In line with our ambition to raise £3m/year by 2025, we are expanding our team! WFN is seeking to increase the amount of support we can channel to our growing network of Whitley Award winners around the world, as we raise their profile and foster south-south collaborations among alumni. To allow us to do this, we are recruiting for the following four roles:
- Head of Communications
- Grants and Networks Officer
- Fundraising Officer (maternity support cover)
- Operations Manager
Find full details below.
Head of Communications
Purpose of role: To lead on PR and communications at WFN: an impactful fundraising and grant-giving wildlife conservation charity focused on supporting grassroots projects in the Global South.
Reports to: Director
Place of work: Central London, with the option to work remotely up to 2 days/week
Contract: Full time permanent contract, working 5 days p/w
Salary: £35,000 p.a.
Summary:
This is a fantastic opportunity for a highly motivated individual to join us in the role of Head of Communications (HoC). This varied role offers the successful candidate a key position at WFN, leading on charity and winner PR, and setting and implementing WFN’s annual Communications Strategy. The HoC is responsible for digital communications (including website, e-letters, video and social media), printed publications, and branding. They report to the Director and will receive day-to-day support with social media from the Fundraising Officer. They regularly assist in helping organise exciting events, such as our annual Whitley Awards Ceremony as well as timely communications campaigns relevant to the environment sector.
Strong writing ability and an eye for design are required to deliver communications across the charity, including across printed and digital platforms. If you are a creative self-starter with a passion for communicating positive conservation stories to a diverse audience, possess excellent organisational skills and are accustomed to managing a varied workload, then this role is for you. The successful candidate will have a desire to contribute to the mission of an effective wildlife conservation charity and build the profile of both the organisation and our winners.
Essential skills:
- Demonstrable history working in a similar role within the charity/NGO sector
- Proven success in leading PR campaigns and securing media coverage
- Excellent writing ability
- A track record of producing effective digital and print communications for a wide range of audiences
- Confident webmaster/editor (WordPress experience preferred)
- Experience setting social media strategy, and using online tools such as Canva and Hootsuite to aid with content creation and scheduling
- Competency with basic video editing
- Strong interpersonal skills (interface with team members, trustees, media, donors, suppliers, international grantees)
- A creative thinker with an eye for design, who can build timely campaigns and keep content fresh to increase engagement
- Extremely organised, with high levels of accuracy and attention to detail
- Proficient in Microsoft Office – Outlook, Excel, PowerPoint and Word
- Able to manage and prioritise a varied workload within deadline
- Capable to work as part of team and on own initiative
- Flexible ‘can do’ approach and will flourish in a small office environment
- Understanding of key issues in wildlife conservation
- Proven ability in effective budgeting, negotiating and budget management
Desirable skills:
- MSc in relevant subject
- Experience with event organisation
- Fundraising experience
- Competency using Salesforce database and/or Vertical Response
- Familiarity with Adobe Creative Suite and/or Keynote
- Experience working with high profile individuals
Additional details:
- Attractive holiday package, pro-rated
- The charity operates a Pension Scheme
- Only applicants who have the right to work in the UK at the time of application will be considered for this role
To apply, please email [email protected] as soon as possible with:
- Your CV
- Contact details for two referees
- A covering letter explaining why you feel you would be right for this position and your motivation, as well as an indication of what your notice period, if any, would be
- A signed copy of our Candidate Privacy Notice
GRANTS AND NETWORKS OFFICER
Purpose of role: To support international conservation grants programmes and lead on the development of our 200 strong global Winner Network at WFN: an impactful fundraising and grant-giving wildlife conservation charity focused on supporting grassroots projects in the Global South.
Reports to: Director
Place of work: Central London, with the option to work remotely up to 2 days/week
Contract: Full-time permanent contract, working 5 days p/w
Salary: £32,000 p.a.
Summary:
This new role at WFN provides an exciting opportunity to lead on the development of our growing Winner Network Development (WND) programme, identified as one of the charity’s key areas for strategic growth and maximised impact over the coming years. We are looking for an enthusiastic and outgoing self-starter who is passionate about conservation and can drive forward and create connections between our global network of over 200 conservationists, fostering knowledge exchange and collaboration. As part of this programme the Grants and Networks Officer (GNO) will help with delivery of annual thematic training workshops, with opportunity for international travel. The GNO will also assist our Head of Grants (HoG) in monitoring our portfolio of active grants and managing winner reports (focussing on Asia), will participate in the Whitley Awards application process by administering and screening the grant applications and supporting with due diligence, and will aid the team in the delivery of the annual Whitley Awards week. If you have a conservation background, and experience with both monitoring active grants, and proactively managing growing networks, then this is the role for you.
Essential skills:
- MSc in a relevant field (e.g., Conservation/ Zoology/ Environmental Science)
- Requisite experience in managing a portfolio of active grants within the environmental NGO sector including ongoing monitoring and evaluation of written and financial reports
- Demonstrable understanding of grassroots conservation projects, issues, and solutions (primarily in in Asia, but also in Africa, South and Latin America)
- Experience cultivating and managing networks of people, with a proven track record of successful engagement and network growth
- Excellent communication and interpersonal skills at all levels (interface with team members, trustees, international grantees, donors, external assessors, suppliers)
- Past involvement in the planning and delivery of events and/or trainings, including logistics
- Innovative and strategic thinker; able to spot opportunities to maximise the collective impact of our winner network
- Efficient and organised, with high attention to detail whilst ensuring deadlines are met
- Analytical and competent in data handling
- Experience of using databases to manage funding streams, workflows and analyse data
- Proven ability in effective budgeting, negotiating and budget management
- Proficient in Outlook, Word, Excel and Powerpoint
- Flexible ‘can do’ approach and will flourish in a small office environment
- Ability to work as part of team and on own initiative
Desirable skills:
- Experience working and/or travelling in the Global South
- Experience using Salesforce/CRM databases
- Experience working with high profile individuals
Additional details:
- Attractive holiday package totalling 30 days p.a. plus bank holidays
- The charity operates a Pension Scheme
- Only applicants who have the right to work in the UK at the time of application will be considered for this role
To apply, please email [email protected] as soon as possible with:
- Your CV
- Contact details for two referees
- A covering letter explaining why you feel you would be right for this position and your motivation, as well as an indication of what your notice period, if any, would be
- A signed copy of our Candidate Privacy Notice
Fundraising Officer (Maternity Support Cover)
Purpose of role: To support fundraising and communications within an impactful wildlife conservation charity, enabling the team to raise vital funds for grassroots projects led by Award winning conservationists across the Global South.
Reports to: Director
Place of work: Central London, with the option to work remotely up to 2 days/week
Contract: 12 month fixed-term contract (maternity support cover), with the possibility for extension. Working 5 days p/w.
Salary: £32,000 p.a.
Summary:
This exciting new role at WFN combines fundraising, communications, and event organisation, offering the successful candidate the opportunity to meaningfully contribute to the charity’s ability to raise vital funds for conservation. The Fundraising Officer (FO) will interface on a regular basis with our Head of Partnerships and report to the Director, to together enable the charity to raise a target of £2.3 million in 2023. The FO’s principal responsibilities will include drafting reports to existing donors on fund use and developing new proposals for funding, working with senior management to seek new donors, leading on the development of WFN’s NextGen network engaging young people with conservation, and on managing new and existing partnerships with like-minded organisations. This role will also support the Head of Communications with the running of WFN’s social media channels and maintenance of our Google Photos archive, and will play a key role in the delivery of fundraising events and the annual Whitley Awards Ceremony. We are looking for a strong writer, who can take updates from our winners in the field and turn these into engaging reports for our existing donors, persuasive fundraising proposals for prospective donors, and social media content for the public.
Essential skills:
- Existing experience working in a fundraising or communications role within the charity/NGO sector
- Excellent writing ability, with the skill to turn scientific text into engaging content for a lay audience
- Experience preparing and writing reports and fundraising proposals, with a track record of success
- Keen attention to detail inc proof reading
- Strong understanding of social media, with experience creating engaging content and managing channels, including using online tools like Canva and Hootsuite, and paid posts to run campaigns
- Confident webmaster/editor (WordPress experience preferred)
- Past involvement in the planning and delivery of events and/or fundraising challenges
- Ability to take ownership over fledgling programmes/partnerships, and use initiative and creativity to grow their reach
- Understanding of key issues in wildlife conservation and ability to horizon scan/spot opportunities
- Proficient in Microsoft Office – Outlook, Excel, PowerPoint and Word
- Able to manage and prioritise a varied workload within deadline
- Capable to work as part of team and on own initiative
- Flexible ‘can do’ approach and will flourish in a small office environment
Desirable skills:
- MSc in Conservation/Biology/Zoology (or similar relevant subject)
- Proven ability in effective budgeting, negotiating and budget management
- Competency with basic video editing
- An individual with a flair for ideas and design creativity
- Competency using Salesforce database and/or Vertical Response
- Experience working with high profile individuals
Additional details:
- Attractive holiday package, pro-rated
- The charity operates a Pension Scheme
- Only applicants who have the right to work in the UK at the time of application will be considered for this role
To apply, please email [email protected] as soon as possible with:
- Your CV
- Contact details for two referees
- A covering letter explaining why you feel you would be right for this position and your motivation, as well as an indication of what your notice period, if any, would be
- A signed copy of our Candidate Privacy Notice
Operations Manager
Purpose of role: To run a small but busy charity office, managing facilities, I.T. and database development. Supporting the WFN team across events, fundraising, conservation programmes and communications.
Reports to: Deputy Director
Place of work: Central London
Contract: Permanent contract, part-time at 3 days p/w
Salary: £30,000 p.a. pro-rata
Summary:
WFN seeks a highly capable and organised individual to support the team across operations; including office, IT, database management, and events. You will be instrumental in ensuring that WFN’s facilities run efficiently, and that the team has administrative support across grants, fundraising and communications. This varied position offers the successful candidate a key role at WFN, essential in enabling smooth running of the charity’s systems and office environment. The Operations Manager (OM) regularly assists in helping to organise major events, such as our annual Whitley Awards Ceremony. If you have strong attention to detail, are skilled in IT and data management, and are looking for an opportunity to contribute to a high impact charity that supports grassroots conservation, then this is the position for you.
Essential skills:
- Extremely organised, with high levels of accuracy and attention to detail
- Excellent communication skills (interface with team members, trustees, suppliers, international grantees, donors)
- Personable telephone manner, able to respond to a variety of callers and enquiries
- Requisite experience in office and facilities management, including managing utilities contracts and liaising with suppliers
- Proven ability in effective budgeting, negotiating and budget management
- Experience in CRM database management (Salesforce), and a proven ability to handle and analyse data, and produce reports
- Highly proficient in Microsoft Office – Outlook, Excel, PowerPoint and Word
- I.T. proficient, able to liaise with I.T. consultant to maintain charity systems (Microsoft)
- Track record of providing team support including meeting minutes, logistics, travel, diaries, administration
- Able to manage and prioritise a varied workload, meeting deadlines using initiative with minimal supervision
- Ability to anticipate problems, mitigate them before they arise and troubleshoot
- Flexible ‘can do’ approach and will flourish in a small office environment
Desirable skills:
- Past experience working in the charity/NGO sector
- History of event organisation
- Background and/or interest in wildlife conservation
- Experience working with high profile individuals
Additional details:
- Attractive holiday package, pro-rated
- The charity operates a Pension Scheme
- Only applicants who have the right to work in the UK at the time of application will be considered for this role
To apply, please email [email protected] as soon as possible with:
- Your CV
- Contact details for two referees
- A covering letter explaining why you feel you would be right for this position and your motivation, as well as an indication of what your notice period, if any, would be
- A signed copy of our Candidate Privacy Notice