Wildlife Ranger

Malaysianwildlife; Corby; Hybrid; GBP 22,000 - 30,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Pension scheme

Holiday entitlement

Free parking

Free entry to arboretums

Job summary

Forestry England is seeking a Wildlife Ranger to join the Central England team, working on the Rockingham forest area in Northamptonshire. The role reports to the Project Wildlife manager and supports the district wildlife team, championing health and safety while protecting forest habitats and biodiversity.

You will handle deer management duties, liaise with stakeholders, run ecological surveys, and ensure compliance with standards and schemes.

Qualifications

• Experience in wildlife (deer) management and wildlife conservation.
• Experience in land management and conservation.
• Good understanding of woodland management and woodland ecology.
• Experience of using effective communication skills to convey messages to a variety of audiences.
• Competent IT user with experience in MS Office suite of applications.
• Be able to manage a deer dog to Forestry England’s standard.

Responsibilities

• Promote a positive and inclusive culture, and actively promote collaboration and support across the district and with stakeholders.
• Champion our health & safety culture, using Forestry England’s systems and protocols.
• Achieve a personal, variable cull of deer and other mammals to protect our forest crop and biodiversity led by District management plans and wider organisational objectives.
• Make sure the deer larder, deer carcases and paperwork meet Forestry England standards, game dealer specification and the requirements of the British Quality Wild Venison scheme (BQWV).
• Contribute to district conservation projects and schemes.
• Build and maintain productive relationships with stakeholders.
• Liaise regularly with district colleagues and help with beat planning, monitoring and delivery including restocking plans, species choice, tree protection and infrastructure requirements.
• Do ecological and pre-operation site surveys, advising colleagues of protected species and features of ecological interest.
• Liaise with sporting tenants and sporting rights holders.
• Support district colleagues engaging with woodland users and promote positive behaviour for protecting forest habitats and infrastructure.
• Produce hazard and constraints maps and risk assessments for deer management.
• Maintain and be responsible for all equipment issued to you by Forestry England.
• Supervise wildlife management and conservation contracts to Forestry England’s policy, procedure and guidance (PPGs), deer management-related policies and industry best practice.
• And any other tasks, reasonably requested by your line manager.

Skills

Wildlife management

Land conservation

Woodland ecology

Communication

MS Office

Deer dog handling

Education

DMQ Deer Stalking Certs 1 & 2

Police firearms cert

Full UK driving licence

Tools

MS Office

Job description

Join us. We’re foresters, professionals and experts. We are a passionate team who love to share our enthusiasm and want to make a positive difference for you and the environment.

Together, we’re using our scale and expertise to grow the nation’s forests for everyone. We’re already adapting our landscapes for tomorrow, and getting stuff done today, like creating amazing places and experiences for you to enjoy. We’re providing vital homes for wildlife, making our air cleaner to breathe and producing sustainable timber.

What you’ll do

You will work as part of Central England’s forest resilience project team focusing on work within the Rockingham forest area, Northamptonshire. You will be responsible for protecting forests and supporting conservation priorities, including mammal management. The role will report to the Project Wildlife manager, but will be expected to also be part of the wider district wildlife team. You will be a champion for our health and safety culture by demonstrating our value of ‘look out and look after’.

Please see the job description below for more information and details about what we need from you.

Key Responsibilities & Accountabilities

• Promote a positive and inclusive culture, and actively promote collaboration and support across the district and with stakeholders.
• Champion our health & safety culture, using Forestry England’s systems and protocols.
• Achieve a personal, variable cull of deer and other mammals to protect our forest crop and biodiversity led by District management plans and wider organisational objectives.
• Make sure the deer larder, deer carcases and paperwork meet Forestry England standards, game dealer specification and the requirements of the British Quality Wild Venison scheme (BQWV).
• Contribute to district conservation projects and schemes.
• Build and maintain productive relationships with stakeholders.
• Liaise regularly with district colleagues and help with beat planning, monitoring and delivery including restocking plans, species choice, tree protection and infrastructure requirements.
• Do ecological and pre-operation site surveys, advising colleagues of protected species and features of ecological interest.
• Liaise with sporting tenants and sporting rights holders.
• Support district colleagues engaging with woodland users and promote positive behaviour for protecting forest habitats and infrastructure.
• Produce hazard and constraints maps and risk assessments for deer management.
• Maintain and be responsible for all equipment issued to you by Forestry England.
• Supervise wildlife management and conservation contracts to Forestry England’s policy, procedure and guidance (PPGs), deer management-related policies and industry best practice.
• And any other tasks, reasonably requested by your line manager.

Skills, Knowledge & Experience

Essential Professional and Technical Experience

• Experience in wildlife (deer) management and wildlife conservation.
• Experience in land management and conservation.
• Good understanding of woodland management and woodland ecology.
• Experience of using effective communication skills to convey messages to a variety of audiences.
• Competent IT user with experience in MS Office suite of applications.
• Be able to manage a deer dog to Forestry England’s standard.

Desirable Professional and Technical Experience

• Experience of building management.

Qualifications

Essential

• DMQ Deer Stalking Certificates Levels 1 and 2, including Trained Hunter status, and/or an equivalent recognised industry qualification.
• Current police firearms certificate.
• Full UK driving license.

Desirable

• Qualification in wildlife or conservation land management such as a BTEC National Diploma.
• European protected species (EPS) handling licences.
• Driving license category B E or be willing to obtain this during your probation.
• Appropriately trained in the safe use of Sit-Astride ATVs (Quad Bikes) or be willing to obtain this within the probationary period.
• Forestry First Aid F+.

Where you’ll work…

The role will be based within Central England FD, predominately based at:

Forestry England, Fineshade, Corby NN17 3BB

Benefits…

Alongside your salary, Forestry England contributes an average of 28.97% towards your pension. You will become a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension Scheme.

• 25 days holiday a year, raising by one day every year’s service, up to 30 days (pro-rated for part time employees) plus additional days off such as bank holidays.
• STaRis our employee benefits scheme offering discounts on everyday supermarket shopping, as well as other things such as hotel stays clothes, mobile phones, other electrical items, medical and car insurance, holidays, gym discounts, household bills, Headspace wellbeing app.
• free parking at Forestry England sites and free entry to our National Arboretums at Westonbirt and Bedgebury.
• a commitment to lifelong learning through career development. Forestry England will support your career development in a variety of ways, including continual professional development, support for individual learning plans and sponsored membership of professional bodies.

Read more about the benefits on the Forestry England website.

Nationality requirements

Read more about nationality requirements here.

Working for the Civil Service

Forestry England is part of the Civil Service. The Civil Service has a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS). This means candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria during the application process will be guaranteed an interview. We also offer a Redeployment Interview Scheme to current civil servants who are at risk of redundancy, and who meet the minimum requirements for the role. This role is also part of the Great Place to Work for VeteransandPrison Leaver Recruitment initiative.

Within Part 7 of the Immigration Act 2016, it is essential that applicants should have the ability to provide conversation in accurate spoken English.

Our recruitment process makes appointments based on fair and open competition and merit, as outlined in the Civil Service Commissioners’ Recruitment Principles. If you feel your application has not been treated in in line with/according to these principles and you wish to make a complaint, please email: [e-mail].

This role is funded by DEFRA rather than through Forestry England generated revenue, and is therefore subject to government spending reviews. While DEFRA has indicated long term support for the Biodiversity Programme and we expect funding to continue, it is possible that funding levels may change at the end of any financial year depending on DEFRA’s budget allocations. In the event of funding changes, we would prioritise retaining staff posts wherever possible. This approach is consistent for roles within publicly funded organisations. We are committed to keeping staff informed and supported through any changes.

Attached documents:

• Forestry England Job Description – Wildlife Ranger (PB6A Ops).pdf