Head of Habitat Delivery

About us

At Environment Bank, we’re working together to help restore natural habitats across England. With thousands of acres of new habitat creation already underway, our projects are delivering biodiversity gains and helping vital ecosystems to recover and flourish.

Our diverse team includes ecologists, land managers, habitat specialists, geospatial analysts, planning advisors, account managers, digital creatives, legal experts, and more.

From our habitat specialists to our sales and marketing teams, everyone at Environment Bank is a champion for our values, working towards our goal of reversing biodiversity loss.

Environment Bank is a market-leading organisation in a sector that’s experiencing rapid growth. We’ve already built a highly skilled team of experts and we’re actively looking to expand our team in the coming months.

We’re incredibly proud of all we achieved so far and we’re still growing. If you'd like to be part of a driven organisation that's making a real difference, find your next role with the team at Environment Bank.

About the role

We’re looking for a passionate, motivated and versatile Head of Habitat Delivery to be responsible for the co-ordination, management and delivery of our extensive Habitat creation and enhancement programme through the management of our in-house team of Habitat Delivery Specialists and our network of trusted partners.

You are an experienced and dynamic Team Lead who will spearhead the growth and development of our national Habitat Delivery team. The ideal candidate will have a proven track record in managing teams and capital works programmes at a variety of scales and across a range of geographies, with a focus on safety, quality and maximising opportunities for cost savings and efficiencies. You will be experienced in planning and managing team resources and budgets. This role will suit someone who can understand the big picture, identify tangible opportunities and build a tactical approach to realising them through clear plans, outstanding leadership and the ability to inspire others.

Whilst experience in agricultural operations and/or delivering habitat creation and enhancement works for a variety of habitat types, is desirable, and a general interest is essential, there is strength and depth of habitat delivery expertise within the team you will lead.

Building and maintaining strong relationships with both internal and external stakeholders will be key to ensuring long-term success and growth. This role requires a strategic thinker with excellent communication skills, capable of leading a team to achieve ambitious targets.

What you'll be doing:

Strategic Leadership and Team Management

• You will be responsible for achieving Environment Bank’s strategic outcomes for the annual programme of habitat creation and enhancement, including enabling infrastructure such as fencing, with a focus on high integrity, quality outcomes, safely, on time and to budget.
• You will ensure that our habitat banks are established in line with the agreed proposals as defined by our teams of experts and co-created with our landowners.
• You will work with the Land Director and Finance Team to set the Habitat Delivery Team annual budget and resource requirement.
• You will manage and mentor a team of land management and project management specialists responsible for the establishment of our land portfolio of high integrity habitat banks.
• You will draft and implement policies and procedures to set clear and efficient ways of working for your team.

Programme Management

• Through your team of qualified Project Managers, you will oversee the efficient resourcing, planning and management of our annual capital works programme (which includes habitat creation, enhancement and infrastructure). This will include ensuring that all capital works are completed within the agreed delivery window (site dependent but typically 3 years).
• Manage, develop and expand our network of trusted contractors.
• Review and manage capital works budgets, seeking cost savings and economies of scale benefits across the portfolio of sites (20 plus new sites a year)
• Plan and manage supply of high quality materials (and associated supply challenges) at scale nationally (e.g. native seed mixes, native scrub and tree mixes).
• Ensure national capital works delivery programme is on schedule and takes account of seasonal, consenting and contractual timing challenges.

Habitat Delivery

• Through your team of habitat delivery specialists, you will contribute to Habitat Management Plans (delivered by the ecology teams) to ensure their buildability and deliverability.
• Through your team of habitat delivery specialists, you will oversee completion of capital works cost estimates at pre-acquisition stage to establish project budgets and inform future projects from updated take-off rates.
• You will ensure your team work closely with the ecology and land teams to ensure that our landowner relationships are maintained and sensitively managed during the habitat delivery phase.
• Your Habitat Delivery Team will work closely with our ecology team to develop delivery methods and approaches that deliver the best outcomes for nature within budget.
• Through your team of Habitat Delivery specialists and Project Managers, you will ensure the safe, timely, practical and effective execution of our annual capital works programme.
• Oversee contractual claims and disputes.

Requirements

• Team leadership skills with a proven ability to motivate, manage, delegate and supervise effectively
• Ability to prioritise workloads and work to high standards under pressure
• Excellent communication skills capable of building and maintaining strong relationships with team members, other colleagues, clients and stakeholders
• Experience of defining team level budgets and deploying resources effectively and profitably
• Experience of setting and implementing procedure and process
• Demonstrated success in meeting and exceeding project-based targets.
• An entrepreneurial, creative approach to problem solving with an aspiration to grow the profile and performance of the business as a whole
• A full UK Driver's License
• An interest in Habitat Delivery and Agriculture
• Contract/commercial/procurement experience

Desirable:

• Relevant undergraduate / post graduate degree or equivalent
• NEBOSH/IOSH or similar H&S accreditation
• Competent and experienced professional with extensive habitat creation, enhancement and management knowledge
• Demonstrable experience working with a diverse range of rural landowners in a professional capacity

As an organisation, we believe that work should be fulfilling, inspiring, and balanced, so we’re creating a space where our team can thrive, both personally and professionally – providing flexible working arrangements, mental wellbeing support, and more.

We offer...

🎁 Performance-based annual bonus up to 10% of salary
💸 Pension scheme with employer-matched contributions at 6% of salary
🏖️ 30 days of annual leave, plus paid bank holidays, birthday, and wellbeing day
➕ Option to purchase 5 additional days of annual leave after probation
🏡 Remote and hybrid flexible working options
💼 Regional and departmental team co-working days
🌞 Expenses-paid whole company meet twice a year
🎗️ Team fundraising and charity events
🎓 Ongoing career development with training and mentoring
🩺 Medical cash back scheme to cover everyday healthcare costs
‍🧠 Employee assistance mental wellbeing support
❤️‍🩹️ Enhanced sickness pay allowance