Wild Peak Programme Manager

We’re looking for a Programme Manager to help shape the future of the Dark and White Peak Living Landscapes. You’ll play a key role in restoring ecological function, rebuilding species populations, and showing how partnership‑led, people‑powered landscape recovery can work at scale. Your main focus will be our Dark Peak portfolio, including our soon‑to‑be‑announced habitat bank – an exciting new site at the heart of our upland recovery work.

In this role, you’ll manage the restoration and ongoing delivery of our new habitat bank, helping to build a resilient nature recovery network across the Dark Peak, with our nature reserves acting as exemplar sites. You’ll also lead the planning and implementation of our species recovery work in the region. Alongside this, you’ll collaborate with our White Peak Living Landscape Officer to grow our ambitions for nature’s recovery around the iconic Wye Valley suite of sites.

To be successful you will have a passion for delivering great ecological outcomes for wildlife and communities. You will be a good fundraiser who can plan and deliver projects in successful partnerships. You’ll have a background in land management or ecology and the ability to use this knowledge to lead a team to deliver nature’s recovery across a broad mix of activities.

What we can offer you:

• Flexible working options, we have adopted a 9-day working fortnight meaning all full time staff get a non-working Friday every fortnight
• 33 days annual leave including bank holidays, we also have a festive shutdown so all staff get the days between Christmas and New Year off in addition to their leave entitlement
• Climate Perks (extra leave granted for staff using more green, sustainable transport)
• 9.5% employer pension contribution
• Electric bike and car salary-sacrifice schemes available
• Employee Assistance Programme
• Life Assurance Scheme
• Personalised Development programme designed to enhance your knowledge and progress your career
• A multi-disciplinary business, with opportunities to work on a wide range of projects, developing your experience and skills
• A close-knit, friendly and supportive team, with a relaxed office atmosphere

This role might be right for you if:

• You have experience in landscape scale nature recovery and species recovery preferably in uplands
• Have a proven track record in fundraising
• A thorough understanding of the requirements for species reintroductions
• You have an excellent track record in stakeholder engagement, especially with public bodies, funders, landowners and strategic partners
• You’re values-led—collaborative, curious and courageous—aligned with the Trust’s core values
• You have been successful in leading and inspiring small teams to be the best that they can be

We are happy to talk flexible working!

This role will be based at our office in Middleton although a balance of home and office working will be allowed. We are a local charity so applicants should be easily able to access our office and other locations around the county.

Interviews are planned for 14th July in person at our office in Middleton, Derbyshire

For more information please refer to the job description and key terms on our website. If you have any questions about the role which are not answered in the attached documents, or require adjustments to the application process, please either email [email protected] or call 01773 881188.

We’re committed to equality, diversity and inclusion and believe that everyone should have access to nature. We expect people to work harmoniously with each other and with volunteers, and to provide help and guidance to others when needed. As a small charity, our employees need to be willing to be flexible about working arrangements and willing to provide occasional cover for absent staff. We want people to develop professionally and personally while working with us and employees are encouraged to participate in the range of opportunities available to enable this.

Derbyshire Wildlife Trust is an equal opportunities employer that strives to be a diverse and inclusive environment in which everyone is valued. We welcome applications from eligible candidates regardless of sex, race, disability, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion or belief, marital status, or pregnancy and maternity.

We recognise that our workforce needs to represent the communities and people we work with. We particularly encourage applications from underrepresented groups within Derbyshire Wildlife Trust and the wider charity and conservation sector, such as people from Black and Ethnic Minority backgrounds and those who identify as LGBTQ+.

We are proudly a Disability Confident Commitment employer. The scheme is helping us recruit and retain great people to meet our workforce needs. As a member of the scheme we interview anyone with a disability whose application meets the essential criteria for the role. You can request this and adjustments including accessible formats of this vacancy by emailing [email protected]