Project Deveron Catchment Restoration Manager

The Atlantic Salmon Trust seeks an exceptional candidate to inspire and lead a ground breaking catchment restoration project in the north east of Scotland.

The Atlantic Salmon Trust is the leading salmon and sea trout conservation charity that seeks to improve the freshwater and marine populations of Atlantic Salmon and Sea Trout from catchments flowing into the Atlantic Ocean. It is based in the UK but has a reach and reputation that extends around the fisheries world. Key to this is an evidence-based approach to informing management and the realisation that salmon are a key indicator of the health of our rivers and oceans.

The Role

Working in partnership with the Deveron, Bogie and Isla Rivers Charitable Trust the two organisations are looking to deliver a watershed wide project to restore vibrancy to the Deveron catchment. The river and its iconic species are now under threat from both the Biodiversity and Climate Change crises, and we need to act now to reverse this loss and make it resilient to future threats.

We are looking for a dynamic individual to join our team to work with landowners, funders, agencies and local stakeholders and businesses to  deliver the changes required at scale and at pace to ensure that our catchments have cold clean water and vibrant habitats.

General Duties

The role will work strategically and directly with landowners and land managers  to develop and implement projects including removal of instream barriers, riparian woodland, structured buffer strips and other restoration schemes. The ideal candidate will have a proven track record of scoping out large-scale restoration projects, bringing these schemes to life and managing consultants and contractors throughout the delivery process.

Key Responsibilities

• Developing and producing a catchment wide audit of the health of the Deveron river systems and associated land uses on GIS.  This will bring together all existing sources of data as well as identifying areas which are missing.  This piece of work will be integrated with Atlantic Salmon Trust Core rivers programme (which is also being run on the Laxford on the West Coast of Scotland and will be supported by AST Theme leader – Data Management & Analysis)
• Work with AST and other partners on identifying the potential change possible within the catchment to reverse the biodiversity loss and future climate resilience.
• Developing a programme of works across all of the river catchments to deliver the identified potential.
• Scoping out and designing landscape scale projects or programmes of work including landowner and regulatory engagements.
• Managing these plans on GIS mapping datasets
• Applying to appropriate grant schemes includes Woodland Grant Scheme, carbon brokering, AECS, Nature Restoration Fund, Water Environment Fund, private funders, etc.
• Ensuring all consents are secured including designated site, CAR, planning etc.
• Drawing up tender documents and ensuring a transparent procurement process
• Liaison with and overseeing delivery contractors, and ensuring quality control on site
• Post implementation monitoring and ensuring all conditions have been met
• Preparing management plans for all projects and ensuring maintenance agreements are in place.
• Feeding into the AST/DIBRT research and monitoring plans

The following are the criteria which are required for the delivery of the role and will be used to appraise applicants:

Essential Skills

• Strong interpersonal, communication and negotiation skills, comfortable with a range of different stakeholder groups including land managers, agencies, organisations, contractors and suppliers.
• Experience in large-scale project management with a proven ability to plan, report and work to deadlines,
• A good understanding of land management, farming and forestry practices, in particular for upland and riparian areas,
• An understanding of current funding mechanisms for ecological restoration projects and experience in preparing and submitting funding applications,
• A degree, or equivalent in a land management/ environmental management/ agriculture/ forestry/ nature conservation discipline
• A full clean UK driving license

Desirable Skills

• Experience in working with communities and volunteers
• Knowledge of river processes and regulatory requirements
• Knowledge of riparian woodland and upland restoration impacts on the wider ecology,
• Experience of creating and managing GIS datasets; - particularly ArcGIS
• Knowledge of Scottish environmental legislation

Experience

We would welcome application from diverse backgrounds that can demonstrate experience in:

• Experience in project planning, management, co-ordination and output delivery.
• Experience of co-ordinating programmes of work/projects involving a diverse range of
• stakeholders and communities and delivering stakeholder events.
• Experience of partnership and collaborative working.
• Experience in the collection and analysis of data.
• Conference and other public presentations.
• Demonstrated success in obtaining funding

Conditions of employment

This newly created role will be employed by the Atlantic Salmon Trust and will sit within a small team on the Deveron, reporting to the AST Restoration Director and working closely with the DBIRCT Director.

The terms of employment will be detailed in a contract and accompanying staff handbook, along with this job description. The Trust operates a flexible 37.5 hour working week, which will on occasion require working evenings and weekends. The main place of work will be at The Deveron, Isla and Bogie Rivers Trust Offices, Avochie Stables, Avochie, Huntly AB54 7YY.

It should be noted that the postholder may be required to travel, work with partners or undertake field work across the UK. As such they will need to have access to a driving licence as work locations will not be accessible by public transport. In addition, there may be a small amount of international travel. A vehicle of work purposes will be provided.

The Atlantic Salmon Trust operates a policy of continuous professional development and will help support the postholder’s career development.

How to apply

Interested applicants are invited to submit a CV and covering letter detailing why you are suitable for this post to recruitment@atlanticsalmontrust.org by Sunday 3rd December 2023.

Interviews will take place at the DBIRCT Offices at Avochie on Tuesday 12th  December 2023.

If you require further information on the role, please email alison@atlanticsalmontrust.org in the first instance.