Head of Estates, Scotland

Closing Date: 29/09/2024

Are you eager to make a profound positive impact on Scotland s landscape? Do you want to push the boundaries of what s possible in sustainable land management and conservation?

Join us in reimagining estate management as a dynamic journey of landscape-scale restoration. Create spaces for nature, wildlife, incredible ecotourism opportunities, rural homes, renewable energy, and redefine what it means to be an Estate Manager in Scotland. This is a rare opportunity to live, work, and play in one of the most beautiful parts of the world!

The Head of Estate Management (Scotland) will play a key role in showing the world how modern conservation can be delivered. For this dual focused role, we re searching for someone to spearhead the transformation of the incredible landscape at Invergeldie and take the reins in rewriting the narrative of land management across Scotland.

Invergeldie will undergo significant natural capital creation and including peatland restoration works and native broadleaf woodland creation. We are also exploring the opportunity for renewable energy projects in the form of wind, to help in the global fight against climate change. In addition, we want to develop built assets to provide housing, ecotourism, and business opportunities on the site. It s an incredibly varied role that will be so exciting to lead!

ABOUT YOU:

Working across Scotland, you will provide technical leadership for Invergeldie and Blackburn & Hartsgarth (Scottish Borders), with additional acquisitions in the future. You will also work closely with Dave Keir, our wonderful Head of Operations, to oversee and improve the management and operations of this growing portfolio.

You will be the key interface between the central Oxygen Conservation team and key local suppliers, tenants, and wider local communities. This role will see you supporting the development of unique ecotourism offerings and the (re)development of homes for the local community. No day will be the same, but each will be an adventure.

We are looking for someone who is dedicated, self-motivated, feels a strong connection with nature, and can demonstrate experience of living and working in the rural economy. Specifically, we re looking for:

Passionate Explorer: Fuelled by a passion for adventure, environmental conservation, and making tangible impact.

Environmental Expertise: Strong and extensive knowledge in land management and conservation, acquired through education or hands-on experience.

Collaborative Relationship Builder: Ability to build strong relationships with diverse stakeholders, including landowners, farmers, partners, neighbours, contractors, and regulators.

Exacting Standards: Sharp eye for detail and a deep commitment to delivering exceptional service.

Commitment to Growth: A dedication to continuous personal development and fostering growth within the wider team.

Inspirational Leader: An ability to inspire people and a genuine passion for developing others and yourself

Entrepreneurial Spirit: A flair for spotting opportunities that others miss and then bringing your ideas to life to Scale Conservation.

Kindness and Approachability: And of course, you have to be really nice! Sharing snacks on long journeys or a packed lunch whilst out in the rain is mandatory!

We believe in recruiting exceptional people and creating the role that allows them to do incredible things. We are committed to having a genuinely diverse team drawn from across the country, with a wide range of lived and learnt experiences. You might have skills in some but not all of the areas above. Whatever your skill set, we d love to hear from you if you think you can make a real difference with Oxygen Conservation and the communities where we re fortunate to work.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES:

Estate Management for Invergeldie

Health, Safety, & Wellbeing: Embed a strong Health and Safety culture across the Estates, including but not limited to, site operations, managing contractors, and ensuring visitor wellbeing.

Property and Land Management: Ensure effective management of the portfolio s properties, land, and assets, including agricultural land, historic buildings, and natural resources in Scotland with support from our Planning & Property Team.

Project Management: Project manage small and medium-sized work programmes, both conservation and property, managing site budgets, grant applications, and contractors.

Community Engagement: Build meaningful partnerships with local communities, neighbours and contractors to preserve and enhance the environment.

General Estate Management including financial management, long-term planning, ensuring full compliance with relevant laws and regulations, and reporting and documentation.

Technical Leadership Across Our Scottish Estates

Leadership: Provide technical leadership across the Scottish Estates and line management of our Estate Ranger at Invergeldie.

Operational Excellence: development of new, and improvement of existing, processes and procedures.

Insight: Supporting future acquisitions with your experience and expertise.

ABOUT OXYGEN CONSERVATION:

Oxygen Conservation was founded in 2021 by Oxygen House Group and Dr Rich Stockdale with the mission of Scaling Conservation. We buy land at scale to deliver positive environmental and social impact, generating profit as a result, not as the purpose, of what we do. We have acquired 11 sites totalling more than 28,000 acres. Our goal is to deploy capital to protect and restore 250,000 acres of land by 2030. We were proud to be named Start Up of the Year at the 2022 Business Leader South West Awards and awarded the Team of the Year at the 2023 Edie Awards. Our founder and Managing Director, Rich, is featured in the ENDS Power List 2023, which names the 100 UK environmental professions who have made the greatest impact in the past two years.

TO APPLY PLEASE CLICK THE "APPLY NOW" BUTTON AND YOU WILL BE REDIRECTED TO BEGIN THE APPLICATION PROCES