Access & Urban Directoropen

Deadline for applications: 30th November 2025

Inclusive Boards is delighted to support the National Trust in their search for an Access & Urban Director.

About National Trust

As Europe’s largest conservation charity, we look after nature, beauty and history for everyone to enjoy. We do it with the help of millions of members, volunteers, staff and donors. Without this, we couldn’t care for the miles of coastline, woodlands, countryside and the hundreds of historic buildings, gardens and precious collections we protect.

About the role

We’re looking for an Access & Urban Director to join us. Our newly launched strategy focuses on ending unequal access to nature, beauty and history, on inspiring more people to care and take action, and on restoring nature. To deliver the strategy we’ll need to work much more in towns and cities where people live, and to work in partnership with others. You’ll be our organisation lead on access to heritage and nature in towns and cities as well as at National Trust places.

What it’s like to work here

Reporting into our Executive Director of Access & Conservation, you’ll lead a national specialist team of around thirty. Delivery teams – the majority of our resource – will be based regionally and locally and it will be vital to work effectively with these teams and with external partners.

As this is a national role, there is flexibility on your contractual place of work. Our hybrid working policy means you can balance office and home working with site visits and meetings at other National Trust places. We’ll talk about this in more detail at interview, but you should expect to be at a National Trust or partner location 2-3 days a week.

What you’ll be doing

Your approach will be open and inclusive. Our aim is to create new opportunities for 10 million people to access nature and heritage over the coming decade. You’ll work at a strategic level to achieve this, but be able to deliver practical change with partners ‘on the ground’. You’ll lead our approach to enabling and increasing access to green space and heritage in and around urban centres. You’ll also support the places we care for to be more accessible and useful. You’ll lead strategic planning ensuring our work is prioritised and funded, manage any associated risk, and be adept at unblocking challenges.

You’ll be responsible for creating, nurturing and maintaining strategic connections across our organisation and partner organisations, developing new opportunities and scaling innovation. You’ll work with a range of partners such as local government, heritage and natural environment charities, corporates, funders and civil society. Working strategically and collaboratively with your team, the senior leadership team and our Trustees you’ll deliver change through practical delivery, new national programmes and policy levers.

Who we’re looking for

We’d love to hear from you if you are/have:

• An imaginative and visionary leader, able to steer a new phase of work throughout the organisation and beyond.
• Demonstrable experience of successfully leading strategy delivery, systems change and/or transformation across and beyond a complex organisation – delivering a long-term vision at scale.
• Experience of catalysing meaningful change at scale in towns and cities, ideally with a focus on heritage and/or nature. An enterprising approach to resourcing delivery at scale.
• Ability to develop, nurture and maintain strategic partnerships that provide measurable public benefit with external agencies, funders and partner organisations.
• Verbal and written communication and presentation skills including influencing, external advocacy, media relations, networking and persuading diverse audiences.
• Budget management, business and project planning skills and experience.
• Experience of working with advocacy and policy experts to influence change at a system level.
• A commitment to an inclusive approach and to promote equity, diversity and inclusion in all that you do.

For more information please download the Candidate Pack via the link on this page. 

How to apply

If you wish to apply for this position, please supply the following by 11.59pm on 30/11/2025:

• A detailed CV, setting out your career history, with responsibilities and achievements 
   
• A cover letter (maximum two sides of A4) highlighting your suitability for the role for which you’re applying and how you meet the person specification. Please note that the cover letter is an important part of your application and will be assessed.Please note that the cover letter is an important part of your application and will be assessed.
   
• Details of two professional referees together with a brief statement of their relationship to you and over what period of time they have known you. Referees will not be contacted without your prior consent

To find out more, request support when applying, or have an informal confidential discussion before applying, please get in touch with one of our consultants by emailing NationalTrust@inclusiveboards.co.uk or calling 0207 267 8369.

Apply now