Wildlife Manager (South West)

Job summary

What you’ll do…

Our vision is that the nation’s forests will provide the most valuable places for wildlife to thrive and expand in England.

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.

You will have the opportunity to work with experienced colleagues, passionate about their contribution to sustainable forestry, conservation and the organisation’s overarching strategy. You will help to connect everyone with the nation’s forests, caring for them for people to enjoy, wildlife to flourish and business to grow.

You can expect to spend time outdoors, working remotely and you will be expected to manage your own time to maximise efficiency and effectiveness.

Please see the job description below for more information and details about what we need from you.

Where you’ll work…

The postholder will be based in our forest office at Haldon Forest Park, Exeter, Devon (other Forestry England office locations within the district may be considered).

Job description

Key responsibilities & accountabilities

Manage people:

• manage the wildlife ranger team in the South West, 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:

• buy and distribute goods and equipment (including restricted items) in line with Forestry England policy.
• arrange and supervise a range of contracts.

Manage stakeholders:

• work with deer officer and other external organisations towards effective landscape-scale mammal management.
• represent Forestry England at deer management group and squirrel control group meetings.
• contribute to the day-to-day operation of the district as part of the management team.
• provide leadership to promote a positive safety culture and plan infrastructure to minimise risk during wildlife management operations.
• work with foresters and district ecologists to make sure work programmes are delivered effectively and efficiently.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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 south west of 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.
• And any other tasks, reasonably requested by your line manager.

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.
• relevant deer management qualification
• full UK driving license.

Desirable

• deer management qualification – assessor.
• range conducting officers' certificate.
• Awareness of 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

Driving licence, current police firearms certificate

Qualifications

relevant deer management qualification

Behaviours

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

• Seeing the Big Picture
• Leadership
• Communicating and Influencing
• Delivering at Pace
• Changing and Improving

Technical skills

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

• To be shared at invitation to interview

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £33,854, Forestry Commission contributes £9,807 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

• 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, Experience and Technical skills.

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.

You will be assessed on experience, technical knowledge and behaviour-based questions during your interview.

The Behaviours being assessed at interview are –

• Seeing the Big Picture
• Leadership
• Communicating and Influencing
• Delivering at Pace
• Changing and Improving

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.

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.

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check.People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.

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.

Diversity and Inclusion

The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see theCivil Service People Plan (opens in a new window) and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy (opens in a new window).

Apply and further information

This vacancy is part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans (opens in a new window) initiative.The Civil Service welcomes applications from people who have recently left prison or have an unspent conviction. Read more about prison leaver recruitment (opens in new window).Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available. You may want to save a copy for your records.

Contact point for applicants

Job contact :

• Name : FC Recruitment Team
• Email : fcrecruitmentteam@forestryengland.uk

Recruitment team

• Email : fcrecruitmentteam@forestryengland.uk

Further information

Our recruitment process is underpinned by the principle of appointment on the basis of fair and open competition and appointment on merit, as outlined in the Civil Service Commissioners’ Recruitment Principles.If you feel your application has not been treated in accordance with these principles and you wish to make a complaint, you should in the first instance contact FCE by email: englandhr.services@forestryengland.uk. If you are not satisfied with the response you receive, you can contact the Civil Service Commission, which regulates all Civil Service recruitment.

Attachments

Forestry England Job Description - Wildlife Manager (South West) (PB5) Opens in new window (pdf, 124kB)