Associate Director of Legal Services

Full time: 35 hours per week (Mon-Fri)

Permanent contract

Closing date for applications: 16th November 2025

First interview: 24th November 2025

Second interview: 25th November 2025

About Us
The Wildlife Trusts are a grassroots movement of people from a wide range of backgrounds and all walks of life who believe that we need nature and nature needs us. We have more than 944000 members over 38000 volunteers 3600 staff and 600 trustees. There are 46 individual Wildlife Trusts each of which is a place-based independent charity with its own legal identity formed by groups of people getting together and working with others to make a positive difference to wildlife and future generations starting where they live and work.

Every Wildlife Trust is part of The Wildlife Trusts federation and a corporate member of the Royal Society of Wildlife Trusts a registered charity in its own right founded in 1912 and one of the founding members of IUCN the International Union for the Conservation of Nature. Taken together this federation of 47 charities is known as The Wildlife Trusts.

The next few years will be critical in determining what kind of world we all live in. We need to urgently reverse the loss of wildlife and put nature into recovery at scale if we are to prevent climate and ecological disaster. We recognise that this will require big bold changes in the way The Wildlife Trusts work not least in how we mobilise others and support them to organise within their own communities.

About You

If you are a highly experienced and self-motivated lawyer ready to take on a pivotal leadership role this is your opportunity to create and shape the future of legal services at one of the UKs best-loved conservation charities. As our Associate Director of Legal Services you will lead our Legal Services function working with Trustees senior leaders and colleagues across RSWT and the wider federation. You will build a commercially led Legal function which will be at the heart of our work enabling bold and confident action in pursuit of our mission to bring nature back.

We are seeking an exceptional individual with outstanding legal and strategic leadership skills able to inspire confidence and embed a strong commercial culture across a diverse and dynamic organisation. You will have the experience and judgement to navigate the unique landscape of a federation of 46 independent Wildlife Trusts.

You will bring proven experience of delivering high-impact outcomes through your legal expertise whether delivering complex commercial contracts managing environmental issues supporting campaigning work or working within the charity sector.

You will share our values of passion respect trust integrity pragmatic activism and strength in diversity. We are passionate about our mission but never judgmental and we are committed to inclusivity. We particularly welcome applications from people who are underrepresented within our sector including people from minority backgrounds and people with disabilities. We are determined to build a movement that recognises values and celebrates individual differences and identities.

About You

RSWT take our safeguarding responsibilities extremely seriously. Please click here to read our commitment statement.

The Royal Society of Wildlife Trusts is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and adults at risk. For applicable roles applicants must be willing to undergo checks with past employers and Disclosure and Barring Service checks at the eligible level.

As a Disability Confident employer we are committed to offering an interview to anyone with a disability that meets all the essential criteria for the post. Please let us know if you require any adjustments to make our recruitment process more accessible.

RSWT are committed to increasing the diversity of its staff through its Levelling the Field recruitment pledge and will put any ethnic minority applicants that meet all the essential criteria for the post through to the next stage of recruitment.

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. If you would usually use tools such as these to assist you in filling in a form please contact us to discuss this further and understand other options.

INDHIGH

We need nature and it needs us. Were here to make the world wilder and make nature part of life for everyone. Were helping to make life better for wildlife for people and for future generations.

The Wildlife Trusts are a grassroots movement of 870000 members 38000 volunteers and 2800 staff across the UK. We are at an exciting moment in our 110-year history with an ambitious new strategy in development setting out a vision of nature in recovery with abundant diverse wildlife and natural processes creating wilder landscapes where people and nature thrive.

Each Wildlife Trust is an independent charity formed by people getting together to make a positive difference to wildlife and future generations starting where they live.

The next 10 years will be critical in determining what kind of world we will all live in. We need to reverse the loss of wildlife and put nature into recovery at scale as a matter of urgency if we are to prevent climate and ecological disaster. This will require big bold changes in the way we think and operate and the development of a strong collaborative culture. It will require key stakeholders and the public to take action for natures recovery.

We want our people to be as diverse as society so we particularly encourage applications from people who are underrepresented within our sector including people from minority backgrounds and people with disabilities. We are committed to creating a movement that recognises and truly values individual differences and identities.

As a Disability Confident employer we are committed to offering an interview to anyone with a disability that meets all the essential criteria for the post. Please let us know if you require any adjustments to make our recruitment process more accessible.