Programme Manager (Test & Itchen)

Fixed Term Contract until March 2031
Location: Beechcroft House, Vicarage Lane, Curdridge, Hampshire, SO32 2DP

Hampshire & Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust is shaping a wilder future for our counties – protecting special places, restoring habitats and inspiring people to act for nature. As part of the UK’s fastest-growing movement for nature’s recovery, we lead with passion, integrity and bold thinking. Join a team where your work has purpose, your ideas matter, and you can help create lasting change for wildlife and people.

We are seeking a Test & Itchen Programme Manager to join our cause.

The Programme Manager will focus on delivery of the Test & Itchen Recovery Plan; a new strategic pilot hosted by the Test & Itchen Catchment Partnership. Working closely with co-hosts, the Wessex Rivers Trust, this role will support coordination and reporting to a new TICP Strategic Leadership Group and tracking of delivery against the TICP’s Catchment Plans. This role is a critical link between HIWWT, the Catchment Partnership and Southern Water over the AMP 8 period 2025 to 2030, aiming to support Integrated Catchment management between Southern Water and the partnership with a focus on project development. The project has the following key functions:

• Project management & reporting for S20 activities, including supervision of contract delivery and reporting against monitoring plans, mitigation packages, and compensation packages on specified catchments.
• To act as programme lead & to supervise the T&I Projects Officer in enabling the collation and coordination of work between Southern Water and the Catchment Hosts/Catchment Partnership and the creation of a shared priority project pipeline plan.
• To support and help coordinate ongoing partnership projects running with Southern Water and the Catchment Hosts/Catchment Partnership/HIWWT.

About you:

• You’re an experienced and proactive environmental leader with a strong understanding of river catchments, their ecology, and the challenges facing lowland river systems. Confident in managing people, projects, and partnerships, you combine technical expertise with strategic oversight to deliver complex, high-impact programmes.
• You’re adept at building trust and collaboration across diverse stakeholders – from water companies and regulators to landowners and local communities – ensuring shared goals are turned into tangible outcomes for nature. Skilled in planning, coordination, and performance management, you balance attention to detail with a clear vision for long-term environmental recovery.
• With a passion for wildlife and a commitment to the Wilder 2030 vision, you bring leadership, professionalism, and drive to restore the Test and Itchen and help create a wilder, more resilient Hampshire.

Wild About Inclusion!

As an inclusive employer we recognise that our workforce needs to better reflect the communities in which we live and work. We encourage applications from all sections of the community, particularly those underrepresented within our sector, including people from black, Asian, minority Ethnic backgrounds and people with disabilities. We are committed to creating a Movement that recognises and truly values individual differences and identities.

Disability Confident.

We are proudly a Disability Confident Committed employer. The scheme is helping us recruit and retain great people to meet our workforce needs. As a member of the scheme, we will ensure that a fair and proportionate number of disabled applicants that meet the minimum criteria for this position will be offered an interview.

To be considered for an interview under the Disability Confident Scheme you must:

• Identify as being disabled which under the Equality Act 2010 means a physical or mental impairment which has a substantial*, long term** adverse effect on your ability to carry out normal day to day activities; or a long-term health condition; and;

(*Substantial is more than minor or trivial **Long-term means 12 months or more)

• Set out how you meet all the minimum qualifying criteria set out in the person specification for the post at the application and testing stages. This is a requirement for all candidates, not just those applying under the scheme.

We offer a wide range of benefits including a competitive salary, generous annual leave allowance, a contributory pension scheme, life assurance, learning and development support, 24-hour access to our employee assistance programme, discounted staff travel with our corporate partners Wightlink (subject to T&Cs), free parking at our sites and more.

Closing date: 01 February 2026
Interviews: To be confirmed

To apply for the role, please click on the 'Apply Now' button at the top of the page. In the ‘supporting information’ section, you’ll need to demonstrate, with detailed examples, how you meet the job requirements using the Job Description and Person Specification below. Please note that we may occasionally close vacancies early when we have received enough applications that meet the required criteria.

Please do not use artificial intelligence tools to assist you to complete the application form. We may not accept applications that have been completed utilising AI tools.