Chief Executive Officer

EAST LONDON WATERWORKS PARK; Greater London; On-site; GBP 200,000 +; Full time

Job summary

A pioneering environmental charity is seeking an experienced Chief Executive Officer to lead its next phase of development. The CEO will provide strategic leadership to purchase the Thames Water depot site in East London and bolster community-led nature recovery projects. This role offers a unique chance to transition the organization towards a sustainable model while ensuring engagement with the community and volunteers. Interested candidates should submit their CV and a covering letter to [e-mail] by 13 February 2026.

Qualifications

• Experience in leadership roles within non-profit or environmental sectors.
• Strong understanding of community-led projects and sustainable practices.
• Ability to collaborate effectively with diverse stakeholders.

Responsibilities

• Provide strategic leadership to realize the ambition to purchase the Thames Water depot site.
• Strengthen capacity for community-led rewilding and nature-recovery projects.
• Introduce sustainable staffing model to complement the volunteer ecosystem.

Skills

Strategic leadership

Community engagement

Sustainable development

Collaboration

Job description

About East London Waterworks Park

East London Waterworks Park is a community-led charity working to reconnect people and nature. Starting from nature-first principles, and with inclusivity at the heart of everything we do, we work with communities to co-design spaces to unlock a chain of positive changes that culminate in the long-term transformation of people and place.

Our work includes:

• co-designing East London Waterworks Park with the East London community, working towards purchasing a 14-acre Thames Water depot in Waltham Forest and transforming it into a biodiverse urban park with free, accessible wild swimming and welcoming community spaces
• co-designing other nature-first spaces on disused or brownfield land in London, returning land to nature in collaboration with local communities to encourage long–term community stewardship
• hosting engagement, education, and empowerment activities that build skills, confidence and deeper connections to nature

East London Waterworks Park is a sociocratic organisation, with a decentralised organisational structure and a transparent and collaborative approach to decision making. We have grown organically since 2019, responding flexibly to the challenges we have encountered but always committed to our core vision: creating a new kind of urban green and blue space: one that is ecologically rich, inclusive, and shaped by the people and wildlife who use it.

East London Waterworks Park is currently entirely run by volunteers but we recognise the need to transition to a more sustainable structure. We want to introduce paid employees to ensure we can deliver the exciting projects planned in 2026 and beyond, while retaining our strong community-led ethos.

The opportunity

We are seeking an experienced and values-led Chief Executive Officer (CEO) to lead East London Waterworks Park in this next phase of our development. This is a rare opportunity to shape the first paid executive leadership role in a pioneering environmental charity.

The CEO role is wide-ranging and dynamic, and will evolve as East London Waterworks Park grows. The CEO will provide strategic leadership to help realise our ambition to purchase the Thames Water depot site in East London, while strengthening our capacity to deliver community-led rewilding and nature-recovery projects across London in partnership with landowners, local authorities and other stakeholders.

An important aspect of the role will involve introducing a sustainable staffing model that complements and develops East London Waterworks Park’s existing volunteer ecosystem, and strengthens our culture, vision and values. The CEO will be supported in this work by long-standing volunteers at both trustee board and operational level, who believe in the benefits this organisational change will bring.

More information

If this sounds exciting, please download the recruitment pack.

How to apply

Please send your CV and a covering letter outlining your suitability for the role to [e-mail] by 13 February 2026.