Maternity cover for 12 months with the intention to make the role permanent (subject to funding)
Full-time, 40 hours per week
We are looking for an ambitious and passionate lawyer to join our legal team, as maternity cover (with the possibility of extension subject to funding), to work on UK Rewilding Law projects.
About us and our Rewilding Law projects
We are a small but growing UK-registered charity which undertakes projects that protect and restore wild landscapes, helping to provide a future for all life on earth. We use the skills and expertise of our multi-disciplinary team (spanning science, law, economics, technology and culture) to develop projects that protect and restore wild, natural landscapes.
Find out more about our mission and our team on our website.
Job purpose and key responsibilities
Working with our Managing Lawyer (Stephanie Smith) and Legal Director (Elsie Blackshaw-Crosby) you will be involved in Rewilding Law projects in the UK and be central in our ambitions to expand their scope and scale. Your role will include:
* Collaborating with external lawyers to produce new notes for the Rewilding Law Hub (see here)
* Completing tasks relating to upkeep of the Rewilding Law Hub
* Undertaking detailed legal research on legislative and policy barriers for rewilding projects and drafting strategies to overcome issues
* Developing and implementing pilot cases or producing other work products to address legal barriers to rewilding in collaboration with external partners
* Assisting with legal aspects of set-up of conservation covenants for biodiversity net gain and other purposes (e.g. due diligence, agreement negotiation) and ongoing monitoring under conservation covenants (or other legal mechanisms for protecting wild land) for Lifescape’s role as a Responsible Body
* Assisting other Lifescape teams with the legal aspects of their work, for example the ecology and/or economics team
* Working on any new projects relating to rewilding law in the UK which Lifescape may take on
* Assisting the Managing Lawyer and Legal Director with identifying new opportunities for the rewilding law team
* Sharing knowledge of Lifescape’s rewilding law work by participating in presentations and other events and producing blogs or other written work
* Setting tasks for and working with law firm secondees
* Supporting law firm secondees with questions about work set or time management and providing feedback
* Contributing towards Lifescape’s reporting where this is relevant to rewilding law, for example for funding reports.
This job description is not exhaustive and you will be required to undertake other relevant tasks including providing legal input where relevant on some of our non-legal projects.
Working Relationships
You be line-managed by and work closely with our Managing Lawyer, Stephanie Smith. You may also work closely with our Legal Director, Elsie Blackshaw-Crosby.
You will build key relationships with Lifescape’s other employees, volunteers, interns, and pro bono professional advisers across a range of legal and non-legal projects.
You will work closely with other environmental organisations collaborating with us on our projects.
Person specification
You will be passionate about using your legal skills to protect and restore wild landscapes.
You will have:
* A law degree and UK legal professional qualification
* 3+ years’ experience practicing as a lawyer
You will be able to demonstrate the following skills and experience:
* Managing multiple priorities, often with competing and time sensitive deadlines
* A high level of self-motivation and an ability to work both independently and collaboratively, interacting with lawyers and non-lawyers with kindness and respect
* Demonstrated rigorous legal analysis and drafting skills
* Ability to build productive working relationships and collaborative partnerships with civil society and national civil servants, politicians, academics and other key players in environmental law.
Knowledge of the following areas of law would be valuable but we do not expect any candidate to have knowledge across all of these areas:
* UK environmental and planning law
* Wildlife and habitat protection laws
* Public law
* Property law
* Diversity and Inclusion
Diversity and inclusion are important principles for The Lifescape Project as reflected in our EDI statement on our website. We want to make a career in nature conservation accessible to everyone. We welcome all applicants who meet most or all of the essential competencies regardless of their identity or background, and we're striving to create an inclusive team.
We acknowledge that candidates from more diverse backgrounds may be reluctant to apply for jobs unless they meet all of the job specification criteria. We encourage anyone to apply who can demonstrate the variety of skills and experiences relevant to meeting the requirements of the role.
Location
This position will be remote-working and will involve some UK and international travel. The full team meets in person at least three times a year. These are multi-day meetings, usually held in UK and European areas relevant to rewilding. The nature of the work means that we are in very regular contact on Teams etc, ensuring a strong connection amongst the team.
Applicants who are a resident in the UK or the EU in time zones +/- 3 hours GMT with appropriate qualifications and experience will be considered. Salary and benefits will be adjusted according to country of residence based on cost of living and cost of employment.
Salary and benefits
The salary for this role is£36,000 - £38,500 per annum, depending on experience.
Flexible working is welcome and can be agreed with the successful candidate, as can temporary international remote work outside country of residence.
Benefits include 36 days' annual leave (28 not including public holidays), expenses paid annual Lifescape retreat and two in person staff meetings per year, full pension, remote work and training budgets, and provision of computing equipment. We also subscribe to a 24/7 unlimited Employee Assistance Programme, so there is always someone for you to talk to if you need support.
To apply, please email a cover letter and CV (each a maximum of 2 pages) via the button below by 9am on 26 September 2025.
If you would like to talk to someone about the role before you apply, please contact Sarah in the first instance.
The official closing date for applications is 9am on 26 September, however we will be reviewing applications as they come in.
Interviews are expected to take place virtually on Microsoft Team in early October.
The role will commence as soon as possible from January 2026.
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