Contract Manager – North England

ABOUT US

The Woodland Trust is the UK’s leading woodland conservation charity. We want to see a world
where trees and woods thrive for people and nature. The Trust engages and inspires people to
make their difference tackling the nature and climate crisis helping protect, restore and
create our vital woods and trees.

THE ROLE

The Contracts Manager will join our Operations team to represent the Woodland Trust locally,
supporting a diverse portfolio of sites within North England, in line with the Trust’s
standards and ensuring the safety of our colleagues, visitors, contractors and volunteers. It
shall be the Contracts Manager’s responsibility to support Site Managers’ in the preparation
and delivery of grant applications, operational contracts and projects including silvicultural
operations. 

The Contracts Manager will initiate, develop and project manage new innovative projects within
and across the woodlands, working with external partner and a cross-departmental team of
foresters, people engagement specialists, communications specialists and funders.

They will identify opportunities to streamline services, develop our contractor base and
maximise the income and grant aid potential of work programmes. They are responsible for
ensuring that all necessary agreements, mitigations and consents are in place in preparation
for the delivery of contracts and in accordance with all Woodland Trust Health and Safety
policies and procedures.

This is a 2-year fixed term contract until end of April 2026. A company car will be provided
with this role.

THE CANDIDATE

With previous experience in land-based management in the forestry, woodland management, or
nature conservation sector, you’ll have experience in writing and reviewing site management
plans, budget and contract management, and Health and Safety management.

You’ll have experience in the writing and delivery grant schemes across woodland creation and
for specifying, instructing, and supervising woodland management operations. You’ll be
experienced in planning, monitoring, and delivering multi-disciplinary projects to time and to
budget and in engaging with contractors and suppliers on pricing, implementation, and delivery.

You must have a proactive ‘can-do’ attitude, excellent communication skills, be commercially
aware and able to build effective partnerships internally and externally. You’ll have
experience engaging with external stakeholders, communities and volunteers with a collaborative
approach. A working knowledge of the operational, ie Forest Works Management of woodlands would
be desirable.

A full driving licence is a must have, along with the ability to undertake travel across a wide
area, sometimes to remote locations. Occasional overnight stays will be required and you will
be expected to live in the region and within easy reach of key sites in North England.

Our Organisational Nature enables us to better understand what it means to be part of the
Woodland Trust, empowering us to make an impact, every day. We want you to be able to role
model our values; ‘Grow Together’, ‘Focus’, ‘Explore’ and ‘Make it Count’ to ensure each of us
plays our part in helping to protect, restore and create our woods and trees.

WHAT TO EXPECT BY JOINING A TEAM AND MAKING A DIFFERENCE

There’s no other organisation like the Woodland Trust. Joining the team you will be making your
contribution to tackling the nature and climate crisis. In return, we recognise and value our
people. You’ll have our full support, training and opportunities for professional development,
along with a contributory pension, life assurance, good holiday allowance and the opportunity
to work flexibly from home. 

OUR COMMITMENT TO DIVERSITY & INCLUSION 

At the Woodland Trust, we want to reflect and represent the full richness of diversity in the
UK. Fewer of our employees are Black, Asian or minority ethnic; disabled; from lower
socio-economic backgrounds or under 25; so we are particularly keen to receive your application
if you are from one or more of these groups. We can also discuss anything you may need to
achieve your full potential at any stage of the process. We assess your application solely on
your demonstrated suitability for the job. Nothing else.

To ensure anonymised recruitment, if you have uploaded your CV, shortlisting panels do
not see your CV until shortlisting has been completed. Before submitting your
application, please ensure you have completed the supporting information section with details
of experiences that clearly evidence as many aspects of the job description as possible.

We reserve the right to close this vacancy early if we receive a high volume of
suitable applications. If you are interested, we’d encourage you to submit your application as
early as possible.