Seasonal Assistant Warden

We have an exciting opportunity at Wallasea Island for someone looking to gain valuable experience at the start of their career, as a Seasonal Assistant Warden on a large nature reserve on the Essex coast. We are looking for an enthusiastic, resourceful and resilient person keen to take an early step in a career in conservation and join our team until December 2025. Wallasea Island is a 750ha reserve made up of intertidal habitats, lowland wet grassland and saline lagoons and offers a great opportunity to pick up vital skills to help enhance your career.

The successful applicant will undertake a range of habitat management and species monitoring activities. Ideally, you will have experience in managing the habitats found at Wallasea Island, but this post will enhance and develop your skills and knowledge in areas such as water management and vegetation control. Over the next year, the team will undertake various activities to enhance and improve the reserves ecological potential and are trialling some new technology to improve management and monitoring of both biological and physical features.  

Key areas of work will include:

• Habitat management as defined by the reserve’s management plan and agri-environment agreement.
• Leading and inspiring the reserve’s volunteer team.
• Monitoring of key species and habitats.
• Maintaining high standards of health and safety to minimise risk to the RSPB and to ensure understanding and compliance of health and safety while undertaking duties.
• Monitoring and maintaining reserve operations as compliant according to the various agreements and standards.
• Maintenance of machinery to ensure they are operating safely and efficiently.
• Maintenance of livestock and other infrastructure to ensure it is fit for purpose.
• Collaborate with a wide range of stakeholders from wider team members, neighbours, graziers, Reserve Ecologists etc.
• General administration and report writing associated with all of the above to ensure admin and reports are up to date and systematically organised.

 Essential skills include:

• You will have knowledge and experience of practical habitat and estate management.
• You will have a proven track record of completing work alone and working within a varied team.
• Comfortable managing volunteers from a range of backgrounds
• Reasonable birdwatching knowledge and experience of biological surveys
• A full driving licence which is valid for use in the UK

Desirable qualifications, knowledge, skills and experience:

• Lantra or equivalent qualification in using equipment such as brushcutter and tractor
• Knowledge of servicing and maintaining vehicles, machinery, tools and equipment to agreed standards
• Experience of staff or volunteer recruitment and line management.
• Implementing and updating health and safety records and assessments.

Additional information:

• This role will involve lone working and working in remote locations.
• This role will require occasional weekend, early morning and evening working so will need someone who is able to be flexible.

This is a Fixed-Term role until 19th December 2025 for 37.5 hours per week. The RSPB reserves the right to extend or make this role permanent without further advertising dependent on business needs at the end of the contract term.

We are looking to conduct interviews for this position from 28th April 2025. For further information please contact [email protected] 

As part of this application process you will be asked to complete an application form including evidence on how you meet the skills, knowledge, and experience listed above.

We are committed to developing an inclusive and diverse RSPB, in which everyone feels supported, valued, and able to be their full selves. To achieve our vision of creating a world richer in nature, we need more people, and more diverse people, on nature’s side. People of colour and disabled people are currently underrepresented across the environment, climate, sustainability, and conservation sector. If you identify as a person of colour and/or disabled, we are particularly interested in receiving your application. Contact us to discuss any additional support you may need to complete your application.

The RSPB is an equal opportunities employer. This role is covered by the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974.

This role is not eligible for UK Visa Sponsorship – the successful applicant will need to have a pre-existing Right to Work in the UK in order to be offered an employment contract.