Head of Funding and Green Finance
Western Forest
The Western Forest’s Head of Funding and Green Finance will drive, direct and manage the delivery of a diverse range of funding sources to deliver the new national forest. They will ensure the development of sustainable income streams and models of delivery by 2030.
The Western Forest will receive up to £7.5m of grant funding from Defra over the next five years with an expectation to deliver a substantial target of additional finance from a range of sources. This is a fantastic opportunity to create innovation in funding streams for trees, woodland and nature recovery.
The Head of Funding and Green Finance will be pivotal in driving the vision of the forest, aligning with both environmental goals, economic aspirations and people focussed ambition.
About the Western Forest
The Western Forest is England’s newly announced national forest. The Western Forest will span Gloucestershire, Wiltshire and the West of England, focusing on five core areas over its first five years. It will support over 2.5 million people and plant at least 2,500 hectares of woodland and tree habitat. The project will also restore 1,500 hectares of existing woodland habitat.
The Western Forest will connect and join up our existing woodlands through focused delivery across the region to create and restore the woodlands for people and nature. By doing so, we will create important corridors for our wildlife, mitigate flood risk, create new accessible woodlands for communities in both our rural and urban communities and grow the green economy.
The project has been led by representatives from the Forest of Avon, Great Western Community Forest, Natural History Consortium, local authorities and West of England Combined Authority to success - winning the national forest competition to be the first new national forest in 30 years. A range of additional partners including the Wildlife Trusts, authorities, National Landscapes and others will be closely involved in developing the programme, while a much wider partnership of over 40 stakeholders has come together to support the project.
Purpose of the Role
The Head of Funding and Green Finance is responsible for leading innovative and effective fundraising operations, generating income to support costs of delivering all work programmes and sustainable growth of the Western Forest. This involves creating, developing and implementing multi-year fundraising plans and providing strategic and inspirational leadership.
This role will be responsible for the development and delivery of the Western Forest’s fundraising strategy to generate £13mn or more in additional income over the next five years to ensure effective long-term delivery of our strategic plan.
Reporting directly to the Western Forest Director, the Head of Funding and Green Finance plays a key role, helping to set the direction for the Western Forest.
Benefits include: Staff pension, Employee Assistance package, 25 days annual leave plus bank holidays, volunteering days and staff training and social events.
Closing at 5pm on Monday 30th June 2025.
Interview: Week commencing 14th July
About Western Forest
The Western Forest is the new national forest!
The Western Forest will span Gloucestershire, Wiltshire and the West of England, focusing on five core areas over its first five years. It will support over 2.5 million people and plant at least 2500 hectares of woodland and tree habitats.
The Western Forest will shape a greener, more connected landscape with trees and woodlands at its heart. This will contribute to a resilient future that will benefit the economy, nature and both rural and urban communities.
The Western Forest is the new national forest! The Western Forest will span Gloucestershire, Wiltshire and the West of England, focusing on five core areas over its first five years. It will support over 2.5 million people and plant at least 2500 hectares of woodland and tree habitats. The Western Forest will shape a greener, more connected landscape with trees and woodlands at its heart. This will contribute to a resilient future that will benefit the economy, nature and both rural and urban communities.
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