Partnerships Manager Iberia (maternity cover)

Note: this is a maternity cover temporary role, for a contract from July 2026 to December 2026.

Who we are

At Land Life, our ambition is not just to create positive change, but to inspire it. We're on a mission to restore our planet's 2 billion hectares of degraded land, by planting the right trees, at the right time and in the right place, leveraging technology every step of the way and unlocking carbon and other new markets to fund this work. Our team is global, our impact is significant; last year we planted 3.5 million trees worldwide and we were recognised as the Uplink Top Innovator at the 2024 World Economic Forum. Now we're looking for an impact-driven Operations Manager to support the delivery of projects in Iberia (Spain & Portugal).

About this role

Iberia is an important hub for Land Life - 40% of our planting is done here. In order to meet increasing customer demand and considering the importance of this region for our research, we aim to expand our plantings in Spain and Portugal. As Partnerships Managers, you’d be responsible for finding and contracting with private landowners, large NGOs a well as forest associations, with the ultimate goal of securing suitable land and partnerships for Land Life to deliver its nature restoration projects.

We’re looking for someone to help the Partnerships team from July 2026 to 31 December 2026. This role is based out of our office in Burgos (or in a 2-hour radius from Burgos), travels regularly to sites in Iberia and reports to the Senior Partnerships Manager.

More specifically, we’ll be looking to you to:

Identify suitable land and landowners or land partners:

• Map out and assess suitable land types, regions and landowners and stakeholders, identifying areas that are attractive from a technical and commercial perspective to afforestation and reforestation

• Gather the information from the field (cartography, GIS, drone data) to inform internal decision making on land eligibility and project design and viability

• Translate mapping and develop a pipeline of prospective and engaged land partners

Secure land contracting

• Lead end-to-end partnerships process of individual pipeline, including engaging leads, assessing eligibility according to Land Life’s criteria and gathering information for technical design and budgeting

• Lead land access negotiations with landowners or land managers from start to finish, maintaining regular contact and follow-up

Create Partnerships

• Identify and implement innovative partnerships that achieve large-scale forest restoration efforts.

• Ensure consistent and authentic engagement with current and future partners.
  

  Manager partner relationships

• Manage and build on relationships with existing partners and land owners; develop new networks in areas of interest to increase Land
  Life’s ability to access land.

This is you

We’re looking for someone with professional experience developing and implementing successful plot-to-landscape scale partnerships to achieve nature restoration or other climate or conservation related outcomes.
➢ Relevant experience in developing a pipeline and closing deals

➢ Relevant experience in transactions in rural property.
➢ Academic degree or professional experience in forest restoration or broader sustainability related topic (nature restoration, rural development, conservation)

➢ Knowledge of ecology and forestry.

➢ Knowledge of regional grant schemes and public funding (CAP, PRTR, others)

➢ Good xls and other computer skills;
➢ Proficiency in GIS and related software;
➢ Drivers’ licence and Availability to travel frequently to the field.

What we’re offering you

We are a dynamic company surrounded by people who care. Expect colleagues who are engaged, sharp and - most importantly - take pride in our mission, our work and each other. We offer a competitive salary, good benefits and a flexible way of working.

How to apply

We’re looking to fill this position as soon as possible. Our recruitment process is fair and thorough, consisting of an initial call to clarify information we both need to decide to proceed, and two in-person interview rounds, involving a case study to give you more detailed insight to the role, and a chance to meet the team and senior leaders.

We welcome different perspectives and experiences because we believe this is the foundation for achieving high-integrity nature restoration at scale. We believe in equal opportunities for everyone and encourage people from all backgrounds to apply.

For questions about the vacancy please contact Debbie Johnstone at [email protected].

We look forward to hearing from you!