Eurosite’s Secretariat provides a full range of network services determined by members’ priorities. The Secretariat works as an integrated, functioning team where individual levels of responsibility vary according to each post. The Director reports directly to the Eurosite Board and contributes to the overall quality of network services.

Job Role

The Director’s role is to be the figurehead of the organisation representing, leading, co-ordinating and managing the organisation by providing a range of projects and associated services for members, ensuring that all projects are consistent with and contribute to the delivery of the objectives of Eurosite.

Core functions are identified as:

• To lead, support and manage the staff and implement processes to support staff development, enable effective work and prioritisation and good staff well-being within the organisation;
• To develop and manage (multi)annual organisational budgets, strengthening the network’s resilience;
• To actively develop and generate new sources of income making the organisation resilient to future external pressures and events and sustainable in the longer term;
• To strengthen the network by identifying, facilitating and creating opportunities for networking and information exchange between natural site managers and other conservation practitioners;
• To represent and liaise with external organisations, especially the European Commission and other institutions, funding bodies and decision makers, and promoting the interests of members at all appropriate opportunities;
• To identify and take forward emerging themes relevant to the network expressing the shared priorities and common interests of members;
• To provide core project management support services, which include developing project ideas and identifying appropriate sources of funding in line with the priorities outlined in the Eurosite Strategy and the core focus of the network, submitting proposals and ensuring that all terms and conditions are met;
• To broker, facilitate and, where requested, coordinate joint working between members;
• To regularly communicate with Eurosite’s Board in order to jointly take strategic decisions and to coordinate the implementation of Eurosite’s 2021-2025 Strategy and the Annual Work Plans;
• To ensure that all statutory and operational responsibilities of the network are discharged;
• As key project deliverables, direct the development of workshop programmes and ensure their efficient organisation and running: also lead the development and organisation of non-project related workshops and other Eurosite events, including the Annual Conference;
• Ensure effective communication between all staff on projects enabling Eurosite’s varying communications to be relevant and timely.

Projects are either led by a member (or group of members), external partners or by the Secretariat. All projects involve specific activities, which benefit the membership and advance the interests of the network.

Job requirements

We are looking for an enthusiastic, flexible, resilient, well-organised team player for our Eurosite Secretariat, based in Tilburg in the Netherlands, who has

• Experience in a senior or leadership role;
• A higher education degree or vocational qualification in nature conservation, environmental/natural resource management or comparable fields;
• Experience with line management and managing teams, including performance evaluations;
• Experience with developing and managing (multi)annual budgets, including various sources of funding;
• Experience in developing and submitting project proposals and all aspects of project management;
• Experience with operational planning & coordination;
• Experience working with policy and influencing European institutions at a high level;
• Experience of working in international settings, involving people and organisations from different countries and cultural backgrounds;
• Highly numerate with experience of technical financial reporting for external funders;
• Excellent written and oral communication skills;
• Thorough command of the spoken and written English language;
• Extensive experience with a variety of MS Office packages – Word, Excel, PowerPoint – as well as high degree of confidence in use of internet and web-based technology;
• An enthusiastic individual with a well-organised and professional approach to his or her work;
• Outgoing, friendly and approachable;
• Solution-oriented thinking;
• Resilient to pressure and capable of working to deadlines;
• A team player, also capable of acting on own initiative;
• A willingness to be flexible and responsive to priorities as these arise;
• A willingness to travel through Europe to meet project partners and members and represent Eurosite.

Ideally, you have

• knowledge of other European languages;
• experience with EU-funded projects;
• basic knowledge of WordPress;
• confidence with presentation of financial information for non-technical audiences;
• an affinity with and understanding of the (European) non-profit nature conservation sector.

Salary scale

Eurosite uses the ‘CAO Rijk 2020’ salary scales of the Dutch Government. The post of Director has been graded at salary scales 10-11. The exact salary level will be determined during a second exploratory meeting with the candidate, once they have successfully passed the first interview stage.

Deadline for applications

Please send your CV and motivation letter to info@eurosite.org by 15 November 2020.