The Woodland Trust is looking for a Head of Estate and Programmes - North to join our North England Team. 

The Head of Estate and Programmes will lead the Trust’s estate team and related programmes of work in North England. They will take a strategic overview, identifying and shaping new initiatives to ensure that the estate and associated programmes are developed and managed to the highest professional standards and in accordance with the Woodland Trust’s management approach, policies and standards.

Interviews will take place via teams on 18th and 21st of September 2026.

For queries about this role, reasonable adjustments, or support with your application, please contact: recruitment@woodlandtrust.org.uk

• Lead the strategic management of the Trust’s woodland estate across the North, ensuring the highest professional standards, regulatory compliance, and delivery of landscape-scale conservation outcomes.
• Shape and deliver major estate-based programmes and projects, working collaboratively across teams and with external partners to achieve the Trust’s strategic objectives.
• Provide inspiring leadership to a multidisciplinary team of site managers, project managers, and programme staff, fostering a high-performance, values-led culture.
• Oversee the effective planning, management, and governance of a multi-million-pound estate budget, ensuring excellent value for money and efficient use of resources.
• Take overall responsibility for health, safety, risk management, and operational excellence across the Trust’s northern estate activities.
• Develop and implement the North’s long-term estate plans, aligning woodland, forestry, conservation, and land management priorities with the Trust’s UK strategy.
• Act as a senior ambassador for the Trust, building and strengthening relationships with partners, funders, stakeholders, land managers, and public bodies to maximise impact.

For the full job description, including the key areas of responsibilities and accountabilities, please click the 'apply now' button. 

To achieve our vision of a world where woods and trees thrive for people and nature, we need to better reflect society and the communities we work in. All people, no matter their background, identity, ability, or circumstance, should benefit from trees. 
People of colour and disabled people are currently under-represented across the environment and conservation sector. If you identify as a person of colour and or disabled, we particularly encourage you to apply.

• Experienced leader with a proven track record of managing complex estates, large-scale programmes, projects and multidisciplinary teams to deliver ambitious strategic outcomes.
• Strong understanding of woodland, forestry, conservation, land management and the operation of large estates, with knowledge of ancient woodland management highly desirable.
• Commercially and financially astute, with experience managing significant budgets and balancing strategic priorities, operational performance and value for money.
• Confident in leading health, safety, risk management and governance activities within geographically dispersed operational environments.
• Skilled at building influential relationships and strategic partnerships, with the credibility to engage effectively with funders, land managers, public bodies, conservation organisations and other key stakeholders.

If you're ready to make a difference and grow with us, send in your application today. We might close the job opening early if we get a lot of applications, so it's a good idea to apply soon. If we do close the advert early, and you have an application in process, we will email you prior to closing to give you time to complete.