Project Manager
| Posting date: | 19 August 2025 |
|---|---|
| Salary: | £39,135 to £42,133 per year |
| Hours: | Full time |
| Closing date: | 14 September 2025 |
| Location: | NE48 2HP |
| Company: | Government Recruitment Service |
| Job type: | Temporary |
| Job reference: | 423034/1 |
Summary
This is a new role for a Project Manager specifically focusing on nature recovery in our North District. The Nature Recovery Project Manager will guide and implement the management of Wild Kielder, the flagship of our new wild areas. Wild Kielder is an ambitious project covering over 6,000 hectares, which currently comprises a typical scene of open moorland, native woodland, watercourses and grasslands, and commercial conifer forest.
Please see the job description below for more information and details about what we need from you.
Where you’ll work…
The post is based at our Bellingham office, Hexham, Northumberland, with blended working opportunities.
The duties of this post will require the applicant to sometimes travel to remote locations that are not accessible by public transport. You will therefore need to hold a full and current driving licence that enables you to drive in the UK and be willing to stay away from home. We are willing to consider any proposals put forward by applicants that would allow them to do the job by other means.
Key responsibilities & accountabilities
Detailed project planning, control and implementation, including:
• managing the project in line with the Wild Kielder Project Management Plan, revising the plan as required with the Project Board
• managing the Wild Kielder project budget, as a component of the wider Forest Wilding Programme budget
• procuring, commissioning and managing contracts and contractors, especially for practical land management, ecological survey and monitoring, and feasibility studies
• identifying and managing project risks and issues, managing project scope, overseeing change control, and escalating where necessary
• ensuring the project integrates Forestry England’s principal functions of timber production, nature recovery and engagement with visitors, resolving cross-functional issues at project level
• ensuring Wild Kielder meets the defined project objectives, outcomes and benefits
• monitoring project progress and performance, including through milestones and gateway reviews, and reporting on these to Project Boards and the Forest Wilding Programme
Provide strong technical leadership in ecology and nature-focussed land management, and its integration with forestry, especially through:
• using the Wild Kielder Strategic Land Management Plan and other project documents to produce a workable programme of land management
• working with technical experts, contractors and colleagues to implement the strategic land management priorities on the ground
• using best practice, technical knowledge and scientific evidence to continue to develop the nature recovery strategy both at Wild Kielder and in other relevant projects to maximise the potential for progress
• working with the Forestry England Resilience Strategy and forester colleagues, to lead new approaches to longer term forest resilience in the context of climate, wildfire and pests and diseases
• working with the Forest Wilding Programme team to support the implementation of a coherent evidence framework, which both supports our decision making and monitors the outcomes of our land management
• providing support and technical knowledge of strategic land management to support additional relevant projects when funding is available, such species recovery projects.
Develop and manage strong relationships with internal and external stakeholders, including:
• supporting the Project Board, in providing confident and coherent leadership and governance to the project
• managing the engagement and communications with colleagues and internal stakeholders about the project across the Forestry Commission family
• managing the engagement and communications with external partners and stakeholders on the project, especially those with a high risk factor and high influence on the outcomes of the project.
• representing Forestry England and the Forest Wilding Programme with relevant external projects, working groups, conferences and other forums, both in district and nationally
Work with Forest Wilding Programme team to explore, secure and develop external funding for the Wild Kielder project and other relevant Forest Wilding projects, for example through:
• UK Government grants, especially Defra’s Environmental Land Management Landscape Recovery Scheme
• corporate sponsorship
• biodiversity net gain
• green finance
And any other tasks, reasonably requested by your line manager.
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