Director of Development
Who we are
Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust is the county’s leading conservation charity, run by local people for the benefit of local wildlife. As part of a national network of 46 Wildlife Trusts, we work tirelessly to protect the natural world we all depend on. Our vision is simple: we want everyone to have the opportunity to live in a healthy, wildlife-rich world.
Through our ‘Wilder Nottinghamshire 2030’ strategy, we are focusing on creating wilder lives and places while ensuring our organisation remains resilient and inclusive. From our iconic nature reserves, such as the Attenborough Nature Reserve and Idle Valley, to our pioneering landscape-scale recovery projects, we are entering an ambitious new phase.
About the role
We are a values-led organisation: ambitious in our goals, innovative in our thinking and supportive in how we work together.
We are united by a shared commitment to addressing the urgent nature and climate challenges of our time.
The Director of Development will be a key member of the strategic leadership team. You will take a cross-organisational leadership role ensuring that the Group’s overall goals are clearly defined and communicated, with clear plans for implementation and with strategic delivery underpinned by financial health, operational excellence and strategic growth.
Working closely with the Chief Executive and senior colleagues, you will lead the fundraising, membership, strategic partnerships and Visitor Centre functions to ensure that the Group’s strategic goals are met.
Key responsibilities:
Strategic leadership
- Act as part of the strategic leadership team, collaborating with Directors, Trustees and advisory committees to maximise priorities, manage cross-departmental risk and ensure effective governance.
- Contribute to defining the long-term vision, mission and strategic priorities of the organisation, ensuring alignment across departments and operational delivery.
- Monitor and report on departmental performance, providing oversight and accountability to the Board.
Development and fundraising
- Oversee the design and delivery of robust fundraising strategies, covering membership, major gifts, grants, corporate partnerships, legacies and individual giving campaigns.
- Identify, develop and secure new revenue streams to support core operations and programme growth.
- Cultivate and steward relationships with major donors, charitable foundations, businesses and community partners through high-level networking and negotiation.
Commercial and visitor operations
- Lead the strategic development of NWT Trading Ltd to maximise sustainable income and growth, ensuring exceptional visitor experiences at flagship centres.
- Collaborate with the Trading Board and CEO to develop and execute the annual Trading Company strategic plan, maintaining robust financial controls and procedures.
Operational and regulatory
- Ensure compliance with relevant regulations, including the Code of Fundraising and manage operational risks effectively.
- Lead the development department, inspiring, developing and managing staff and volunteers to achieve departmental and organisational goals.
- Oversee impact measurement and KPIs, ensuring the organisation’s work is effectively evaluated and communicated.
Who we are looking for
We are seeking a thoughtful and accomplished leader who recognises that income generation and strategic partnerships are central to our success. You will bring a strong track record in fundraising, development or income generation within a similar organisation, with the ability to navigate complexity with strategic judgment.
You will be able to navigate complexity while keeping people, culture and purpose at the centre of your approach. Whether you are already operating at Director level or stepping into your first executive role, you will be motivated by the opportunity to contribute meaningfully to an ambitious, mission-led organisation
You will bring:
- Senior leadership experience within fundraising, development, income generation, or a related field.
- Excellent leadership skills, with the ability to motivate, inspire and develop a highly effective team.
- Proven strategic leadership, with the ability to provide direction and drive the development of work programmes appropriate to the area of work.
- Significant experience in community empowerment, organising and mobilising.
- Strong working knowledge of legislation, policy, monitoring and evaluation relevant to development and fundraising.
- Demonstrable experience in building strategic partnerships, cultivating relationships with donors, sponsors and supporters.
- Experience of leading a commercial entity, preferably in heritage, tourism, visitor experience, catering or retail sectors.
- Track record in successful income-generation initiatives, growing income, awareness and support.
- Proven ability to drive effective organisational change, challenging traditional approaches and delivering modern, inclusive services.
- Ability to make difficult decisions and co-lead change at a pan-organisational scale.
- Resilience and adaptability, with demonstrable capacity to respond to swiftly changing demands, priorities and complex situations.
- Strong understanding of fundraising and commercial best practice and associated legislation.
- Proficient in workplace technologies, including AI tools, collaboration platforms and data visualisation.
Welcome from the CEO
Welcome and thank you for your interest in Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust and becoming our Director of Development.
I’ve worked as CEO at Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust for 7 years and I’m immensely proud of what our organisation and colleagues have achieved for Nottinghamshire’s wild spaces in that time, and across our more than 60 years of history.
Nottinghamshire is home to varied landscapes, including ancient woodlands and heathland, the Trent Valley wetlands and lowland grasslands, but our natural areas have been in decline over the last century, with many areas of habitat depleted and shrunk and native species under threat or already lost.
Since 1964, we have been saving and creating unique and iconic wild spaces, like the Attenborough Nature Reserve and Idle Valley Nature Reserve, taking action for threatened species and inspiring and supporting Nottinghamshire’s individuals and communities to create space for nature through volunteering, community mobilising and advice.
Over the last five years, we’ve seen significant growth. Our annual income has risen from around £5 million to almost £9 million and with it, the scale of our organisation has also increased, particularly our fundraising team.
A Director of Development has not existed in our organisation before, so if you have a passion for fundraising, are an accomplished partnership and relationship builder with commercial acumen and have a desire to coach and mentor to get the best out of your team, then I’d love to hear from you.
On behalf of all of us at Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust, I look forward to hearing from you soon.
Yours sincerely,
Paul Wilkinson
CEO, Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust
Accessibility
Equal opportunities
Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust Group is an equal opportunity employer that strives to be a diverse and inclusive environment in which everyone is valued.
We welcome applications from eligible candidates regardless of sex, race, disability, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion or belief, marital status, or pregnancy and maternity.
We recognise that our workforce needs to represent the communities and people we work with. We particularly encourage applications from underrepresented groups within Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust, the wider charity and conservation sectors, such as people from Black and Ethnic Minority backgrounds and those who identify as LGBTQ+.
Disability
If you have any support requirements to make your application, please notify Matt at Peridot Partners at the earliest opportunity so that appropriate reasonable adjustments can be made to our recruitment process.
We are a Disability Confident employer.
We understand that different members of the community have different access needs and have made some modifications to the way we do business to accommodate people from diverse communities and abilities.
We offer the following amenities:
- Accessibility dogs are welcome
- Papers and materials can be presented in different formats
- A sign language interpreter can be accessed for interview
- Working patterns and locations can be adjusted
Please note applications are made via Peridot Partners and not Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust itself. To apply for this role and for more information, please visit our listing on the Peridot Partners website.
