Grazing Development Manager

Warwickshire wildlife trust; Coventry; Hybrid; GBP 35,000 - 48,000; Full time

Job summary

Warwickshire Wildlife Trust is seeking a full-time Grazing Strategy Lead to develop and implement the grazing strategy across Trust land and partner sites. The role requires coordinating grazing activities, managing budgets, and building income from grazing and land management.

Hybrid working options available; hours are 35 per week. You will manage staff and volunteers, ensure livestock safety, and represent the Trust with partners and funders.

Responsibilities

• Deliver a grazing project to create a sustainable grazing approach across Warwickshire, Coventry and Solihull.
• Coordinate grazing activities to deliver natural-process led herbivore actions at a range of scales on reserves.
• Be responsible for the day-to-day management of a suite of grassland nature reserve and work alongside the reserves team to ensure practical support.
• Lead on the contractor management for vegetation management (grasslands) on existing and new Trust land.
• Develop an operable model and supporting the wider work of the Trust through income generation from grazing and land management.
• Manage project budgets, reporting to funders as required and generating income to maintain and grow the team long-term from a wide range of sources, including agri-environment schemes, sales of products and services, and grant funding.
• Manage additional recruited staff as the team expands to meet the needs of the Trust and its clients.
• Diversify to support landowners, internal projects and other partners with habitat management functions.
• Where appropriate ensure legal requirements for livestock and agricultural activities are met, such as movement reporting, meeting Tb testing regimes and other obligations such as biosecurity measures and animal welfare
• Responsible for managing health and safety arrangements for all work activities and reserves, specifically relating to livestock grazing including out of hours
• Promote the development of relationships and opportunities between the Trust, local communities and landowners;
• Support the development and implementation of communications plans for reserves; including liaising and representing the Trust in the media to promote agreed messages
• Contribute to a wide range of events and the production of interpretive materials to inspire and engage visitors and local people about the Trust’s work and the reserves
• Foster excellent communications internally and externally and work with your team and other relevant officers where applicable; seeking their involvement and offering reciprocal specialised support
• Recruit, supervise, train, organise and lead an appropriate volunteer team to support the work on assorted sites
• Maintain good relations and communication with other site users, neighbouring landowners and partner organisations wherever possible
• Take appropriate action to prevent behaviour or activities likely to be detrimental to reserves or to conflict Trust policies, procedures or practice
• Involve local people and the public in the care and management of WWT sites, including consultation and events
• Promote the work, mission and vision of the Trust at all times.
• Use every opportunity, commensurate with other duties to contribute to the Trust’s membership recruitment, fundraising and engagement of people.
• Work across teams to develop and implement activity plans across the 2030 strategy business plan.
• Ensure a high level of customer service in all dealings with the public.
• Ensure continuous development of skills and knowledge required for the post, undergoing training and performance review as required by the Trust.
• Work within all the policies and procedures of the Trust, ensuring own compliance with the Trust’s health and safety policies and procedures and that of any resources for whom you are responsible.
• Work always within the Warwickshire Wildlife Trust’s Equal Opportunities Policy and to promote equal opportunities.
• Comply with all legal and contractual obligations concerning the responsibilities of your post.
• Carry out any other reasonable duties commensurate with the level of responsibility of the post, as requested by the Chief Executive.
• For more information please refer to the job description which is available to download below.

Job description

Contracted to Brandon Marsh HQ. The post benefits from hybrid agile working and can work from Trust offices or from home as per our policies.

Liaison with:

Warwickshire Wildlife Trust staff, volunteers, external partners, funders and general public

Responsible for:

Volunteers (and staff TBC)

Hours:

Full Time, 35 hours per week

Job Purpose:

Lead on the development and implementation of the Trust’s Grazing Strategy by prioritising grazing and natural processes as a management tool on the land of the Trust and third parties. Diversifying funding and developing better ways to manage our grassland sites will increase the grazing function and sustainability of its management to bring wildlife back.

Key Responsibilities:

• Deliver a grazing project to make the best use of resources and partner opportunities to create a sustainable grazing approach across Warwickshire, Coventry and Solihull
• Co-ordinate the Trusts grazing activities required to deliver natural process led herbivore actions at a range of scales on WWT nature reserves
• Be responsible for the day-to-day management of a suite of grassland nature reserve and work alongside the reserves team to ensure practical support
• Lead on the contractor management for vegetation management (grasslands) on existing and new Trust land
• Develop an operable model and supporting the wider work of the Trust through income generation from grazing and land management
• Manage project budgets, reporting to funders as required and generating income to maintain and grow the team long-term from a wide range of sources, including agri-environment schemes, sales of products and services, and grant funding
• Manage additional recruited staff as the team expands to meet the needs of the Trust and its clients
• Diversify to support landowners, internal projects and other partners with habitat management functions
• Where appropriate ensure legal requirements for livestock and agricultural activities are met, such as movement reporting, meeting Tb testing regimes and other obligations such as biosecurity measures and animal welfare
• Responsible for managing health and safety arrangements for all work activities and reserves, specifically relating to livestock grazing including out of hours

2. External relationships and communications

• Promote the development of relationships and opportunities between the Trust, local communities and landowners;
• Support the development and implementation of communications plans for reserves; including liaising and representing the Trust in the media to promote agreed messages
• Contribute to a wide range of events and the production of interpretive materials to inspire and engage visitors and local people about the Trust’s work and the reserves
• Foster excellent communications internally and externally and work with your team and other relevant officers where applicable; seeking their involvement and offering reciprocal specialised support
• Recruit, supervise, train, organise and lead an appropriate volunteer team to support the work on assorted sites
• Maintain good relations and communication with other site users, neighbouring landowners and partner organisations wherever possible
• Take appropriate action to prevent behaviour or activities likely to be detrimental to reserves or to conflict Trust policies, procedures or practice
• Involve local people and the public in the care and management of WWT sites, including consultation and events

3. General Responsibilities

• Promote the work, mission and vision of the Trust at all times.
• Use every opportunity, commensurate with other duties to contribute to the Trust’s membership recruitment, fundraising and engagement of people.
• Work across teams to develop and implement activity plans across the 2030 strategy business plan.
• Ensure a high level of customer service in all dealings with the public.
• Ensure continuous development of skills and knowledge required for the post, undergoing training and performance review as required by the Trust.
• Work within all the policies and procedures of the Trust, ensuring own compliance with the Trust’s health and safety policies and procedures and that of any resources for whom you are responsible.
• Work always within the Warwickshire Wildlife Trust’s Equal Opportunities Policy and to promote equal opportunities.
• Comply with all legal and contractual obligations concerning the responsibilities of your post.
• Carry out any other reasonable duties commensurate with the level of responsibility of the post, as requested by the Chief Executive.

For more information please refer to the job description which is available to download below.

Warwickshire Wildlife Trust: Protecting wildlife for the future. Registered charity number 209200