Fisheries Programme Manager

Fisheries Programme Manager

• Contract:
  
  Full-Time, Permanent
• Report To:
  Head of Fisheries & Ecology
• Grade: 5
• Hours:
  
  37.5
• Location:
  
  West country Rivers Trust’s office is in Stoke Climsland and, whilst we have adopted hybrid working, there is an expectation to work from the office on a regular basis and to travel to sites across the delivery area.

West country Rivers Trust is recruiting a Fisheries Programme Manager.

The starting salary for this role is £42,400 per annum.

• Employee Assistance Program (EAP)
• 25 days’ Annual Leave + Bank Holidays, with a reward for long service up to a maximum of 30 days
• Additional leave at Christmas
• WRT contributes 9% of salary to a personal pension scheme (following a three-month postponement period), plus Life Assurance cover
• Cycle to Work Scheme
• Specsavers Eyecare Vouchers
• Supportive Policies
• Hybrid & Flexible Working

Formed in 1994, the Trust was established to restore West country rivers. Protecting rivers can save money for farmers, lower costs for water companies, boost tourism and even benefit human health.

Today the charity works with landowners, communities, businesses, farmers and water companies to restore and protect rivers, lakes, estuaries and coastal areas for people, wildlife and the local economy. With the climate and ecological crises driving investment in catchment resilience, this work has never been more important.

The Trust is a grassroots organisation, started in the early 90s by a group of people who were passionate about, and concerned for, the waterways around them.

Everything the Trust does is informed by the best available science and an ‘ecosystems approach’, considering the function of the whole catchment, not just its rivers.

This approach, and a hands‑on, tireless commitment to river restoration, helped inspire the wider rivers trust movement. The Trust now has around 75 employees, an annual turnover of c £3m and multi‑year projects supported by a wide range of funders.

There are three main delivery teams and a support services team, with employees working on sites, from home and from the office.

This new senior post will strengthen the technical and operational leadership of WRT's Rivers and Fisheries Team at a pivotal time. You will lead a portfolio of fisheries projects focused on fish passage, barrier removal, monitoring and conservation, and support the Head of Fisheries & Ecology in developing the team's work, including sharing line management of key team members.

It is an opportunity for an experienced fisheries professional to apply their expertise at scale, lead complex projects through the full delivery cycle and make a measurable difference for fish and rivers across the Southwest.

We offer genuinely significant conservation work, a skilled and committed team, and real scope to shape a growing programme. You will manage projects or work packages within larger schemes that need specialist fisheries input.

The role is based in the Southwest, with travel further afield to work in other regions or represent the organisation  will maintain regular CPD in fisheries management, fish biology, fish passage, river restoration and morphology, and manage your own workload and that of a team, often in a dynamic delivery environment. A technical background in fisheries and freshwater conservation is essential.

• Provide senior technical expertise across the fisheries programme, with demonstrable depth in fish passage, barrier removal and associated freshwater ecology.
• Act as senior technical support, quality-assuring assessments, survey designs, consent and planning applications and project outputs.
• Support the development of…