Jane Gawthorne-Dover

Conservation Support Manager

About me

A primary school day trip to WWT’s Martin Mere, with a bird-obsessed school-teacher, sparked my interest in birds, wildlife and conservation. I have previously worked for the National Trust (in a variety of roles), the Countryside Agency (Head of the Management Support Group) and the Commission for Rural Communities (Corporate Governance Officer).

I have volunteered for Ian Redmond (who wears many hats, including Chairman of the Ape Alliance) and I have also volunteered at my son’s primary school for half a day for four years listening to his classmates read with me on a 121 basis – proud to have produced a group of confident readers, injected with a love of books.

I love spending time outdoors, attending literature festivals and garden shows, music (from classical to modern), gardening, travelling and experiencing new cultures (and adding new birds to my life list), cooking and collecting pottery (mostly Emma Bridgewater, with a sprinkling of Peregrine Pottery). I am a member of various wildlife charities.

My role

My role provides support mostly to the Director of Conservation, together with light admin support for the Policy & Advocacy team and the Conservation Breeding team. I arrange Directorate-wide events, such as the fortnightly Conservation – What’s Happening meetings, and I participate as a full member of the Conservation Management Group and the functional lead for the Conservation Directorate’s administrative staff. I advise the Director on best use of our office space at Slimbridge and Chair the Directorate’s newly created Health and Safety Committee. I’m also a contributing member of various other internal working groups: currently the International Travel Covid Advisory Group, new Finance System Working Group and the Future Office Working Group. Additionally, I am Secretariat for the IUCN UK Protected Areas Working Group.

Experience and interests

Over 30 years of experience at:

• Providing administrative support to senior managers.
• Managing small projects that achieve objectives, run on time and within budget.
• Arranging events from large and lengthy to small.
• Making travel arrangements.
• Participating in working groups seeking solutions to organisation-wide problems.
• Teeline shorthand – verbatim speed.
• Enjoyed some success at arranging complex overseas shipments, together with the import and export of satellite tags. But do not enjoy being labelled ‘the expert’.