Parks, Trees and Ecology Manager

About Southwark:

Southwark is a large, ambitious and progressive council with a ‘can do’ attitude and enviable reputation. As a Council, we are successful, passionate and forward-thinking. Extending from the river Thames into South East London, Southwark encompasses some of the capital’s cultural hotspots, vibrant communities and acclaimed greenspaces. Southwark is proud of its diverse communities, with over 120 languages spoken and we are committed to a ‘Fairer Futures for All’ promise which ensures that all residents and businesses are central to everything we do.

With 33 Green Flags, an excellent team and an extensive investment programme there has never been a better time to seize the opportunity to lead this award winning service. With its vibrant, energetic feel, Southwark is a very attractive place to work if you relish the opportunities and challenges of leading green space services in a fast-paced, dynamic, inner city setting.

The Role:

This is an important role, developing and leading green space services which are highly valued and at the heart of our communities.

Key priorities include: the development and implementation of an exciting new parks and open spaces strategy; care and management of over 90,000 trees and management of London’s most ambitious tree planting programme; managing the grounds maintenance contract and internal staff teams; working with cross-council teams to respond to the climate emergency; driving further improvement and innovation across the service; and keeping Southwark at the forefront of London’s green space provision. The role will require significant energy, enthusiasm and determination; you will be driven to ensure that our parks and green services remain vibrant, enticing, and outstanding.

As the Parks, Trees and Ecology Manager, you will maintain and develop the service as a centre of excellence, taking the professional leadership role for the Council across all these areas.

About You:

Do you share Southwark’s passion for providing top quality green spaces and commitment to caring for the environment and tackling the climate emergency? Have you got the vision, skills and leadership qualities to help shape our services, so they make a meaningful impact on the quality of our residents’ lives? Are you excited about the potential that these services offer, and are you driven to build on great practice to deliver something outstanding?

We are looking for a dedicated, energetic individual to drive forward our borough’s green space provision and to help us protect and shape our services for future generations. We want someone who has the experience and drive to build on what’s good and to have a laser focus on how to make it even better.

We are looking for someone who has excellent parks, trees and ecology operational knowledge.  You’ll need experience of managing services like these at a senior level and importantly, you’ll need in-depth knowledge and practical experience of driving service improvement and innovation.

Ideally, you will be qualified to degree level or equivalent, with direct experience of most of the following services areas – parks operations and contract management, horticulture, tree service management, ecology and how all of these can contribute to tackling the climate emergency.

Benefits and More Information:

From flexible working to job sharing (where possible) we are committed to providing a healthy work life balance. You will benefit from 33 days basic annual leave (plus bank holidays), rising to 36 days with continuous service, a generous local government salary related pension, cycle to work and cycle loan scheme, season-ticket loan, confidential wellbeing and counselling support. For more information about the wide variety of benefits you can take advantage of please visit our page.

Additional Details:

This post attracts an additional JNC financial benefits package of £2,724 per annum (pro-rata, April - March).

Recruitment Timetable:

Interview date: Week commencing 17 April 2023.

For an informal discussion about the role please contact Tara Quinn, Head of Parks and Natural Environment on 07940 788704.

We are an organisation who is passionate about our people and understands that richness of diversity is a requirement to provide the best possible services to our communities. This is demonstrated through our council-wide ambitious commitment to tackle racial inequality in our communities and workforce through our Southwark Stands Together programme. We particularly welcome applications from members of the Black, Asian and ethnic minority communities to increase representation at senior management level in the Council.