Listed below are our current vacancies and training opportunities…
We are actively seeking volunteers to help look after Northumberlandia.
If you are interested in volunteering, please visit the Northumberland Wildlife Trust website, where we are advertising posts for Site Welcomers and Reserves Wardens at Northumberlandia.
To apply, use the enquiry form and the Volunteer Co-ordinator will be in touch.
Job Title: Finance Business Partner
Reports To: Director of Finance & Corporate Services
Reports: None
Location: Warrington
Remuneration: £44,000 – £54,000 + performance bonus + pension
Reporting to the Director of Finance and Corporate Services, the Business Partner is responsible for supporting the achievement of the organisation’s strategic objectives through the robust appraisal of new business and other commercial project proposals.
In collaboration with the Senior Leadership Team (SLT), the Business Partner is responsible for the production of timely, accurate, succinct and considered financial and non-financial reports and recommendations to support effective decision making and influence organisational performance.
The role involves a small amount of travel to sites in the UK.
The Land Trust own and manage a portfolio of approx. 80 sites (2500 hectares of land) by working with a wide range of public and private sector landholders, including large scale landowners, housing developers, landfill operators, local authorities and mining companies. We help landowners who, for a variety of reasons, want to pass on responsibility (or liability) for the management of sites, public open space or new green infrastructure and find bespoke long-term funding solutions for land, and maximise community and recreational benefits from the land. These solutions can include service charges, section 106 or endowment, or a cocktail of funding sources. Our current endowment portfolio of over £150m provides the financial resources to ensure that our endowed sites are managed to a good standard and contribute to the wellbeing of the communities by which they are surrounded. Costs on our service charge sites are fully recoverable meaning they are equally well managed.
Our primary aim is the successful delivery of our five charitable objectives: environmental improvement, community cohesion, health improvement, education, and economic benefit. We work with local partners, called Managing Agents, such as Groundwork, the Wildlife Trusts and The Conservation Volunteers; as well as contractors; to manage sites on the ground and liaise with communities.
• Work closely with the Business Development Team to appraise and report the expected financial implications of new site acquisitions proposed to be acquired via permanent and / or expendable endowment funding, service charge or interim management and make recommendations thereon.
• Working collaboratively with other members of the Finance team and working with staff across other functions, ensure that set up details for new sites are delivered in a timely manner, covering reporting structure, billing and contractual details and endowments.
• Jointly with the Technical lead within the Development Team, ownership of & control over the DCF Endowment Model used for project modelling by the Business Development Team and provide technical modelling support to the wider team.
• Appraise financials for new sites and projects, facilitating approval by the Director of Finance and Corporate Services.
• Work closely with the Financial Accountant to ensure that obligations under the monthly reporting and annual budgeting timetable are met.
• Work closely with the Operations Team to appraise, interpret and optimise available commercial opportunities and make recommendations thereon. Appraisal includes responsibility for carrying out Financial Due Diligence on proposed commercial opportunities where appropriate.
• Develop appropriate financial systems & reports to optimise & support the financial management and outcomes of each such commercial opportunity.
• Responsibility for the coordinating the raising of sales invoices and the completeness of relating income.
• Identify & impart best practice to non-financial colleagues, ensuring they are appropriately equipped & trained in financial matters.
Experience & Knowledge
• A recognised senior accountancy qualification – ACA, ACCA, CIMA or equivalent.
• Ability to conduct financial appraisals of new proposals and to develop & improve business cases.
• Strong understanding of margin, income accruals and cost accruals.
• Ability to understand and analyse out legal agreements.
• A background in the Land sector desirable but not essential.
• Experience of service charge desirable but not essential.
• Understanding of accounting practice as it relates to fundraising and charities desirable but not essential.
Skills & Attributes
• A team worker with strong collaborative skills, both with colleagues in the Finance function and across multi-disciplinary teams.
• Confident and mature enough to challenge senior colleagues and to establish strong credibility, trust and confidence.
• Strong commerciality, objectivity, pragmatism, attention to detail, an enquiring mind and knowhow to mitigate risks and maximise potential rewards are essential skills and attributes.
• A high level of motivation, personal organisation & professionalism
• Comfortable with a deadline driven environment.
• Able to make decisions based on appropriate analysis of the risks and opportunities involved, often involving unfamiliar or ground-breaking situations.
• Able to assimilate complex financial & non-financial information, identify salient facts, draw measured conclusions and communicate the outcome in a concise manner.
• Excellent IT skills & Excel spreadsheet skills
• £44,000 – £54,000 depending on experience.
• Business travel costs will be reimbursed.
• 25 days holiday per year, plus bank holidays. Rising to 30 days with 5 years’ service
• Support to professionally develop skills and qualifications
• Comprehensive Health and Wellbeing Programme including health care cash back plan; EAP; biennial medicals; flexitime and agile working.
• A defined contributions pension plan, with Land Trust matching employee contributions up to 6%
Please email a CV and covering letter to recruitment@thelandtrust.org.uk
Closing date for applications is Sunday 14th November 2021
Interviews will take place in Warrington.
Job Title: Estates and Facilities Officer (Marleigh)
Reports to: Head of Estates South
Salary: £25,000 to £27,000 DoE plus benefits
Terms: Permanent 36 hours p/w Monday to Friday – some weekend and evening work as required.
Location: Marleigh, Cambridge
The Land Trust is in an exciting period of growth, with a growing number of service charge sites coming under management and is now seeking to appoint an Estates and Facilities Officer for a large phased development site at Marleigh in Cambridge. The Estates and Facilities Officer will help deliver an ambitious, community focused, programme of growth and community engagement.
The Land Trust own and manage a portfolio of approx. 80 sites (2500 hectares of land) by working with a wide range of public and private sector landholders, including large scale landowners, housing developers, landfill operators, local authorities and mining companies. We help landowners who, for a variety of reasons, want to pass on responsibility (or liability) for the management of sites, public open space or new green infrastructure and find bespoke long-term funding solutions for land, and maximise community and recreational benefits from the land. These solutions can include service charges, section 106 or endowment, or a cocktail of funding sources. Our current endowment portfolio of over £150m provides the financial resources to ensure that our endowed sites are managed to a good standard and contribute to the wellbeing of the communities by which they are surrounded. Costs on our service charge sites are fully recoverable meaning they are equally well managed.
Our primary aim is the successful delivery of our five charitable objectives: environmental improvement, community cohesion, health improvement, education, and economic benefit. We work with local partners, called Managing Agents, such as Groundwork, the Wildlife Trusts and The Conservation Volunteers; as well as contractors; to manage sites on the ground and liaise with communities.
1 Marleigh Operations
1.1 Act as a point of contact for business partners including; Hill / Marshall third party house builders and contractors, and Service Charge customers on Marleigh, raising matters as required and maintaining a high standard of site management and customer relationships across Marleigh.
1.2 Act as a point of contact for appointed managing partners/agents, discussing and putting into practice actions as required
1.3 Deliver the Residential Open Space components of the Estate Management Strategy
1.4 Help to coordinate the monitoring and management of partner/agent performance including charitable impact, site management, nature conservation, community engagement and Health and Safety. This will be done through regular inspections, review meetings and reports.
1.5 Ensure managing partner/agents maintain sites to agreed service levels and within budgets
1.6 Negotiating and agreeing annual budgets with managing agents, and in monitoring expenditure during the course of the year, including the processing of quarterly reports, claims and invoices.
1.7 Reporting on progress and spend to the Management Company
1.8 Working with the Fundraising team and Estates Managers, to ensure that external grant funding opportunities are identified, applied for as appropriate, and secured to maximise the benefits and add value to Marleigh.
1.9 Assist in the promotion, negotiation and documentation of appropriate commercial activities on Marleigh.
1.10 Work with managing partners/agents to ensure all planning, environmental and other statutory or other land ownership / lease conditions are complied with and respond to issues as they arise on Marleigh including unauthorised use, unforeseen events, accidents and complaints.
1.11 Assist in the management of consultants and contractors to complement and support the work of managing partners/agents.
1.12 Maintain the necessary administrative systems to ensure effective site management and monitoring
1.13 Ensuring that all works that take place on site due so with due regard to current H&S legislation and that the green space is managed to ensure the safety of all who use it
1.14 To set annual KPIs to deliver the Trust’s charitable objectives and monitor performance of targets and outcomes.
2 Future Phases of Marleigh
2.1 Review and contribute to site design proposals for future phases, including where possible, review of individual plot purchases RM applications. Act as liaison with site infrastructure developments in advance of receiving management responsibilities.
2.2 Provide advice and guidance on the selection and appointment of managing partners/agents and contractors, including the review and approval of management agreements.
2.3 Review and comment on management plans for future phases.
2.4 Provide a ‘clerk of works’ role to help oversee the landscaping contracts to ensure that specifications are adhered to and quality is kept high
2.5 Sign off each phase of land to be managed by the Land Trust
2.6 Monitor the aftercare of the landscaping contract to ensure that quality is maintained and new planting is cared for appropriately
3 Support the Executive Team in Promoting the Trust and Marleigh
3.1 Champion the role that well maintained open spaces have in the creation and development of sustainable communities around Marleigh.
3.2 Ensure that Trust policies are promoted and implemented as part of site management including Stakeholder and Community Engagement Strategies.
3.3 Identify and recommend new project, partnership and networking opportunities
3.4 Identify opportunities to promote any best practice with the coordination of Awards applications across LT’s five charitable objectives, as we start to deliver onsite
4 Community Engagement
4.1 Working with the Communications team and Estates Mangers, to ensure that Marleigh and its activities are effectively and appropriately promoted, liaising with managing partners/agents to maximise opportunities. Work with the Land Trust Communications Team to deliver a Community Engagement Strategy.
4.2 Supporting the development of community groups including; friends of groups, resident associations, steering group and arrange cyclical meetings at appropriate times
4.3 Establish an informal Residents Association
4.4 Establish regular ‘drop in sessions’ for new residents to meet the Trust and discuss Marleigh green spaces management and the service charge
4.5 Engage with the variety of user groups from new and existing residents to determine how their needs can be met by the open space delivered at Marleigh e.g. forest schools for local schools,
4.6 Establish and delivery a ‘Community Events Programme’
4.7 Establish an annual ‘Residents Survey’ and report back on these findings to interested third parties
4.8 Ensure all relevant Trust policies and procedures are adhered to e.g. Health and Safety, Procurement, IT etc.
5 Community Centre and Future Facilities Operations
5.1 Work with residents of Marleigh and wider community to ensure community element of the hangar building is available and meets their needs.
5.2 Oversee the day to day operations of community element of the hangar building.
5.3 Develop systems and operating ethos with local partnerships.
5.4 Coordinate required maintenance with relevant contractors
5.5 Work with estates manager and project manager on options for management of future facilities.
Essential Skills:
Relevant professional qualification
Contract Management.
Excellent communication skills including the ability to develop and manage relationships with partner organisations and contractors engaging with local people in resolving issues and site management.
Expertise in liaising with residents/the public/clients
IT literate with proven skills in using MS Office packages.
Ability and confidence to work on own initiative, as well as part of a team, and to resolve problems as they arise, remaining calm under pressure.
High level of tact, diplomacy and confidentiality.
Confidence to manage competing priorities from a large complex site under own initiative.
Ability to balance a long-term vision with attention to detail to ensure that the vision can be successfully realized.
Financial Literacy and budget management and control.
Desirable Experience:
Presentation skills to residents and client
Membership of the Landscape Institute (LI) or British Association of Landscape Industries (BALI).
Developing, implementing and monitoring management agreements, landscape management plans and management contracts.
Experience in the design and development of new areas of open space.
Experience in the management of sites funded through service charges.
A minimum of 3 years’ experience in dealing with the public in a customer facing role (not necessarily in a landscape management role).
Experience of working with a range of partners in the management of sites including public, private and voluntary sector organisations.
Experience of setting up and running landscape management contracts.
The post will be based from the Hanger Building at Marleigh, with frequent travel to other Land Trust offices and sites as required.
This position requires the post holder to act flexibly and undertake other duties and responsibilities commensurate with the post as discussed with the Estates Manager.
Working outside.
Some evening, weekend and bank holiday working.
Business travel costs will be reimbursed.
The role will require a DBS check.
£25,000 to £27,000 depending on experience.
25 days holiday per year, plus bank holidays. Rising to 30 days with 5 years’ service
Support to professionally develop skills and qualifications
Comprehensive Health and Wellbeing Programme including health care cash back plan; EAP; biennial medicals; flexitime and agile working.
A defined contributions pension plan, with Land Trust matching employee contributions up to 6%
Reasonable travel costs will be reimbursed
Please email a CV and covering letter to recruitment@thelandtrust.org.uk
Closing date for applications is 9am on Wednesday 3rd November 2021.
Interviews for any shortlisted candidates will take place on Wednesday 10th November 2021 in Marleigh.
It is great to see people using the sites I manage, even if they often don't realise the work involved in keeping them safe and welcoming.
Charles Langtree, Estates Manager
If you have any questions or queries about what we do or how to go about working with us we'd love to hear from.
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