Head of Wildland Operations

Nattergal is an award-winning Nature restoration company, restoring ecologically degraded land to thriving, functioning ecosystems. Our Wildlands include Boothby in Lincolnshire, High Fen in Norfolk and Harold’s Park in Essex, with our portfolio soon to scale across the UK and into Europe. This is a unique role that brings together land, assets, people and systems to ensure Nature recovery happens effectively, site after site, as we grow.

We are not looking for a conservation manager. Our ecology work, natural capital monitoring and project development are already led by a strong internal team. What this role provides is the strategic and operational leadership that enables that work to be delivered on the ground, consistently and at scale.

In practice, this spans several connected areas:

Multi-site leadership

You are the escalation point for complex, high-risk or cross-site issues, while leaving day-to-day decisions with those closest to the land. The role is about setting clear frameworks rather than directing delivery.

Portfolio-level operations

You plan and manage resources, budgets and people across multiple sites, working closely with the CFO, CNO and other functions. The focus is maintaining Nattergal standards without over-engineering process, ensuring growth remains coordinated as new sites are added.

Estate management

You oversee the practical realities of land and estate management at scale: buildings, fencing, habitat management, water systems, rights of way, livestock and machinery.

Delivery of strategy

You translate nature restoration plans, monitoring protocols and site level commercial projects into delivery on the ground, ensuring alignment between design and execution.

Health, safety and compliance

You are responsible for building a strong safety culture and ensuring risk and compliance are embedded, without creating unnecessary burden for site teams.

Building operational systems

As a growing business, much of the infrastructure required to support a larger portfolio is still to be developed. You will design processes, standards and reporting frameworks that will shape how Nattergal operates in the future.

This role also carries significant people leadership responsibility. You will directly lead our site managers, supporting, coaching and holding them accountable. We are looking for someone who is present and engaged, who leads by example and brings energy and empathy to a team deeply committed to their work.

Our site teams care deeply about their land. The person leading them needs to bring the same level of care to people as to operations.

We expect this role to attract candidates from a range of backgrounds. We are less interested in job titles and more interested in whether you recognise yourself in the following:

• You lead with compassion and adaptability, understanding that strong teams do not operate in a single way.
• You are motivated by building and are comfortable designing systems and processes from the ground up.
• You are curious about land and how it functions, and you use that understanding in how you lead.
• You have proven experience in operations or programme management, with strong discipline across budgets, risk and delivery in a multi-site context.
• You are able to operate at both strategic and practical levels, moving between Board-level thinking and site-level detail as required.

This role could suit candidates from estate management, land agency, conservation organisations, utilities or infrastructure, regenerative farming or the forces, among others. If you recognise yourself in this description, we would like to hear from you.

We are working with Chris Brooker at Unearthed Search on this appointment. Please apply or contact Chris directly.