Honorary Senior Research Associate, UHI

Lead editor of ‘Conservation Translocations’, published in December 2022 by Cambridge University Press in the ‘Ecology, Biodiversity and Conservation’ series. Foreword by Razan Al Mubarak, President of the IUCN. 

• Honorary Senior Research Associate, University of the Highlands and Islands (UHI).
• Member of the IUCN SSC Conservation Translocation Specialist Group.
• Member of the Chartered Institute for Ecology and Environmental Management.
• Member of the British Ecological Society.

Species Projects Manager, NatureScot https://www.nature.scot 

Lead roles with large scale, multi-partner and multi-stakeholder biodiversity restoration projects, supported by research, survey and monitoring programmes. These have included:

• Project Management Group member of ‘Saving Wildcats’ (2019-present), budget of £5.4m, primarily funded by EU LIFE.
• NatureScot lead for wildcat conservation strategy and oversight of ‘Scottish Wildcat Action’ project, budget of £1.6m, primarily funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund (2016-2020).
• Secretariat and NatureScot representative for the ‘National Species Reintroduction Forum’ (2009-present), involving 29 stakeholder organisations.
• NatureScot lead specialist for conservation translocations, lead specialist for beaver and beaver reintroduction (2000-present).

Editor/manager of the ‘Scottish Code for Conservation Translocations’ 

• (published 2014), jointly produced by 26 stakeholder organisations. Subsequently a recipient of a ‘Highly Commended’ Innovation Award at the ‘Nature of Scotland Awards’ 2016 for the production of the code.
• Manager for the production of ‘Scotland’s Beaver Strategy 2022-2045’ (published 2022), supported by 45 stakeholder organisations.
• NatureScot lead for the ‘Scottish Beaver Trial’ (2008-2015), lead for the associated Independent Monitoring Programme involving 12 academic partner organisations, NatureScot budget of £250K. NatureScot representative on the Beaver-Salmonid Working Group (2009-2014) and ‘Scottish Beavers’ reinforcement project (2017-2020).
• Editor/manager of the SNH ‘Beavers in Scotland’ final report to the Scottish Government (published 2015).
• Lead editor/manager for the ‘Species Action Framework Handbook’ (published 2016).
• Manager of the ‘Species Action Framework’ (2007-2012), involving over 94 partner organisations, NatureScot budget of £4m.
• Climate change lead and Strategic Scientific Adviser (2005-2007).
• Manager of Terrestrial Ornithology Team (2020-2022).
• Advisor/lead on general species/biodiversity policy, conservation and management (2005-present).