Project Manager

Flexible; remote working, with frequent travel to Knoydart, Scotland

This is a NatureScot Facility for Investment Ready Nature in Scotland (FIRNS) project,wholly funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund.

Background: 25 years of regenerating nature and community

The Knoydart Foundation is a community landowner that has guardianship of 7,000 hectares ofland on the Knoydart peninsula. Knoydart Forest Trust, a community led charity, manages thewoodland resource on behalf of the Knoydart Foundation.

Scotland’s goal is to reach net-zero by 2045. In tandem with reducing emissions, major changesto how our land and seas are used are needed to lock up carbon and restore biodiversity. Ourcommunity “owns” almost 0.1% of Scotland and has a proven track record of collaborative habitatenhancement at a landscape scale. We have an opportunity to build on and significantly increaseour land and community’s contribution to the climate and biodiversity crisis.

Since 1999 land management has focused on deer management and woodland creation andmanagement. This has directly achieved significant habitat and biodiversity gains and increasedthe woodland cover. This has resulted in an increased capacity to sequester carbon and tangiblegrowth of community wealth through employment, development of enterprises and circulareconomies, and recreational and social resources. Our organisations have a 25-year, wellrecognised and respected track record of sustainable land management, focused on the communityowned Knoydart Estate and in conjunction with neighbouring landowners.

Having commenced in 2022, the 3,000 hectare Black Hills habitat regeneration project is takingthis to a new level. This landscape scale ecological restoration, funded by NatureScot’s NatureRestoration Fund, includes elements of new woodland, peatland restoration and communityregeneration. It will increase biodiversity and the resilience of a full range of habitats,lock up carbon, enhance and diversify the landscape and, support local livelihoods and thelocal economy.

The wider Knoydart community has a reputation for sustainable community development andregeneration, with a thriving village hall and the pub recently taken into community ownershipand refurbished to a high standard.

The Knoydart Credit: A partnership of nature and community

Knoydart Foundation (KF) in partnership with Knoydart Forest Trust (KFT) are seeking a ProjectManager to oversee the development of a place-based natural & social capital credit. Thiscredit will enable direct investment in the restoration of Knoydart’s natural habitats and theregeneration of our community. We intend that the model for this credit can be shared withand/or replicated by other communities.

We are recruiting a Project Manager, who will work alongside the community and our partners to:

• Identify, develop, and communicate the baseline metrics and methodologies that willevidence the ongoing positive carbon, biodiversity and community impacts of our work andtherefore provide assurances to investors.
• Work closely with the community to assess and evaluate the social value of naturerestoration and community development
• Explore the demand for a place-based bundled credit, and the needs of investors and buyers
• Model how our interventions will continue to improve the ecosystem services in the future.
• Explore and develop the most impactful way to tell people about what we do.
• Develop a Natural Capital Master Plan including the nature and community regeneration plan,and a business plan that will demonstrate how investment will be used and how the carbon,biodiversity and community outcomes will be delivered.
• Present the Natural Capital Master Plan to the community and potential investors and seekfeedback.

We believe that by developing a community conceived natural capital product, we and othercommunities will be able to attract high integrity investors to the delivery of nature andcommunity aspirations.

This project will be funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund’s ‘Financing Investment-ReadyNature in Scotland’ scheme (FIRNS) development stage. Part of this project will includepreparing the application for the next stage of funding, ‘Market and Investment Readiness’(MIR). The role is offered as a fixed term contract until the end of March 2025, and extensionbeyond this would be subject to funding and performance.

About you

We are looking for someone who is highly motivated to take on this ambitious and excitingproject, to develop the Knoydart Credit to the next stage of market and investment readiness.The project bridges many disciplines and specialisms, from ecological surveying, communityengagement and social research, to business development and financial modelling. We are seekingan individual with expertise and experience in community engagement, project management andfinance/investment models, ideally within land management or nature restoration, havingdelivered highly sophisticated, larger-scale projects with long term outlooks. Experienceworking with natural capital financing and/or community-based research would also be highlyvalued.

You would be working closely with the Knoydart Foundation, Knoydart Forest Trust, the Knoydartcommunity and our advisory partners. It is important to us that you share our values andaspirations for nature restoration and community development, and recognise and value theconnection between these endeavours. Experience of working with, or being a part of,community-run organisations would be a valuable asset, alternatively experience in the thirdsector or research would be beneficial. You will be an excellent communicator, working with thecommunity to tell the story of Knoydart and our efforts to regenerate nature and the communitytogether. You will also be engaging with potential investors and will need to have the abilityto engage with them, listen to their interests and requirements and inspire them about theproject, the land and the community.

Responsibilities

• Establish and maintain a dialogue with the community through workshops, discussion groups,surveys, mapping exercises and participatory research to develop metrics for assessing andevaluating social value in nature restoration.
• Alongside specialist partners, develop the baseline metrics and methodologies, and collateand interpret carbon, biodiversity and social data into the credit model.
• Develop a Natural Capital Master Plan, including the business plan, nature and communityregeneration plans for the Knoydart credit model.
• Maintain a close relationship with the Working Group, providing regular feedback and takingon board direction.
• Regular communication of project progress with the community
• Develop a monitoring, reporting and verification (MRV) system to ensure ongoing capacity toassess land and community improvements beyond the project timeline.
• Explore and identify third parties to independently verify the carbon, biodiversity andcommunity progress to purchasers of credits.
• Train community volunteers to continue monitoring progress into the future.
• Engage in knowledge sharing with partners, other communities and wider natural capitalcommunity of practice.
• Identify and engage with potential investors, to assess their needs and gain insight intomarket appetite.
• Prepare supporting information for a subsequent FIRNS MIR stage application as required.

Essential and desirable criteria

• Degree level or equivalent professional experience in community engagement or socialsciences
• Proven experience in delivering larger programmes or projects to deadlines and budgets,preferably within land management or nature restoration
• A sound knowledge base and experience of financial and investment models
• Strong communication skills, both verbal and written, for professional and non-professionalaudiences, including a proven ability to communicate clearly in plain language
• Passionate about community-led nature restoration
• Experience of building strong relationships with partners, businesses and communities
• Confidence in working with both quantitative and qualitative datasets
• Skills in problem-solving, organisation, time management and analytical thinking
• Ability to work effectively individually and as part of a team
• Experience in social research, third sector work or similar
• Experience and knowledge of ecological and/or carbon sequestration surveying
• Familiarity with Scottish natural environment funding streams (e.g. FIRNS, NRF etc.)
• Experience working with or in natural capital financing businesses or NGOs
• Experience and knowledge of nature restoration accreditation schemes (e.g. Woodland CarbonCode, Peatland Carbon Code, Biodiversity Metric, JNCC etc.)
• Experience of working with and/or training volunteers

Benefits of the role

• Budget for travel and expenses
• Opportunity to develop new methodologies in an emerging sector
• Empower community-led organisations to enable their work to continue
• We are a Fair Work First and National Living Wage employer

We maintain a commitment to ensuring equality and diversity in our workforce, and encourageapplicants from underrepresented backgrounds in the environment sector to apply.

Closing date for applications May 10th 2024