested in looking at alternative working hours.

Holidays: 5 weeks per year plus Bank Holidays and 3 Discretionary Days between Christmas and New Year

Employer: Birmingham Diocesan Board of Finance

Responsible To: Head of Generosity

CLOSING DATE: 12th April 2026

INTERVIEWS: 23rd April 2026 in central Birmingham

For an informal conversation or further information about the role, contact Dawn Baker, Head of Generosity. 

The Church of England Birmingham is committed to promoting a diverse and inclusive community - a place where all can be themselves and bring their unique identity to their ministry and/or work. 

We welcome applications from any individuals who feel that they meet the person specification for any post, in particular from those who are currently under-represented in or staff teams such as those from Global Majority Heritage or UK Minority Ethnic backgrounds, those with visible or invisible disabilities and those who identify as LGBTQI+.

We offer a range of inclusive employment policies, flexible working arrangements and other services to our staff teams.

The Church of England Birmingham is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults. All post holders are expected to share this commitment.