HEAD OF FIELD PROGRAMMES

Band 13 - £49,041 per annum plus benefits

Chester Zoo is one of the premier Zoos in Europe attracting over 1.4 million visitors per year.

It has a well-established Field Programmes portfolio and is renowned for its conservation work, and excellent standards of animal welfare.

The conservation activities involve strong partnerships with various organisations across the world and complement and interact with the Zoo’s ex-situ conservation activities.

We have a vacancy for Head of Field Programmes reporting into the Director General.

You will be expected to lead, develop and manage field conservation programmes and communications in line with the Zoo’s vision and mission and to achieve the Zoo’s strategic objectives and maximise conservation impact.

Principal Accountabilities are:

• To manage and administer collaborative conservation programmes and grants, including overseeing grants portfolio, review processes and database management.

• To appraise and select conservation programmes and projects and oversee their subsequent evaluation for conservation impact, using this in refining and developing the Zoo’s portfolio of conservation support.

• To ensure high-quality internal and external communication about the Zoo’s conservation activities.

• To work across divisions to ensure integration and participation in the Zoo’s field conservation portfolio.

• To play a role in the Zoo-based conservation community within zoo associations and relevant organisations such as EAZA/BIAZA/IUCN SSC.

• To help maximise the Zoo’s reputation through networking, giving presentations, representing the zoo in the media as required, and involvement in committees and other activities.

• You will manage a team of direct reports.

You will be degree qualified to MSc level in Conservation Science and have substantial experience of working in Conservation. You will be able to manage projects and have managed staff and budgets. To be successful in this role you will need to have an excellent understanding and knowledge of conservation science and of zoos.

You will have a respectable scientific background, evidenced by publication record. You will need to have managed people and be an effective people manager and motivational and sensitive leader of people from a wide range of cultures. Excellent communication skills as well as being able to work collaboratively across various teams within the zoo are essential.

To apply for this position please send in a current CV with a covering letter stating why you believe you should be considered for the role via the Recruitment Line (recruitment@chesterzoo.org) for the attention of Agnes Murray, Acting Head of HR.

The closing date for applications is Tuesday 20th May 2014.