Please Note: The application deadline for this job has now passed.
Job Information
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 small 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 good 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 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 and 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. Frequent weekend working will be required.
Full time (37 hours per week) permanent contract
Starting salary of £26,421 (Band 5)
Requirements for the role
· A qualification equivalent to HNC level 4 in ecology, countryside management or an equivalent discipline.
· Full UK driving licence
· Capable of working outdoors for long periods of time in challenging weather conditions.
Further information
We have some outstanding benefits 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 (if applicable) – up to 2 days flexible leave available per month (pro rata for part-time employees)
-Local government discount schemes available to all employees with offers at local businesses along with various national brands
-Commitment to work/life balance offering flexibility through various schemes including job sharing, flexible working, term-time only, and compressed hours
-A range of salary sacrifice schemes are available
-Staff networks - run by staff, for staff, providing opportunities for peer networking, mutual support, staff development e.g.Armed Forces, ASD, Enable (disability), LGBT+, Menopause, Mental Wellbeing, Racial Equality
Please note that this is a full time position but applications on a secondment or part-time basis would be considered for the right applicant.
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 wish to notify us of your eligibility for this scheme, please email hrrecruitment@northumberland.gov.uk or ring 01670 623930 with your name and the job title you have applied for and one of the recruitment team will ensure this is factored into the shortlisting process and kept anonymous. 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.
Alternative application format: British Sign Language: northumberlandcc-cs.signvideo.net For those with speech difficulties or hearing loss: Text relay service dial 018001 01670 623930
