Executive Manager, Conservation Leadership Programme

Fauna & Flora is seeking an Executive Manager for their Conservation Leadership Programme in the UK. This permanent, full-time role involves strategic program development, fundraising, team management, and facilitating training. Candidates should have relevant qualifications and experience in conservation, strong leadership skills, and a proven fundraising track record. The position offers a salary of £50,775 per annum, with partial remote working options available.
Salary: £50,775 per annum
Duration of Contract: Permanent
Start Date: As soon as possible
Probation Period: 6 months
Hours of Work: Full-time, 37.5 hours per week, Monday to Friday

The Role

The Conservation Leadership Programme (CLP) is looking to recruit an Executive Manager to lead this dynamic partnership programme. The role of the Executive Manager is to direct strategic programme development, fundraising, and collaborations, deliver the annual business plan, manage a small team across the three conservation organisations, manage financial resources, and ensure the smooth running of day-to-day operations. There will be opportunities to be creative in finding ways to engage and support a cadre of developing conservation leaders from around the world, and a requirement to facilitate training and workshops in pursuit of CLP’s goals.

The Executive Manager will have a relevant degree or equivalent level qualification and significant relevant work experience in the conservation sector or a related field. The successful candidate will have strong programme management experience. You will demonstrate a proven track record of fundraising and experience of strategic planning. You will be an inspirational leader, have strong communication skills, and have experience of successfully managing geographically dispersed teams. You will have extensive experience in facilitating training and workshops (in-person and online) in a related field. You will be excited about the prospect of working collaboratively across three well-established conservation organisations.

In return, the role offers the opportunity to work within a ground-breaking and entrepreneurial organisation, alongside two other leading organisations—with an international network at the forefront of global conservation—and the opportunity to apply your skills and expertise where appropriate. In addition, Fauna & Flora offers a generous pension contribution, attractive annual leave allowance, and life insurance.

Our offices are located in The David Attenborough Building in central Cambridge, just a few minutes walk from glorious historic buildings and museums, the picturesque River Cam, the central market and shopping centre, and a host of cafés and restaurants.

Terms and Conditions
• Start Date: As soon as possible
• Duration of Contract: Permanent
• Probation Period: 6 months
• Gross Salary: £50,775 per annum
• Location: Fauna & Flora, Cambridge
• Current policy offers partial remote working within the UK
• Benefits:
• 25 working days’ annual holiday entitlement plus Public/Bank Holidays
• Any normal working days that fall between 24 December to 1 January inclusive (Fauna & Flora UK offices are closed)
• Pension contribution of 8% of salary after 3 months’ continuous employment
• Group Life insurance (benefit of 4 x basic salary)

Job Description
• Job Title: Executive Manager, Conservation Leadership Programme
• Reporting to: Director, Conservation Capacity & Leadership (with operational reporting to the Executive Committee based at Fauna & Flora, BirdLife, and WCS)
• Line Management: CLP team members (where employed directly by Fauna & Flora—currently Programme Officer and CLP Communications Executive), with operational delivery responsibility for team members at BirdLife and WCS. May also be required to supervise interns or volunteers.
• Key Relationships:
• CLP Award Selection Committee
• CLP Alumni (grantees, interns, trainees)
• CLP Donors
• Small grant donor network
• Conservation Leadership Community of Practice
• Conservation Leadership Transformation Network
• Relevant programmes with CLP partnership organisations
• Cambridge Conservation Initiative

Purpose:

To lead the CLP on strategy development, fundraising, and overall implementation of this partnership training and capacity development programme.

Responsibilities

Strategic Programme Development & Fundraising
• Lead, monitor, and evaluate CLP’s ongoing strategic development.
• Develop and deliver annual business plans to implement the strategy.
• Lead fundraising efforts for CLP, including the development of a new fundraising strategy, managing relationships with existing donors, and cultivating new donors.
• Ensure that CLP responds to the capacity development needs of the CLP partner network and is integrated with the objectives of each partner organisation.
• Advance strategic alliances between CLP and external collaborators to advance CLP aims and objectives.
• Implement policies agreed by the programme’s Executive Committee.

Programme Management & Operations
• Provide line management of CLP team members employed directly by Fauna & Flora, including objective setting, continuous performance management, annual appraisal, training provision, and personal development planning.
• Coordinate and guide the CLP Management Team working across the three partner organisations to deliver the programme’s Strategic Plan.
• Develop and present a yearly work plan and budget to the Executive Committee for approval.
• Manage programme resources within the agreed budget and present quarterly activity and financial reports to the Executive Committee.
• Oversee all processes related to funding CLP alumni through team awards, internships, and alumni grants.
• Direct day-to-day CLP activities and ensure delivery of annual and long-term strategic objectives.
• Oversee the design, implementation, marketing, and communications of the CLP.
• Report to and advise the Executive Committee annually regarding delivery of annual and long-term performance metrics.
• Oversee monitoring and evaluation of programme outcomes and impacts.
• Facilitate workshops and deliver training courses for CLP beneficiaries as appropriate.

Learning
• Stay up-to-date and offer expertise on issues of conservation leadership, as well as youth and early-career engagement in conservation.
• Engage with each partner organisation’s regional and thematic programmes on capacity development initiatives, sharing experiences and lessons learned from CLP and more broadly.
• Facilitate staff and partner interactions with CLP alumni and projects to promote learning and collaboration.
• Provide advice and support to new applicants and CLP alumni, including support in their nominations for other awards.

General
• Undertake any other tasks commensurate with the position that may be requested from time to time by your Line Manager.

Person Specification

Essential
• Excellent programme management skills
• Excellent verbal communication skills, with the ability to present and persuade at all levels
• A degree or equivalent level qualification in a relevant field, preferably life sciences
• Significant experience in programme management, including within the conservation sector
• Demonstrated experience with strategy development and implementation
• Demonstrated experience with successful fundraising and donor management
• Demonstrated experience with financial management, including budgeting, reporting, and grant management
• Experience securing, developing, and maintaining partnerships and collaborations
• Experience with training and capacity-building programmes within the conservation sector
• Proven confident facilitation skills in international, multi-cultural settings
• Experience organising and running complex events, including conferences and workshops in-person and online
• Experience of managing remote teams
• Excellent written communication skills, including report and proposal writing
• Excellent presentation skills
• Excellent interpersonal and diplomatic skills
• Excellent administration skills
• Excellent numeracy skills
• Fluency in spoken and written English

Desirable
• Skills in Spanish, Portuguese, French, Bahasa Indonesia, or another second language
• Field experience in conservation

Behavioral Qualities
• Demonstrates Fauna & Flora’s values
• Commitment, passion, and enthusiasm for the development of conservation leadership
• Excellent team player, with the ability to build positive personal and organisational relationships
• Self-motivated, with the ability to demonstrate initiative
• Ability to deal with challenges in a pragmatic way
• An international outlook and understanding of different cultures
• Empathetic to needs of early-career grantees and their challenges in delivering projects

How to Apply

Applications should consist of the following:
• Covering letter explaining why you are applying, relating your experience and skills to the role
• Full CV
• Contact details for two referees (who will not be approached without your permission)

Applications should be submitted electronically to amy.dennett@fauna-flora.org
Please mark your application ‘Executive Manager, Conservation Leadership Programme’ and indicate in your covering letter where you saw the position advertised.

The closing date for applications is Sunday, 6 April 2025. Interviews are likely to take place during the week commencing 21 April 2025.

No agencies please.

Regrettably, due to limited resources and the high number of applications we receive, we are only able to contact short-listed candidates. If you do not hear from us within four weeks of the closing date, please assume that you have not been successful on this occasion.

Applicants with Disabilities

Fauna & Flora encourages applications from individuals with a disability who are able to carry out the duties of the post. If you have special needs in relation to your application, please contact Jade Bedwell, People Adviser, by email: jade.bedwell@fauna-flora.org

Fauna & Flora Values

Our values underpin who we are and how we act. Just as values shape who we are as individuals, they define us as an organisation, creating the culture of success for which Fauna & Flora is renowned. Our people exemplify our shared values, which are interconnected and interdependent:
• We act with integrity
• We are collaborative
• We are committed
• We are inclusive, supportive & respectful
• We get things done