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Head of Sustainability – Windsor, Rural and Coastal

The Crown Estate • United Kingdom • Added on Sep 10, 2026
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As the strategic lead for one of the UK’s most significant land portfolios, you will oversee sustainability delivery across 200,000 acres of rural and coastal assets. You will manage high-impact environmental funds and a dedicated team of ecologists to implement nature recovery and decarbonization plans directly on the ground. Your daily focus involves translating group-level ESG targets into practical interventions that work for farmers, coastal communities, and the unique Windsor Estate.

This role represents a rare opportunity to influence the ecological health of the British Isles on a massive scale. By bridging the gap between high-level net-zero strategy and local land management, you ensure that nature recovery and sustainable food production coexist effectively. Your leadership directly contributes to the nation’s energy security and biodiversity goals while supporting the economic resilience of rural communities across England and Wales.

This suits someone who possesses deep empathy for rural matters and the commercial acumen to lead complex environmental projects. You should be an adaptable leader comfortable navigating both the executive boardroom and the farm gate.

Job FAQs

What are the main missions and responsibilities of this role?

The primary mission is to translate high-level group sustainability goals into tangible results across the Windsor, Rural, and Coastal portfolios. You will be responsible for setting the strategic direction for nature recovery, net zero, and decarbonization while ensuring these plans are operationally viable for local land users. Key responsibilities include managing the £20m Rural Environment Fund and the Coastal Stewardship Fund to accelerate ecological interventions. You will also oversee a team of in-house ecologists and sustainability professionals, ensuring accurate data collection and reporting to track the effectiveness of environmental initiatives across the estate.

Key learning opportunities for this job

This role offers unparalleled exposure to large-scale land management and the complexities of seabed governance. You will gain deep expertise in balancing commercial farming requirements with aggressive biodiversity and carbon sequestration targets, a critical skill set in the evolving green economy. Furthermore, you will refine your leadership skills by managing a multidisciplinary team and high-value environmental funds. Working within a unique organization like The Crown Estate provides a rare vantage point on how public policy, commercial real estate, and environmental stewardship intersect at a national level.

How does the ideal candidate look like (experience, skills)?

The ideal candidate brings a blend of strategic vision and technical environmental expertise, likely backed by a degree in environmental science or a related field. You need proven experience in managing significant financial budgets and leading high-performing teams within the rural or coastal sectors. Beyond technical skills, humility and empathy for the farming community are essential. You must be able to act as a constructive challenger who can influence diverse stakeholders, from tenant farmers to senior government-linked executives, while maintaining a safety-first operational culture.

Advice to stand out and make a successful application

To stand out, demonstrate a clear understanding of the dual mandate of The Crown Estate: generating financial value for the nation while delivering nature recovery. Avoid generic sustainability jargon; instead, focus on your experience with practical land-based interventions and how you have previously balanced competing interests like food production and carbon reduction. Given the safety-first culture mentioned, highlighting your experience with operational risk and health and safety management in outdoor or rural environments will be highly beneficial. Show that you are prepared for the regular travel required to truly understand the diverse landscapes under your stewardship.

What aspects of the company's sustainability is this role likely to focus on?

The role focuses heavily on nature recovery and biodiversity net gain across diverse habitats, including uplands, foreshores, and the ecologically sensitive Windsor Great Park. You will be the architect of decarbonization pathways that address the specific challenges of rural land use and coastal management. There is also a strong emphasis on social impact, specifically supporting the economic growth and resilience of coastal and rural communities. You will ensure that sustainability initiatives create lasting benefits for the farmers and partners who live and work on the estate's land.

What are the main challenges someone in this role might face?

A primary challenge will be balancing competing land-use priorities, such as the tension between maximizing food production and allocating land for nature recovery or renewable energy infrastructure. Navigating these trade-offs requires high emotional intelligence and sophisticated negotiation skills. Additionally, managing sustainability data across 200,000 acres of geographically dispersed land presents significant logistical and technical hurdles. Ensuring consistent reporting and performance monitoring across such a varied portfolio will require robust systems and a pragmatic approach to data collection.

How could a typical day look like for someone in this position?

A typical day might begin with a Senior Executive Team meeting to align portfolio strategies with national sustainability targets, followed by a review of project proposals for the Rural Environment Fund. You might spend the afternoon coordinating with ecologists on the ground to assess the progress of a specific nature recovery initiative. Your schedule will frequently include stakeholder engagement, which could range from meeting with coastal partners to discuss seabed health to visiting tenant farmers to discuss soil health and carbon sequestration. The role involves a mix of high-level financial planning, team coaching, and field-based observation.

What are the opportunities for professional growth and development in this role?

This position offers significant leadership visibility within a nationally important organization. Success in this role could lead to executive-level positions within The Crown Estate or influential roles in national environmental policy and land management agencies. Given the scale and uniqueness of the portfolio, you will become a recognized expert in rural and coastal ESG. The opportunity to lead innovative, large-scale projects like the Coastal Stewardship Fund provides a platform to pioneer new models of environmental finance and land stewardship.

The main stakeholders you might be interacting with

You will interact daily with the Senior Executive Team for the Windsor, Rural, and Coastal portfolios to ensure strategic alignment. Externally, your most critical partners are the tenant farmers and rural communities who manage the land, as well as coastal partners and regulatory bodies. Internally, you will lead a team of ecologists and sustainability professionals while collaborating with operational teams across the estate. You will also engage with group-level sustainability leads to ensure that your portfolio's efforts contribute effectively to The Crown Estate’s overarching net-zero and nature-positive commitments.

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