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Head of River Restoration

4 weeks ago

Exeter Devon, United Kingdom Westcountry Rivers Trust Full time €44,000 - €47,000

Westcountry Rivers Trust is recruiting a Head of River Restoration.

The starting salary for this role is between £44,000 and £47,000 per annum (dependent on experience).

The role is 37.5 hours per week.

Benefits while working for Westcountry Rivers Trust

  • 25 days Annual Leave per annum, with a reward for long service - an additional 1 day per year for each year worked over 5 years, up to a maximum of 30 days for employees serving 10 years.
  • An additional 3 days Leave for the Christmas Closure period.
  • 9% Employer Pension, plus Life Assurance cover
  • Flexible and Hybrid Working


Apply by midnight on Sunday 14th July 2024 by CV and Covering Letter here

Interviews will be held in person at our offices in Stoke Climsland on 23rd July 2024.

For queries about this role or the application process please contact recruitment@wrt.org.uk

About Westcountry Rivers Trust

Formed in 1994, the Trust was established to restore Westcountry rivers. Measures to protect rivers can help to save money for farmers, lower costs for water companies, boost tourism, reduce the need to dredge estuaries and even benefit human health. Everything the Trust does is informed by the best available science. Their work is driven by an ‘ecosystems approach,’ considering the function of the entire catchment, not just the rivers that flow within them.

Today the charity works with a wide range of stakeholders from landowners to local communities, businesses, farmers and water companies to restore and protect the rivers, lakes, estuaries and coastal areas for the benefit of people, wildlife and the local economy. There has never been a more important time to work on the rivers of the West Country as the impacts of climate emergency and the ecological crisis is forcing society to invest in building catchment resilience.

Spurred by a shared love of rivers, the Westcountry Rivers Trust is very much a grassroots organisation, brought into existence from the bottom up. In the early 90s, a group of individuals, passionate – but concerned – about the waterways around them, began to stitch together their ambitions for restoring Westcountry rivers, laying the foundations for the Trust we know today.

Everything the Trust does is informed by the best available science. Their work is driven by an ‘ecosystems approach,’ considering the function of the entire catchment, not just the rivers that flow within them.

It was this new perspective – not to mention the hands-on and tireless approach to river restoration – that grabbed the attention of so many supporters and funders and which lies behind the flourishing rivers trust movement. Since then, the Trust now has circa 75 employees with an annual turnover of c£3m running multi-annual projects spread across a wide range of funders.

The Role

Our mission is to conserve and restore the rivers of the Westcountry. We are seeking an innovative, experienced and flexible person to head up our work restoring the iconic rivers of the region.

The Head of River Restoration will be responsible for delivering, developing, and coordinating all aspects of River Restoration across the works of the Trust. The role requires someone with excellent technical knowledge, a strategic approach, and a proven ability to motivate a team to deliver our projects. The role is to lead a team ranging from apprentices to experienced professionals, and to work closely with stakeholders, including government agencies, private companies, community groups and other environmental organisations.

The role involves working closely with our Head of Fisheries and Ecology to co-manage the wider River and Fisheries team which makes up one of the three delivery arms of the Trust - the other teams being Land, and Evidence and Engagement.

The Head of Department role will provide leadership for the team and develop and deliver its strategy in line with the Trust charity plan and charitable objectives. As a member of the Trust’s Management Team this role will also be pivotal to the effective management of the Trust, working collaboratively across teams. This role will provide clear and effective leadership to the team, challenging everyone on the team to be their best, promoting a collegial spirt, individual ambition and inclusion of everyone on the team for the shared delivery / goals.

Key responsibilities include:

  • Lead and manage the River Restoration team
  • Oversee project budgets, timelines, and resource allocation
  • Win project funding for River Restoration activities
  • Collaborate with a wide range of partners and stakeholder groups
  • Monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of river restoration projects, using data to inform future delivery programmes
  • Prepare reports, and support others in the Team to do the same
  • Leadership: Providing leadership and direction to the department, and ensuring a positive and productive work culture is developed and maintained.
  • Strategic Planning: Developing strategies, plans and tactics to meet WRT's wider strategic goals.
  • Resource Management: Managing the department's resources effectively, including people, money, and equipment.
  • Team Management: Building and leading a high-performing team, including recruiting, training, evaluating, and motivating staff members,
  • Communication: Facilitating communication within the team and between the team and other parts of the Trust. This includes sharing information, providing updates, and resolving conflicts.
  • Quality Assurance: Ensuring that the team's work meets quality standards and regulatory requirements and implementing processes for continuous improvement.
  • Collaboration: Collaborating with other departments or external partners on projects, initiatives, or cross-cutting teams.
  • Problem-solving: Addressing challenges and obstacles that arise within the team, finding creative solutions, and making decisions to keep projects on track.
  • Performance Management: Monitoring and evaluating the performance of the team and individual team members, providing feedback, and taking corrective actions as needed.
  • Stakeholder Relations: Building and maintaining relationships with funders, stakeholders, external project partners, and regulators.
  • Innovation: Encouraging innovation and staying abreast of developments in the field, exploring new technologies, methods and best practice.
  • Risk Management: Identifying and mitigating risks that could impact the department's operations or the organisation as a whole.


Specific responsibilities include:

  • Work in partnership with the peer Head of Department and provide effective leadership, mentorship and guidance for their team, bringing together team aspirations, ideas and opportunities.
  • Develop and co-deliver a team strategy which aligns with the Trust charity plan and charitable objectives.
  • Share collective responsibility with the Management Team for managing resources and delivery across the Trust.
  • Foster a collaborative and supportive environment for staff to thrive, that is inclusive of all and promotes a common sense of purpose and collegiality.
  • Responsible for the effective line management and performance of staff in the team which is underpinned by following the Trust procedures, including managing capability, performance and disciplinary processes.
  • Working with Leadership Team and Bid Team to build ideas into projects and identify and create opportunities for bids.
  • Write effective and well - planned bids up to £500,000, aligning with the Trusts charitable objectives and capacity to deliver and input into larger bids and projects.
  • Ensure that effective health and safety systems and procedures are implemented, actively managed and monitored in the team with the support of the H&S Advisor. Review accidents and ensure follow up actions are implemented.
  • Working closely with Management Team, responsible for overall planning and management of resources and risk across the team.
  • Acts as an ambassador for the team and Trust with external partners, stakeholders and donors seeking opportunities to enhance our reputation and build relationships.
  • Manage a programme of projects, receiving reports from a number of project managers, ensuring that project deliverables are met and delivered on time.
  • Effective project management of complex projects which are managed directly.
  • Manage team budgets, ensuring that resources and budgets are allocated effectively and transparently.
  • Ensure that staff members understand the values, philosophy and culture of the Trust, and that they communicate this in a coherent and positive way to clients, partners, stakeholders and the general public.
  • Any other duties commensurate with the grade, spirit and purpose of the post as requested by a Director of the Trust


Person specification

  • Professional approach, seeking to provide a level-headed consistent tone and working environment.
  • Team player, works with other Management Team members to jointly manage problems.
  • Enthusiastic and collaborative, builds interest within the team to tackle problems.
  • Listening and inclusive, draws in comment and engagement from across the team.
  • Open/Honest/Transparent, ensures challenges are articulated calmly, assertively and in a balanced manner.
  • Ambitious, seeks to achieve the very best from themselves, their team, and their projects
  • Proactive, identifies and tackles problems early, and before they become serious issues
  • Tenacity, works diligently to tackle key long-term issues


Knowledge and Experience

Essential Criteria

  • Demonstrable experience of effective leadership and a proven ability to lead, develop and motivate colleagues.
  • A collegial and inclusive approach to line management.
  • Demonstrable experience of managing a programme of projects, direct project management, project planning and design.
  • Demonstrable experience of managing resources and risk effectively including budgets.
  • A degree, qualification or comparable education or experience in Environmental Science/Ecology/Geography or related discipline.
  • Ability to build and maintain relationships with partners and stakeholders.
  • Experience of writing successful bids and identifying bid opportunities.
  • Excellent presentation and communication skills for a wide range of audiences, including internal and external partners, contractors, as well as community interest groups.
  • Excellent interpersonal, influencing, negotiation and relationship building skills.
  • Your own means of transport to attend various sites and meetings as required across the Westcountry.
  • Some travel to attend meetings in various locations around the UK possibly internationally, depending on projects being worked on.


Qualifications/Membership

  • A degree in an Environmental science, including Ecology, Hydrology or a related field. A higher degree would be an asset but is not essential.
  • At least 7 years’ experience in river restoration or a related field, with at least 3 years in a management or leadership role.
  • Deep and wide knowledge of river ecology, hydrology, and river restoration techniques
  • Proven ability to manage complex projects.
  • Excellent communication and stakeholder engagement skills.
  • Experience in securing and managing budgets.
  • A commitment to environmental conservation and restoration


Westcountry Rivers Trust’s office is in Stoke Climsland and whilst we have adopted hybrid working there is an expectation to work from the office on a regular basis.

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