Head of Climate and International Policy

Full time: 35 hours per week (Mondays to Fridays)

Permanent

Closing date for applications: 11 January 2026

First interview:27 January 2026

Second interview: 30 January 2026

About Us

The Wildlife Trusts are a grassroots movement of people from a wide range of backgroundsand allwalks of life who believe that we need nature and nature needs us. We have morethan 944000 members over 38000 volunteers 3600 staff and 600 trustees. There are46 individual Wildlife Trusts each of which is a place-based independent charity with itsown legal identity formed by groups of people getting together and working with others tomake a positive difference to wildlife and future generations starting where they live andWork.

Every Wildlife Trust is part of The Wildlife Trusts federation and a corporate member of theRoyal Society of Wildlife Trusts a registered charityin its own right foundedin 1912 and oneof the founding members of IUCN the International Union for the Conservation of together this federation of 47 charities is known as The Wildlife Trusts.

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

About You

If you would like to work for one of the UKs best-lovednature charities then we have an exciting opportunity foryou! We are seeking a visionary leader to become our Headof Climate and International Policy.

This pivotal new role of the Head of Climate and InternationalPolicy sits within our International Directorate ensuringthat the work we deliver locally across The Wildlife Trustsfederation contributes strongly to tackling global climatechange and biodiversity challenges. You will align and driveforwardour local actions towards achieving internationalframeworks and targets while championing and advocatingpolicies that connect global priorities to local delivery.

The Wildlife Trusts value passion respect trust integrity pragmaticactivismand strength indiversity. Whilst we are passionate in promoting our aims we are not judgmental and are particularly encourage applications from people who are underrepresented within our sectorincluding people from minority backgrounds and people with disabilities. We are committed to creatinga movement that recognises and truly values individual differences and identities.

RSWT take our Safeguarding responsibilities extremely seriously. Please click here to readourcommitment statement. The Royal Society of Wildlife Trusts is committed to safeguarding andpromoting the welfare of children and adults at risk. For applicable roles applicants must be willing toundergo 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 adisability that meets all the essential criteria for the post. Please let us know if you require anyadjustments to make our recruitment process more accessible.

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

At RSWT we are committed to creating a safe environment where discrimination bullying andharassmentarenot tolerated. We expect everyone to uphold respect and support our zero-tolerancepolicy.

Please be aware we may not accept applications if we have reason to believe they have beenwhollyproducedusing generative AI tools.

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.