Nature Recovery Project Manager

Staffordshire Local Enterprise Partnership; Stafford; On-site; GBP 42,000 - 56,000; Full time

Job summary

Staffordshire County Council is seeking an experienced professional to lead and coordinate the Local Nature Recovery Strategy (LNRS) delivery for Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent. You will work with partners across public authorities, NGOs, and the private sector to develop policy, deliver collaborative strategies, and ensure timely reporting.

The role requires tracking policy changes, facilitating consensus, and driving action plans while providing expert guidance to committees and boards

Qualifications

• Significant experience in cultivating and sustaining partnership working and stakeholder engagement.
• Experience in developing, delivering and monitoring strategy/plans.
• Experience in developing funding bids, securing external finance, and procurement procedures.
• Solid background in project/programme management with delivery track record.
• Knowledge of nature conservation and nature recovery policy and practice.

Responsibilities

• Act as expert on matters related to Local Nature Recovery Partnership, staying updated on policy and practice.
• Represent the authority and Partnership at committees and other bodies, presenting information as required.
• Ensure environmental perspectives are included in strategies and action programmes, leading on relevant deliverables.
• Provide expert advice and practical support to authorities, agencies, partnerships, private sector and voluntary sector.
• Lead Partnership responses to statutory and non-statutory consultations by government bodies.
• Assist Environment Manager to develop LNRS delivery for Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent, agreeing accountabilities.
• Organise and service LNRS meetings, produce reports, and coordinate working groups.
• Support governance processes to ensure LNRS updates within required timeframes, briefing committees and recipients.
• Coordinate internal/external collaboration to deliver the LNRS.
• Coordinate stakeholder engagement and consultative activities to ensure broad involvement.

Skills

Partnerships

Strategy delivery

Funding bids

Project management

Nature conservation

Job description

The following content displays a map of the jobs location - Staffordshire Place

Help lead nature recovery in Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent.

Are you a natural communicator and relationship builder? Do you have experience of delivering a strategy through cultivating consensus and partnership working, and through project development? Is helping nature to recover something you're passionate about?

Working with partners including farmers and landowners, local communities, environmental organisations, businesses, local authorities and politicians, you'll be at the centre of efforts to deliver tangible outcomes that really make a difference for nature.

Main Responsibilities

1. 1. Act as the local authority and Local Nature Recovery Partnership’s expert on all matters related to this specialism, maintaining up to date knowledge of policy and practice to ensure the Partnership remains responsive to change.
2. 2. Represent the authority and Local Nature Recovery Partnership at committees, and on other bodies as required, gathering and presenting information to ensure that the Partnership is enabled to act judiciously and expeditiously.
3. 3. Ensure that an appropriate environmental perspective is included within all relevant internal and external strategies, policy documents and action programmes by engaging in and helping to shape those strategies’ development, and by leading on delivering strategies and plans relevant to this specialism.
4. 4. Promote the conservation and enhancement of Staffordshire’s environment through the provision of expert advice and practical support to public authorities, Government agencies, partnerships, the private sector and the voluntary sector, and through direct action.
5. 5. Lead Council and Local Nature Recovery Partnership responses to statutory and non-statutory nature recovery-related consultations by government departments and agencies, and other public entities.
6. 6. Assist the Environment Manager to develop and implement projects to deliver the Local Nature Recovery Strategy (LNRS) for Staffordshire and Stoke on Trent to meet statutory and regulatory requirements, working with them to agree delivery accountabilities, mechanisms and programme arrangements.
7. 7. Organise and service meetings of the Nature Recovery Partnership to ensure the collaborative delivery and review of the strategy, producing and presenting reports to the steering group, and delivery group, and coordinating working groups.
8. 8. Support governance processes for the Responsible Authority to ensure update and approval of the LNRS within required time frames, including briefing and production of reports to relevant committees and other recipients, and provide advice to Supporting Authorities where required.
9. 9. Otherwise coordinate and collaborate with internal and external colleagues to ensure delivery of the LNRS.
10. 10. Coordinate stakeholder engagement and consultative activities to meet required standards and ensure broad, deep, and ongoing involvement in the strategy’s delivery and review.

The Ideal Candidate

• Significant experience of cultivating and sustaining partnership working, stakeholder engagement and consultation.
• Experience in developing, delivering and monitoring strategy / plans.
• Experience of developing funding bids, securing external finance, and financial and contract management and procurement procedures.
• Significant knowledge and experience of project / programme management and demonstrable track record of delivery.
• Knowledge and experience of nature conservation and nature recovery policy and practice.

Interviews will be held during the week starting Monday 9th November 2026.

Our Recruitment Process: We anonymise applications during shortlisting to ensure only relevant information is considered.

Please note: The minimum criteria in the ideal candidate section detailed above will be used if you are applying under one of our Interview Guarantee Schemes, detailed below.

About Staffordshire County Council

We are no ordinary county council:

Our Values:

The core of who we are as an organisation. Just like we all have personal values that shape our thoughts and behaviour, organisational values drive how we think and act collectively.

Our values were created and shaped by colleague feedback and national best practice and they sit at the heart of People Strategy:

We have a real sense of community spirit that brings our people together. This feeling of belonging means we are all connected to what we do and take pride in the difference we make every day for Staffordshire people. We are ambitious and our sights are set firmly on a better future.

We look forward and race ahead - that goes for your career too.

We recognise that it is our employees that are central to everything we do. We aim to create a supportive working environment where employees can achieve their full potential and achieve a healthy work-life balance.

As an Authority we are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people/vulnerable adults and expect all staff and volunteers to share this commitment.

Staffordshire County Council is an equal opportunities organisation and Disability Confident employer. We encourage applications from all background and communities

As part of our commitment as a Disability Confident employer, a Gold Award Armed Forces employer and our commitment to supporting care leavers - we offer a guaranteed interview as long as yourapplication meets the minimum criteria for the post.