Harold’s Park Wildland Ranger

Job Snapshot

We are looking to recruit a part-time Ranger to help in the ecological restoration of Harold’s Park Wildland, an exciting 206-hectare nature restoration project in Essex*.* This position will report to the Site Manager and will have responsibility for the part time running of a number of key activities. This will involve practical work such as habitat management and equipment maintenance, leading volunteer groups, ecological monitoring and working with and supporting a wide range of visitors.

The Opportunity

This is an exciting opportunity for a highly motivated, practical and resourceful person to support key rewilding activities at Harold’s Park Wildland. There are two main areas of responsibility:

Habitat and Access Management

The postholder will help implement the agreed Harold’s Park Wildland management and maintenance plan in accordance with Nattergal policies and all statutory obligations, and in consultation with the line manager and other relevant staff. You will lead on various practical activities, particularly with regards to visitor access e.g. maintenance of public footpaths and infrastructure, fencing repairs and signage installation and maintenance. You will be responsible for regular infrastructure checks needed for the perimeter fencing as well as habitat management tasks such as hedgerow, orchard and woodland management, as well as routine livestock checks and management.

Engagement

You will lead tours for paying visitors, building on the work already done to develop eco-tourism as an income stream for the Wildland. In time this could range from running Rewilding walks to more specialised activities (e.g. bird watching) and hosting corporate away days.

Working with the Site Manager you also will help to safely deliver accessible, enjoyable and rewarding opportunities for public engagement at Harold’s Park Wildland. This includes assisting in the planning and preparation of a variety of tasks for monthly volunteer sessions, which you may lead or assist on as appropriate.

Living near to the site is essential as there will be occasional need to be available out of hours in case of on-site emergencies. A chainsaw license or willingness to work towards one, would be an advantage.

Person Specification

Essential

• Full UK driving licence.
• Relevant qualification or equivalent practical conservation experience – to include working with livestock (namely pigs and cattle)
• Management and maintenance of visitor facilities, infrastructure (signs, paths, seats etc).
• Practical operations including experience in use of a variety of machinery, use of hand-held power tools, equipment maintenance and practical work.
• Working with volunteers and confidently leading practical working groups
• High standard of people and presentation skills for leading engaging tours and talks across the site
• Good standard of numeracy and literacy and proficient in MS Office

Desirable

• Certified training in brush cutter, NPTC chainsaw cs30.1, cs30.2 & cs31 (training provided if not)
• First aid qualification and experience completing Risk Assessments
• Broad wildlife identification skills and a basic understanding of, or some experience in, conducting habitat and species surveys and using technology to collate and store data (training will be available)
• ATV certificate and experience of off-road driving

Personal Qualities

• Demonstrate a passion for nature and the outdoors, with an interest in and basic understanding of rewilding
• A practical person with good problem-solving skills who is happy to take on physical tasks and work outside in all weathers
• A willingness to learn new skills and keen to develop their knowledge of wildlife and the environment
• A friendly, outgoing person with excellent verbal communication skills, who is organised and comfortable meeting new people and speaking in front of groups
• A reliable, dependable and diligent person with a ‘can do’ attitude, who is capable of working as part of a team and has the ability to self- motivation to drive work forward without supervision.
• A positive, open-minded approach to the job and a willingness to take on new and varied tasks.