Nature Opportunities & Business Development Director

at  The Crown Estate

ADVERT CLOSE DATE: 9TH OCTOBER 2024

Purpose of role: The Nature Opportunities and Business Development Director will drive and implement core aspects of our Marine Strategy by identifying, creating and developing new opportunities that contribute to habitat investment and restoration. The Director will be responsible for leading the delivery of workstreams that support new sustainable finance models for nature, unlocking new lease products informed by strong customer and stakeholder engagement, and collaborating with the Tender team to deliver transformative nature -focussed projects. This role offers a unique chance for a creative and innovative individual to grow a team who will make a significant impact for nature and fostering sustainable seabed management for generations to come.
Ideal candidate: This role would suit someone who has experience in accelerating the growth of new business areas and driving innovative approaches to unlock new ideas. With understanding of ESG principles and green finance approaches, this individual will be excited to develop opportunities for The Crown Estate to accelerate nature focused activities on the coast and seabed. Strong communication skills will be essential as this role will be pivotal in bringing together stakeholders from across finance and investment and nature and environment backgrounds. You do not need to be an expert in both, but you should excel at breaking down complex ideas into accessible language. Commercial acumen and financial literacy is key as we seek to unlock sustainable finance models for nature, and help bridge the funding gap for nature recovery. Experience and understanding of key nature policy and legislation is beneficial, as is experience of UK marine sectors, but a passion for delivering for Nature is critical as is a desire to learn more and lead the way with new approaches.

MAIN ACCOUNTABILITIES:

• Identify and Develop New Nature Focused Business Opportunities: Lead the way in identifying and developing new opportunities that align with our sector strategy, contributing to sustainable business growth while fostering habitat investment and restoration
• Manage Customer Relationships: Cultivate and maintain strong customer relationships, ensuring their needs and expectations are met through transformative environmental projects
• Leasing Design and Tender Process: Oversee the leasing design process and collaborate with the Tender team to deliver effective tender processes for each environmental project
• Develop Habitat investment and restoration opportunities: Drive initiatives to create and restore habitats within our portfolio, supporting biodiversity and ecosystem preservation
• Strategic Enterprise Priorities: Lead the implementation of strategic priorities for the team, ensuring alignment with enterprise goals such as ways of working (WoW), adopting a Whole of Seabed approach and contributing to our Sustainability and Health and Safety targets

KNOWLEDGE, EXPERIENCE & SKILLS:

• Demonstrable track record in business development, identifying new opportunities and strategic partnerships, ideally in emerging markets
• Demonstrable track record in business development, identifying new opportunities and strategic partnerships, ideally in emerging markets
• Proven experience in building successful market and investment propositions, ideally linked to nature or climate-change related activities
• Demonstrable expertise in customer engagement, relationship management, and contract development
• Understanding of ESG principles, green finance and emerging natural capital markets, ideally with experience from the UK and/or overseas
• Demonstrable high level stakeholder management and influencing skills
• Understanding of sustainability practices and social impact evidence assessment, driving environmentally conscious projects
• Previous people management/leadership experience
  We are a proud disability confident employer and operate the offer of interview scheme Disability Confident employer scheme - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).
  We are happy to offer alternative application methods or formats and can be flexible on our process to enable you to have the best opportunity.
  If you have any questions about our recruitment process or would like to talk about adjustments, please contact us on careers@thecrownestate.co.u

Please refer the Job description for details