Wildlife Ranger Mortimer and Shropshire Hills – West England Forest District

Background

Forestry England is part of the Forestry Commission. West England Forest District is responsible for the sustainable management of over 38,200ha of the public forest estate in the west and south-west of England. The North of the District extends from woodlands just to the north of Shrewsbury, southwards to the majestic oak and beech woods of Savernake Forest in Wiltshire and south-west as far as Idless Woods near Truro in Cornwall. The District is managed from the District Office at Coleford, in the Forest of Dean, supported by 13 local Forest Beat or Recreation Hub delivery teams dispersed across the Forest District covering specific territories. These local teams are responsible for the delivery of agreed work programmes assisted by a team of business support staff.

The Mortimer & Shropshire hills area is split into two beat teams each with a beat forester supported by a work supervisor. A community ranger, a wildlife ranger (post holder) and two forest craftspeople work across the beats. 

This post will be based at the office in Ludlow and cover both the Mortimer and Shropshire hills beat. The beats cover an area of the Welsh borders extending from Knighton in the south to just north of Shrewsbury. The woodlands are a mix of secondary woodland, plantations on ancient woodland sites (PAWS) and ancient woodland. Forestry England staff work closely with a variety of partner organisations to ensure woodland management is beneficial to species of local and national importance.

Annual production from thinning and clear-fell harvesting operations is approximately 20,000m3/annum which is expected to increase by 3-5,000 m3/annum during the next five years and beyond. There is a corresponding restocking and forest management programme that involves both restocking of secondary woodland, the restoration of PAWS sites and the developing implementation of low-impact silvicultural systems of woodland management. The annual deer target is around 150 animals but is expected to increase significantly, the cull is predominantly Fallow and Roe with Muntjac becoming a growing component.

Purpose of the job

Undertake safe use and maintenance of firearms to be an effective Wildlife Ranger operating within the nations forests – managing populations of wild deer in accordance with national best practice and Forestry England guidance to ensure the forests and woods of West England Forest District are sustainably managed to UK Forest standards which deliver the Forestry England strategy. 

Provide ecological advice to colleagues and ensure priority species, habitats and designated sites are managed in accordance with wildlife legislation, policy and best practice guidance.

You can expect to spend around at least two thirds of your time outdoors, often independently and remotely and you will usually be expected to manage your own time to maximise efficiency and effectiveness. Dawn and dusk working is required therefore split working days are to be expected. 

Key work areas

Operational Delivery

Deliver effective deer management operations to meet local cull targets, producing deer carcass to the highest standard and maintain a high level of cleanliness in the larder.

Work with Beat teams and District staff to ensure operational plans and recreational activities comply with protected species legislation and provide advice on a range of ecological constraints and opportunities associated with forest management interventions.

Work with contractors, volunteers and partner organisations to achieve shared objectives. Utilising existing groups, agreements engaging with and facilitating groups and individuals to aid habitat management and species monitoring.

Behaviours

We’ll assess you against these behaviours during the interview process:

• Seeing the Bigger Picture 
• Working Together 
• Managing a Quality Service
• Delivering at Pace

Essential

• Good team worker, highly self motivated with the ability to work alone using own initiative.
• The candidate must hold valid police shotgun and firearms certificates.
• The candidate must have Deer Stalking Certificate Level 1 (to include Large Game Meat) and Level 2, awarded by Deer Management Qualification Ltd at time of application. 
• Experience in forestry and/or land management
• Good understanding of the ecology of woodlands and how wildlife management can help deliver sustainable forest management
• A good understanding of Health and Safety in the workplace
• Competence use of IT including MS Office applications
• Full Driving licence

Desirable

• Current certificates of competence in the use of all- terrain vehicles / quad bikes, 4×4 off road vehicle driving.
• Evidence of recent firearms training
• Evidence of recent deer carcase preparation training
• Emergency at Work First Aid Certificate plus F
• Demonstrable evidence of achieving challenging deer culls
• Excellent communication skills with an ability to bring people together.

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

• Seeing the Big Picture
• Working Together
• Managing a Quality Service
• Delivering at Pace

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

• Shooting skills test

Across Forestry England, we are focused on ensuring that our staff are respected, included, supported and engaged. We love difference and know that every single person is unique. We encourage an environment that values the uniqueness in everyone. 

Our wide range of Staff Benefits helps us to achieve this:

• A great environment with flexible working options and a range of family friendly benefits;
• Generous annual leave allowance of 25 days on entry increasing by 1 day each year to a maximum of 30 days (pro rata based on part time hours). After 20 years’ service you will receive a one-off award of 5 extra days’ holiday. On top of this, you’ll receive all public holidays plus an additional 2.5 ‘privilege’ days (pro-rata for part time);
• A Civil Service pension, with the opportunity to choose from two pension schemes, one Career Average (Alpha) or a Defined Contribution Scheme (Partnership). If you join the Civil Service Career Average Scheme, we will contribute at least 27% of your salary towards your pension membership every month. Further details can be found at Civil Service Pensions;
• A range of wellbeing benefits, including access to an Employee Assistance Programme 24/7, Bike to Work Scheme plus many more;
• A culture which promotes a diverse and inclusive work environment;
• Free parking at Forestry England sites and free entry to our National Arboretums; and
• Three paid volunteering days per year (pro-rata for part time).

This is a fantastic learning opportunity, working with skilled and experienced colleagues across the organisation. Forestry England is committed to lifelong learning and we will support your career development in a variety of ways, including:

• Learning and development tailored to your role;
• Continual Professional Development: support for individual learning plans and sponsored membership of professional bodies (such as the Chartered Institute of Ecology and Environmental Management);
• 5 dedicated learning days a year (from e-learning to traditional training, team activities to coaching and shadowing), to target the skills you need to take your career forward;
• Civil Service Learning (CSL) online platform provides access to a host of high quality training courses on a variety of useful and relevant subjects; and
• Dedicated Technical Training in support of our operational functions, ensuring that keeping people safe is central to everything we do.

Job contact :

• Name : Ian Harvey
• Email : Ian.Harvey@forestryengland.uk

Recruitment team

• Email : fcerecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk