Wildlife Ranger

Northumberland County Council; Morpeth; On-site; GBP 26,000 - 32,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

26 days annual leave + holidays

Local Government Pension Scheme

Flexi leave – up to 2 days/month

Job summary

Northumberland County Council is seeking a Space for Shorebirds Ranger to help protect wintering and breeding birds along the Northumberland coast. You will join a team dedicated to reducing human disturbance and promoting conservation through outreach, surveys and habitat work.

The role requires strong communication skills, field survey experience and the ability to work weekends. You will engage with visitors, run education activities and contribute to monitoring across dune grasslands and

Qualifications

• Proven commitment to nature conservation and broad ecological understanding.
• Experience in engaging the public to reduce impacts on wildlife.
• Ability to undertake ongoing ornithological and disturbance monitoring.

Responsibilities

• Engage with beach users to promote wildlife-friendly behaviours.
• Carry out ornithological and disturbance monitoring across dune habitats.
• Assist in habitat management and creation projects as needed.
• Design solutions for disturbance hotspots and nest protection.
• Coordinate with volunteers and run awareness/education activities.
• Deliver social media content, guided walks, and talks about coastal wildlife.

Skills

Public engagement

Ecological surveys

Habitat management

Ornithological monitoring

Enforcement awareness

Job description

The following content displays a map of the jobs location - County Hall, Morpeth

Your office will be the stunning Northumberland coast, and your role will be to protect the shorebirds that call it home.

You will be joining a team of Space for Shorebirds rangers sharing your passion for wildlife with beach users, to help people to reduce their impacts upon internationally important bird populations and dune grasslands.

We need a person with a proven commitment to nature conservation and a broad understanding of ecological issues. The successful candidate will possess both the warmth and tact to positively influence people’s behaviour, but also the assertiveness to potentially pursue enforcement action.

You will have experience of public engagement, ecological survey work, habitat and access management and will have excellent verbal and written communications skills. You may have experience of educating young people and school groups. You will also have the ability and motivation to undertake extensive, ongoing ornithological and disturbance monitoring work.

With some responsibility for managing local volunteers, you will undertake a variety of roles, including awareness-raising, education, ornithological monitoring, disturbance monitoring, enforcement, designing solutions for disturbance hotspots, nest protection and control of pirri-pirri bur within dune grasslands. There will also be opportunities to assist in habitat management and creation projects.

Effective public engagement is key to the success of this project and, as well as engaging face to face with people on the coast, you will be responsible for helping to deliver compelling social media, guided walks, presentations and telling the fascinating story of coastal wildlife through the seasons and increasing public appreciation and support for it.

This is an exciting opportunity to help deliver an important initiative to conserve important wintering and breeding bird populations and dune grasslands, in one of England’s most beautiful landscapes.

Full requirements of the role can be found in the attached job description and person specification.

Frequent weekend working will be required.

Why choose us?

We have some outstanding benefits and perks to offer you, including:

• 26 days annual leave plus public/bank holidays, rising to 31 days after 5 years of service (pro rata for part-time employees)
• Automatic enrolment into the Local Government Pension Scheme
• Flexi scheme – up to 2 days flexible leave available per month (pro rata for part-time employees)

We are proud to be an equal opportunities employer. We operate a guaranteed interview scheme for disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria. If you have a disability and would prefer to apply in a different format, please see the alternative methods below. This information will be treated as confidential and will only be used to check that you meet the essential requirements of the post.