Forestry Commission
Wildlife Manager
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Santon Downham, East of England, IP27 0TJ
Job Summary
What you’ll do…
You will plan and implement safe and professional wildlife management programmes to protect tree crops and improve ecosystems. You will provide leadership and technical support in the district and through national networks.
Please see the job description below for more information and details about what we need from you.
Where you’ll work…
East District offices at Santon Downham, IP27 0TJ
Job Description
Key responsibilities & accountabilities
Manage People:
- Manage the wildlife ranger team, to meet our high professional standards.
- Provide technical support in the district and through national networks.
- Lead by example to promote a positive and inclusive culture, and actively promote collaboration and support across the district and with stakeholders.
- Demonstrate Forestry England’s organisational values and behaviours and make sure your team does too.
- Drive improvement in the wildlife team, promoting learning and development opportunities.
Manage Resources:
- Manage the district’s wildlife budget.
- Buy and distribute goods and equipment (including restricted items) in line with Forestry England policy.
- Arrange and supervise a range of contracts.
Manage Stakeholders:
- Contribute to the day-to-day operation of the district as part of the management team.
- Work with foresters and district ecologists to make sure work programmes are delivered effectively and efficiently.
- Work with deer officer and other external organisations towards effective landscape-scale mammal management.
- Advise and support the estates team with sporting tenancies and sporting retained rights.
- Manage deer control licence holders and contractors to achieve deer management plan targets.
- Help to develop national policy at the request of the lead wildlife manager.
- Represent Forestry England at deer management group and squirrel control group meetings.
- Liaise with the police and neighbours on wildlife crime or as directed by the forest management director.
Manage Health And Safety:
- Manage health and safety involving firearms and the wildlife management operations.
- Provide leadership to promote a positive safety culture and plan infrastructure to minimise risk during wildlife management operations.
- Control authorising, using, inspecting, and recording firearms and ammunition by the wildlife ranger team, making sure Forestry England complies with legislation and internal policies.
- Make sure that district ‘s deer larders comply with Forestry England policies, food hygiene regulations, and the British Quality Wild Venison standard.
- Draft and review risk assessments covering wildlife management activities.
- Take overall responsibility for rifle zero and practise areas in the district and the safety of all activities on these sites.
- Issue and review all firearms cards, maintain the district’s firearm database, and update the national data base as required.
- Issue guidance for safely using equipment and firearms, including managing the wildlife ranger training programmes.
- Monitor ranger and keeper performance including accompanied stalks, and high seat inspections.
- Promote reporting tick bites and using mandated deterrents.
Crop And Habitat Protection:
- Create and deliver data-led culling plans based upon population censuses and damage/ impact assessments to minimise damage to growing crops and habitats.
- Maintain wildlife management strategies to comply with UK Woodland Assurance Standard (UKWAS) and Forestry England policies.
- Contract deer culling resource where and when needed to effectively deliver culling plans.
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Person specification
Skills, Knowledge & Experience
Essential professional and technical experience
- Current Or Relevant Experience In Wildlife Management Including:
- Detailed understanding of the legislation for wildlife management.
- Experience in delivering large wildlife management programmes.
- Carcase handling and larder management.
- Impact and census monitoring techniques.
- Experience in planning wildlife management infrastructure.
- Understanding the legislative framework for using firearms.
- Experience in conservation/wildlife projects.
- Experience of working with partners, stakeholders and landowners.
Desirable Professional And Technical Experience
- Experience of line managing staff, and supervising contractors.
- Experience of data management and data-driven decision making.
Qualifications
Essential
- Qualification in wildlife or conservation land management, such as a BTEC National Diploma, a BTEC HND or a BSc degree or significant and equivalent experience in a wildlife or conservation land management role.
- Current police firearms certificate.
- Deer stalking certificates (DSC) 1 & 2 (including trained hunter)
- Full UK driving license.
Desirable
- Deer management qualification – assessor.
- Range conducting officers' certificate.
- Trained to CDM and FISA standards.
- Forestry First Aid +F, this can also be obtained once employed with Forestry England.
- Membership of a relevant professional body.
Licences
- Current police firearms certificate.
- Deer stalking certificates (DSC) 1 & 2 (including trained hunter)
- Full UK driving license.
Behaviours
We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:
- Making Effective Decisions
- Working Together
- Seeing the Big Picture
Technical skills
We'll assess you against these technical skills during the selection process:
To be confirmed at invitation to interview
Salary and Benefits
Alongside your salary of £37,537, Forestry Commission contributes £10,874 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%
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, Strengths, Experience and Technical skills.
How To Apply…
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 application form.
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You will be assessed on a technical skill and strength based questions during your interview.
The Behaviours being assessed at interview are –
- Making effective decisions
- Working together
- Seeing the bigger picture
Successful candidates will undergo a criminal record check and the government baseline personnel security standard check.
If you require any reasonable adjustments, please email fcrecruitmentteam@forestryengland.uk.
If you're planning to use AI to support your application, please ensure you've read our guidelines here first.
Read more about our application process and working with us on the Forestry England website.
If candidates pass the interview but are not the leading candidate they can be placed on a reserve list. We may offer candidates on the reserve list for this role the opportunity to be considered for other roles at the same or lower pay bands.
Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.
This vacancy is using Success Profiles [opens in a new window], and will assess your Behaviours, Strengths, Experience and Technical skills.
Security
Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check.
People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard checks [opens in new window].
Nationality requirements
This Job Is Broadly Open To The Following Groups:
- UK nationals
- nationals of the Republic of Ireland
- nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
- nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) [opens in a new window]
- nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
- individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020
- Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service
Further information on nationality requirements [opens in a new window]
Working for the Civil Service
The Civil Service Code [opens in a new window] sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.
We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles [opens in a new window].
The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.
The Civil Service also offers a Redeployment Interview Scheme to civil servants who are at risk of redundancy, and who meet the minimum requirements for the advertised vacancy.
The Civil Service Code [opens in a new window] sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.
We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles [opens in a new window].
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