Leadership Development

You will learn how to develop your understanding of and the practical skills required to be a more effective conservation leader. This nine-week course will guide you to understand the principles of leadership and help you to explore your own personality, strengths, and potential strengths, so you may evolve an authentic leadership style that is uniquely yours. Drawing upon the theory and practice of leadership, we will use case studies, conversations with experts, and your own experience, to see how this applies to the context of wildlife conservation projects. Our training will equip you with the tools to navigate challenges and develop the critical leadership skills required to influence and guide others, giving you the confidence to expand your capabilities and maximise your conservation impact.

Who is it for?

Anyone working in conservation would benefit from this course. Everyone is a leader in some form, whether a programme manager or a university student. 

Developing your leadership practice is a continuous process, therefore we encourage ALL to apply. Maybe you are a keen STARTER fresh from studying or at an early stage in your career, wanting to recognise and learn the skills to lead and influence? Perhaps you are a PRACTITIONER able to apply the concepts straight away, and are keen to identify areas for growth and improvement in your leadership approach? Plus you are keen gaining an understanding of how to develop leadership skills in your colleagues and associates. Are you a PROFESSIONAL with conservation experience, hoping to learning how to lead and influence, encouraging action with energy and vision - a valuable skill in staff and stakeholder management? Or, are you SWITCHER thinking of changing careers? Leadership skills will help you along this pathway, helping you to improve interpersonal skills and the value of these (in a conservation context), and how apply them.

What is the course content?

During the course you will learn about and reflect upon the following skills:

• The value of self-awareness and reflection
• Theory and principles of leadership practice
• Situational leadership
• Understanding and assessing organisational culture to inform leadership approaches
• Effective leadership for team management  
• Learning from failure in conservation
• Managing interpersonal relations
• Negotiation skills, communicating and influencing
• Utilising your leadership skills to develop your career

By the end of the course you will be able to:

• Explain how leadership is a dynamic practice which flexes with personality, gender, context and values, continuously developing with time and experience. 
• Be able to describe your preferred leadership style and understand how to use this to your advantage, recognising your leadership potential and how to adapt your style to positively impact conservation at multiple levels.
• Employ practical methods to enhance your team leadership, motivation and communication skills when working with a range of stakeholders and associates in conservation.
• Assess the context of a conservation programme or challenge so you can identify the appropriate tools and approaches needed to unify and lead your team to maximise project impact.
• Learn the principles of key interpersonal skills required in effective leadership, including options available for dealing with conflict, planning a successful negotiation,  identifying power sources and utilising your networks. 
• Identify priority areas for your personal growth as a leader, exploring different tools and approaches available to you. From this you can develop a personal development action plan to effectively engage in leadership roles and processes.

Online Structure

The online course includes 50 hours of self-paced learning spread over nine weeks. This will be split into 5hrs self learning/week, plus five 2hr expert-led live sessions. Live sessions will be offered at different times, to allow for different time zones  (subject to demand).

You will be given registered access to our online learning management platform for the course syllabus. Here you will be able to track your academic progress and communicate with fellow students and course leaders using forums and discussion groups. Content will be delivered through a blend of formats, including reading, interactive quizzes, videos and guided research. The live and interactive sessions will run each week via zoom. These will involve discussions and activities designed to enhance your learning experience. 

How much will it cost?

The course fee is £450.

The start date for this course is 18 August 2025.

Download our course leaflet to find out more. 

To book a place, please complete the application form and email to academy@durrell.org

For further information, email academy@durrell.org, or call +44 (0)1534 860037.

Partners

This course is run by Durrell in partnership with Fauna & Flora.