Programme Coordinator- Nature Based Neighbourhoods

Wates Group; Sunderland; Hybrid; GBP 38,000 - 45,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading community-focused organization is seeking a Programme Manager for Nature Based Neighbourhoods to lead the delivery of a grant programme aimed at creating greener urban communities. The successful candidate will oversee grant management, stakeholder engagement, and impact reporting, ensuring the program achieves its vision. This position offers a hybrid work model, with regular travel across England, and a salary of up to £45,000 per annum.

Qualifications

• Experience managing multi-year, large-budget projects, preferably in the third sector.
• Strong community engagement and facilitation skills.
• Skilled in impact evaluation and reporting.

Responsibilities

• Lead programme planning and delivery, ensuring it is on time and to budget.
• Manage relationships with funded community partners.
• Oversee grant administration and budget management.

Skills

Community engagement

Grant management

Stakeholder engagement

Strategic thinking

Impact evaluation

Facilitation skills

Climate action awareness

Job description

The Vacancy

Hiring: Wates Family Enterprise Trust

Programme Manager – Nature Based Neighbourhoods (NBN)

Salary: up to £45,000 per annum

Contract: Full-time, 5-year fixed term (with potential for extension)

Location: Hybrid – remote working with one day fortnightly in WFET’s Leatherhead office (Wednesdays)

Travel: Regular travel to project sites across England

Reporting to: NBN Partnership Programme Lead

We are seeking a strategic and community-focused programme manager to lead the delivery of the Nature Based Neighbourhoods (NBN) grant programme – a five-year partnership between Lund Trust and the Wates Family Enterprise Trust (WFET).

The NBN programme supports urban communities to create greener, more connected neighbourhoods. It provides core funding, peer networking, and long-term planning support to community organisations working to improve access to nature.

You will oversee all aspects of programme delivery, including grant management, stakeholder engagement, impact reporting, and communications. This is a unique opportunity to shape a long-term initiative that builds community power and drives nature-based change.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead programme planning, delivery and annual review cycles, ensuring it is delivered on time and to budget in a way that works towards its overall vision and aims.
• Manage relationships with funded community partners ensuring they are well supported to deliver against their grant ambitions.
• Foster cross-sector relationships in community
• Oversee grant administration and budget management
• Work with the programme’s learning and impact partners to facilitate peer learning, evaluation and storytelling to share impact
• Convene programme boards, partner meetings, providing key stakeholders with timely updates
• Collaborate with internal teams to amplify programme visibility and creatively share learnings, supporting local and national movement building.

Person Specification

Essential

• Experience managing multi-year, large-budget projects, preferably in the third sector
• Strategic thinker with a track record of driving change
• Strong community engagement and facilitation skills
• Skilled in impact evaluation and reporting
• Passionate about climate action, social justice, nature and community-led approaches
• Willingness to travel regularly

Desirable

• Experience in grant-making
• Expertise in urban green infrastructure or climate transition
• Ability to raise public profile of initiatives
• Experience in cross sector collaboration

How To Apply

• Submit the following:
• Completed application form
• Covering letter outlining your interest and suitability, no more than two sides of A4
• CV

Deadline: 27 October 2025 - Midnight.

Interviews: 19th and 20th November 2025 in London

About The Programme

Connection to nature can have powerful social, health, economic and environmental benefits. These benefits are not shared equally. Our most deprived communities also have the least access to nature where they live. Communities are working to tackle this problem, but their efforts are often stifled by a lack of investment.

The NBN programme aims to strengthen community organisations, providing the financial and non-financial resources they need to create greener neighbourhoods and communities more connected to nature.

This work will take place in a small number of places and explore how sustained commitment, engagement and investment can transform outcomes for a place, people and nature.

• Provide direct support in the form of core funding to selected urban community organisations that share our aims.
• Provide communities with the means to connect with the great work already happening around the county and develop peer network.
• Enable communities to co-develop equitable long-term plans to increase nature connection locally.
• Support community-led story telling of this work, its challenges and successes.

About Wates Family Enterprise Trust

The Wates family envisages a fairer, more sustainable, more prosperous society – a world in which connection to place and planet, underpinned by a sense of belonging and empowerment within a supportive community, provides the foundation for every individual to thrive. To belong in a healthy home. To belong to a community and feel connected to nature.

Find out more about or work here: www.wfet.org.uk

Work for Wates

Wates is one of the UK’s leading family-owned development, building and property maintenance companies. Founded over 125 years ago, we have a proud legacy in the built environment.

We are driven by our purpose, ‘reimagining places for people to thrive’ and our three promises:

Thriving places – working with customers, partners and communities to create places that are more sustainable, inclusive, and full of opportunity.

Thriving planet – protecting nature and taking action on climate change by collaborating and innovating with our partners.

Thriving people – creating opportunities and relationships so that everyone who works for and with us feels included, invested in, and treated with care.

We are proud to be recognised as Gold Investors in People and as a Disability Confident employer. We also ensure that our recruitment processes do not treat anyone less favourably due to an offending background.

As a responsible and inclusive employer, we are committed to equality and are proud to have been recognised for this through a range of accolades including gold accreditation with Investors in People, we are also a Disability Confident employer. Being a family owned, business means we understand and value long term relationships.

The Wates Group are committed to three ambitious environmental targets for 2025: Zero Waste, and Zero Carbon, from our operations and Positive Nature Enhancement. Wates are pushing to take a leading role in reducing our industry’s environmental impact.

We are an equal opportunities employer and welcome applications from all suitably qualified persons regardless of their race, sex, disability, religion/belief, sexual orientation or age.