Head of Green Finance

This role is predominantly home-based with regular travel to locations across the UK. Office facilities are available at our Newark office (Tuesdays to Thursdays) for those within easy travelling distance.

Permanent Full Time (35 hours per week)

Closing Date for applications is 23rd April 2026

First Interview: 6th and 7th May

Second interview: TBC

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 945000 members over 33000 volunteers 4100 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

Are you a visionary leader in green finance driven to shape nature markets that deliver natures recovery in the UK

Were looking for a senior leader in green finance and nature markets to drive the strategic development and delivery of all aspects of green finance across The Wildlife Trusts federation ensuring our approach is ambitious coherent and aligned with our 2030 strategy - Bringing Nature Back.

Drawing on your strong business acumen you will build a robust pipeline of commercial nature products to meet growing buyer demand such as habitat banks for Englands Biodiversity Net Gain market or nature-based carbon projects for the voluntary carbon market. An innovative problem-solver with an entrepreneurial spirit you will help embed the systems processes and resources needed to strengthen our green finance capability manage commercial risks and improve efficiency across the federation.

It is essential that you have strong relationship-building and line management experience to grow our national Green Finance team and establish new and long-lasting relationships with colleagues across the federation external partners and stakeholders.

A core part of the role is to grow The Wildlife Trusts national function as a trusted broker for high integrity nature market products delivered by local Trusts. Using your strategic commercial skills you will also lead the development of new opportunities for large scale investment designing the mechanisms through which investment can be deployed and ensuring these approaches work for both national and local priorities.

You will champion innovation in green finance supporting pioneering work in nationally significant landscapes such as the Rothbury Estate while helping position The Wildlife Trusts at the forefront of nature market development. Acting as a national thought leader you will represent the organisation across the conservation government finance and business sectorsadvocating for the role of green finance in delivering transformational impact for nature.

The Wildlife Trusts value passion respect trust integrity pragmatic activism and strength in diversity. Whilst we are passionate in promoting our aims we are not judgmental and are inclusive. 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.

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.

RSWT are committed to increasing the diversity of its staff through its Levelling the Field recruitment pledge and as a Disability Confident employer we are committed to fostering an inclusive equitable and welcoming recruitment experience for all applicants. Applicants with disabilities and from ethnic minority backgrounds will be considered for the next stage of the selection process should they meet all the minimum criteria for the role outlined in the person specification detailed as essential criteria in the recruitment pack. As part of our Disability Confident Scheme RSWT offers an interview to a fair and proportionate number of applicants with disabilities and therefore not all applicants with disabilities would be entitled to an interview as they must still satisfy the minimum requirements for the job. This commitment is designed to help reduce barriers and promote equal opportunity. We actively work to remove barriers throughout the recruitment journey and are dedicated to creating an accessible and supportive recruitment experience by offering reasonable adjustments at every stage of the recruitment process as well as within the workplace. If you would benefit from any adjustments to support you during your application or interview process please let us know and we will be pleased to put the appropriate support in place.

At RSWT we are committed to creating a safe environment where discrimination bullying and harassment are not tolerated. We expect everyone to uphold respect and support our zero-tolerance policy. Please be aware we may not accept applications if we have reason to believe they have been wholly produced using generative AI tools.

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.