Wildlife Ranger

Job summary

What you’ll do…

You will work as part of the district's wildlife management team, protecting forests and supporting conservation priorities, including mammal management. 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.

Where you’ll work…

West Forest District is responsible for the sustainable management of over 37,000ha of the nation’s forests and woodlands in the West and South West of England.

The district team extends to some 170 employees, with frontline delivery through our 17 remotely located delivery teams (5 forest centre and 12 forest beats) which are supported by our network of highly valued volunteers and contractors.

We have 5 positions available at the following locations:

1. Exmoor &Quantocks –Somerset Beat Office, Cockercombe, Nr Taunton, TA5 1HJ.
2. South Devon & Dartmoor–Bullers Hill Office, Bullers Hill, Kennford, Exeter EX6 7XR
3. East Devon–Neroche Forest Office, Staple Fitzpaine, Nr Taunton TA3 5BN
4. Herefordshire– Castlemain Depot, Parkend, Nr Lydney GL15 4HH
5. Forest of Dean- Castlemain Depot, Parkend, Nr Lydney GL15 4HH

Please stipulate your preferred location(s) as part of your application

Hours of work: The position is a full-time post to work 44 hours per week. Due to the nature of the Wildlife Ranger role the hours are worked flexibly according to the season.

Travel: The postholder will be expected to travel to remotely located woods & forests to undertake the role of Wildlife Ranger. A bespoke Forestry England vehicle will be provided for work purposes; therefore a current driving licence is essential requirement of the role.

The postholder will be part of the Wildlife team led by one of two Wildlife Managers

Job description

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 carcasses 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 (PGs), deer management-related policies and industry best practice.

And any other tasks, reasonably requested by your line manager.

Person specification

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 stalker’s certificates levels 1 and 2 including ‘trained hunter’ status and/or industry equivalent 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+.

Behaviours

We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:

• Making Effective Decisions
• Communicating and Influencing
• Working Together
• Managing a Quality Service

Technical skills

We'll assess you against these technical skills during the selection process:

• Candidates will be asked to undertake a skills test as part of the interview process. A rifle can be provided if required.

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £34,793, Forestry Commission contributes £10,079 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides (opens in a new window).

• Learning and development tailored to your role
• An environment with flexible working options
• A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity
• A Civil Service pension with an employer contribution of 28.97%

Things you need to know

Artificial intelligence

Artificial intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application, however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action. Please see our candidate guidance (opens in a new window) for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.

Selection process details

This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Behaviours and Technical skills.

How to apply…

We cannot accept applications via email. Please follow the steps outlined below. Any CVs and/or personal statements sent outside the system will not be considered for shortlisting.

You will be asked to write a 200 word statement on your relevant experience and career history, along with a personal statement of no more than 500 words. You will be assessed on both during sifting. More details about how to apply are listed on the applica