Assistant Estate Ranger

Salary details: £21575 - £21968

What’s in it for you:

An exciting opportunity is available for a Senior Estate Worker based in Blandford Forum, North Dorset.

The successful candidate will demonstrate a passion for and knowledge of Countryside Management and access to the countryside. This understanding will be underpinned by a wide range of practical skills in habitat management and experience of working with volunteers, apprentices and the public.

This role is an excellent opportunity for an enthusiastic individual with experience in countryside management to play an instrumental part in the management and development of our portfolio of countryside nature reserves, highway verge and public rights of way - improving public access to the countryside.

What you can expect to be doing:

The successful candidate will assist in all aspects of daily maintenance and delivering improvements to infrastructure and habitats. The work will be physically demanding, in all weathers and will require lone working as well as a team focus.

You will be operating a wide variety of professional machinery along with hand tools on a daily basis so knowledge and experience in this area is essential.

 This permanent position is based on 37 hours per week with occasional evening or weekend work. 

About you:

A strong work ethic and a passion to get the work done on time and to the highest standard is essential as you will be required to organise much of your own and volunteers work. You will be a highly motivated individual with a strong desire to develop you career in this field of work. An understanding of balancing the needs of wildlife and those of the users of the sites is the key to success within this role.

A basic level check will be made via the Disclosure Barring Service along with Health Declarations.

 The successful candidate will require;

 - A relevant level 2 NVQ or higher

 - NPTC 201/202 (or equivalent) chainsaw certificates essential, 203 and above desirable

- NPTC (or equivalent) brushcutter certificate essential

- PA1 and PA6 spraying certificates would be desirable

- NPTC (or equivalent) woodchipper certificate desirable

- NPTC (or equivalent) ride on mowers desirable

- Proven experience within the countryside management sector essential

- A wide understanding of wildlife and conservation and a passion for the natural environment

- A flexible approach to working hours

- The desire to achieve high standards and take pride in their work

- The ability to communicate effectively with both colleagues and customers.

- A good understanding of relevant health and safety working practices.

- A full driving license

In addition we can offer:

 -Further training opportunities

 -Local government pension scheme

-25 day's holiday plus bank holidays (increasing depending on length of service)

Dorset Council: A great place to work

We’re passionate about making Dorset a great place to live, work and visit. Working for us should be no exception.

At Dorset Council we:

• provide more than 450 services to over 300,000 residents
• have ambitious aspirations
• are excited about our future
• care about Dorset and all the people who live here
• know that all roles make a difference and that our employees are key to our success

You will:

• have access to a range of employee benefits
• be part of an organisation that supports each other to grow and succeed
• have access to range of training opportunities which will help with your personal development and career progression

We are challenging ourselves to become a more diverse and inclusive organisation. We recognise that recruitment and inclusion of individuals with diverse skills, perspectives and backgrounds will bring real strength to the council and our communities. We have a commitment to equality and welcome applications from everyone.

We are proud to be a Disability Confident Employer. We offer an interview to everyone who declares a disability and meets the essential criteria for the role.

We are keen to make our interviews accessible. Let us know on your job application if you have a disability and need any reasonable adjustments.

We also look for applicants who share our commitment to our behaviours. We will ask you to evidence when you have demonstrated them as part of the selection process.

If appointed, the personal information we collect from you will be shared with Cifas who will use it to prevent fraud, other unlawful or dishonest conduct, malpractice, and other seriously improper conduct. If any of these are detected you could be refused certain services or employment. Your personal information will also be used to verify your identity. Further details of how your information will be used by us and Cifas, and your data protection rights, can be found at https://www.cifas.org.uk/fpn.

Contact details:

Ben Wallbridge - ben.wallbridge@dorsetcouncil.gov.uk

Additional information: 

This role will require a full driving licence.

This post involves working with children and/or vulnerable adults and/or having access to significant information about them. It will be subject to a Disclosure and Barring Service check. See our policy on the employment of ex-offenders.

We use generic job descriptions and person specifications. This means the job title on any attachments may differ from the job title in the advert. We may provide specific information in a context statement if relevant.

We cannot accept CVs in the place of an application form as we need the same range of information from all our candidates. 

Find out more about how to apply.