Access Ranger

West Sussex County Council; Chichester; On-site; GBP 34,000 - 37,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

27 days annual leave

Training and development opportunities

Discounts

Employee assistance programme

Car benefit scheme

Travel discounts

Job summary

West Sussex County Council is seeking an Access Ranger to manage the routine inspection and maintenance programme for the Public Rights of Way network. You will work with landowners, volunteers and contractors to maintain and improve the PRoW network, combining office planning with on-site inspections.

You will prioritise workloads, log issues in the IT system, and sometimes work evenings/weekends. A full UK driving licence is required for field duties.

Qualifications

• Significant experience of access and rights of way management, either within an office or in the field.
• Experience implementing legislation and day‑to‑day maintenance of PRoW.
• Experience providing advice to landowners, the public and other stakeholders.

Responsibilities

• Organise and carry out inspections including coordinating volunteers.
• Engage with landowners to resolve issues and take enforcement action where necessary.
• Log and update issues using Confirm IT system.
• Investigate public reports providing technical and legal advice.
• Deliver small scale improvements with landowners or contractors.
• Identify work to be delivered by volunteers or the Annual Works Programme.
• Respond to planning application consultations to protect/improve PRoW network.

Skills

Customer focused

Organise / Prioritise work

Communication

Problem solving

Map reading

IT skills (GIS)

Education

Full UK Driving Licence

Tools

GIS mapping

MS Word

MS Excel

Databases

Job description

Do you want to ensure that Public Rights of Way (PRoW) are in good condition and available to enjoy in West Sussex? In this role, you will make sure that visitors and residents of our County can enjoy all its outstanding natural beauty.

About the job

Salary: £33,673 to £36,581 per annum

Contract Type: Permanent

Working Pattern: 37 hours per week.

Location: Your base will be Clapham Depot, Worthing

Interview Date: W/c 30th November 2026

As an Access Ranger you will join our friendly, knowledgeable and supportive team. You will work closely with landowners, volunteers and contractors to maintain and improve the PRoW network.

Your main responsibility will be managing the routine inspection and maintenance programme in this area. Some of your daily tasks will include:

• Organise and carry out inspections including coordinating volunteers who will assist with the inspections.
• Engage with landowners to resolve issues and take enforcement action where necessary.
• Log and update issues using our IT system (Confirm).
• Investigate reports from the public and other stakeholders providing technical and legal advice and seeking solutions.
• Deliver small scale improvements working with landowners and/or contractors.
• Identify work to be delivered by volunteers or the Annual Works Programme.
• Respond to planning application consultations to protect and improve the PRoW network where possible.

The role requires a significant amount of lone working and occasionally walking up to 6 hours a day. As a guide the role is approximately one-third on site and two-thirds office based. Prioritising and organising workloads is a fundamental part of the role.

The postholder may be required to work occasional evenings and weekends. The work involves occasionally dealing with people with strongly conflicting interests where tact and diplomacy are essential.

Experience and skills

Key Skills:

• Ability to work in a customer focused way, providing a high-quality service.
• Ability to organise/prioritise work, co-ordinate a variety of tasks in a clear and logical way and meet agreed deadlines.
• Good communication and interpersonal skills.
• Strong problem-solving skills with the ability to anticipate problems and make sound pragmatic decisions.
• Ability to read maps and scale and apply this on site.
• IT skills including Word, Excel, databases and GIS mapping, in order to record and manage data, present information clearly, concisely and accurately, and research information.

Qualifications and/or experience:

Significant experience of access and rights of way management, either within an office or in the field, including;

• Implementation of legislation
• Day to day maintenance
• Small improvement projects
• Providing advice to landowners, farmers, the public and other interested parties.
• Experience of working in partnership with individuals and organisations.
• Full UK Driving Licence.

For more information on the Key Skills as well as the Qualifications and/or experience required, please refer to the Access Ranger Job Description.

Reward and benefits

As an employer we recognise that it is our employees that are central to everything we do. We aim to create a supportive and dynamic working environment where employees can achieve their full potential, achieve a healthy work-life balance and are rewarded for the work they do.

In addition to working within a great team and a competitive salary you will have access to:

• 27days annual leave plus bank holidays.
• Training and development opportunities, including coaching and mentoring.
• A strong supportive management team.
• A range of discounts including Tesco, Samsung, Asos, B&Q and many more.
• Free access to employee assistance programmes.
• Discounted membership at selected local sports and fitness centres.
• Car benefit scheme.
• A range of commuting and business travel discounts and initiatives.

For a full list, please visit our Rewards and Benefits page.

Further information

The reference number for this role is 139

For an informal conversation or for further information regarding the role, please contact Hiring manager Steve Alexander [e-mail]

We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults. This post is subject to 3 years of satisfactory references and health check.

Equity, inclusion, accessibilityand diversity is very important to West Sussex County Council. We welcome and encourage applicationsfrom people of all cultures, ethnicities, identities, backgrounds and lived experiences, as this helps us build a diverse and talented workforce, that reflects the communities we serve. We ensure our approach to recruitment is flexible and supportive to enable all applicants to be at their best and to ensure they have the best possible chance of success.

We operate a guaranteed interview scheme for applicants that have a disability, are a veteran or are a care leaver. More information can be found on our application help page.