Project Manager – Species Survival Fund

We have an exciting opportunity for a dynamic, skilled and passionate Project Manager to play a
leading role in our Species Survival Fund programme.

What’s the role about? 

Species Coastal and Wetlands: more, better, bigger, joined has secured funding from the Species
Survival Fund. 

Guided by the Lawton principles of more, bigger, better, joined, this programme will deliver
transformative landscape-scale restoration across 14 sites for the benefit of species
abundance, people, and communities.

Our work will contribute to halting the decline in species abundance by increasing the extent,
quality and connectedness of wildlife-rich priority coastal and wetland habitats across all 14
sites. This will significantly contribute to nature recovery and align to Local Nature Recovery
Strategies covering the Solent, Greater Thames, Upper Thames, Suffolk Coast and Norfolk Broads.

Working in coalition with local partners, landowners and communities we will implement
innovative, sustainable land management solutions to directly address key threats to species
and strengthen climate resilience and ecological networks on a landscape-scale.

We are looking for a Project Manager to manage the day-to-day delivery of conservation and
community engagement work across the 14 sites. You will directly deliver some of these projects
and support existing teams and dedicated SSF staff to manage other projects in line with the
RSPB’s Project Management Framework. You will also support the Programme Manager with
programme-level activities such as preparing grant claims.

The postholder will need to work across a range of projects simultaneously. If you enjoy
variety and working with people, then this is the role for you! 

This project is funded by the Government’s Species Survival Fund. The fund was developed by
Defra and its Arm’s-Length Bodies. It is being delivered by The National Lottery Heritage Fund
in partnership with Natural England and the Environment Agency.

What we need from you

We need you to be well organised, flexible and adaptable, with excellent communication skills
to develop collaborative working relationships with our partners, RSPB teams and external
stakeholders. You will need to be able to motivate and inspire others to get things done,
whether you are line managing them or not.

You will need to be competent at managing project processes to ensure things go smoothly and
risks are managed, and to be solutions-focused to help sort problems if they arise (as rarely
projects run smoothly all the time!).

Essential criteria:

• Understanding of managing complex projects to a standard project management approach (eg
  Prince II).
• Time management and organisational skills
• Ability to solve issues quickly, efficiently and creatively, and to manage change.
• Report writing and communication skills.
• Great interpersonal skills whether 1-2-1, chairing a meeting or presenting to a large
  audience.
• Ability to work under pressure and adapt to changing circumstances.
• Leadership ability, able to lead without line management authority.
• Logical, methodical, analytical and with a good eye for detail.
• Competent IT user (e.g. MS packages, Outlook etc).
• Experience of managing budgets

Desirable qualifications, knowledge, skills and experience: 

• Project Management Qualification or relevant training.
• Experience of working with external stakeholders such as agencies and contractors.
• Demonstrable experience of developing and working in partnerships to achieve shared outcomes.
• Experience of managing grant-funded projects, particularly habitat creation and restoration.

Further Information

This is a Fixed-Term, Full-Time role for 37.5 hours per week to 28th February 2026. We will
consider flexible working arrangements. This could be a great secondment opportunity for
internal candidates. The RSPB reserves the right to extend or make this role permanent without
further advertising dependent on business needs at the end of the contract term. 

This role will be homebased, with location flexible across England and we are happy to consider
flexible working arrangements. However, there will be an expectation to travel to project
areas regularly which are dispersed across England, so may require overnight stays. 

For all application/role enquiries please contact [email protected].

We are committed to developing an inclusive and diverse RSPB, in which everyone feels
supported, valued, and able to be their full selves. To achieve our vision of creating a world
richer in nature, we need more people, and more diverse people, on nature’s side. People of
colour and disabled people are currently underrepresented across the environment, climate,
sustainability, and conservation sector. If you identify as a person of colour and/or disabled,
we are particularly interested in receiving your application.

The RSPB is an equal opportunities employer. This role is covered by the Rehabilitation of
Offenders Act 1974.