Strategic Partnership Lead (White Rose Forest Programme Director) – INTERNAL

This job is internally restricted. To apply for this job you must be an employee of the Council for the duration of the recruitment process – up to and including the start date. You must also be a substantive employee (or an employee with 12 months continuous service or more) of the Council or an Apprentice. Please note that if you work for an Academy you are not an employee of the Council.

The Major Project Service is looking to recruit a Programme Director for the White Rose Forest (WRF) partnership.

This is an exciting time for the White Rose Forest partnership as it supports our collective responses to the Climate Emergency through a growing programme of tree planting across North and West Yorkshire. Kirklees Council is the accountable body for the WRF joint venture agreement and has the primary responsibility to:

• identify and secure strategic levels of funding 2
• provide the managerial structures and accounting support to create and deliver regional programmes of urban tree and woodland creation.

Recent successes in the Northern Forest partnership has provided addition confidence in the WRF and DEFRA is looking to imminently increase investment to meet ambitious Government targets. The Major Project Service are therefore looking for someone with

• A senior level of experience and expertise in running complex, multi partner investment programmes for woodland creation at a regional scale.
• An ability to demonstrate up to date and strategic understanding of land management, across Yorkshire’s varied rural and urban landscapes
• An ability to build and maintain successful high-level working relationships with key decision makers and stakeholders locally, regionally and nationally

Specifically, the post holder will in the short term be expected to

• Build and run a core WRF Team to oversee the development, approval and implementation of the WRF Plan to deliver a strategically aligned programme of tree canopy expansion
• Establish and run a multi partner community forestry based, Trees for Climate investment programme that takes into account value for money, wider economic and social issues as well as ecological and other design considerations in line with the UK Forestry Standard
• Oversee the development and implementation of a service level agreement with the Community Forest Trust to build an effective regional team to run the Trees for Yorkshire Delivery Pathway
• Represent the WRF and its partners at a regional and national level with key Government Agencies, Community Forest partnerships and the business community
• Support and maintain complex relationships within the WRF partnership including the Steering Group, its working parties, supporters and stakeholders.

For more information please read the attached summary sheet