Assistant Warden - (Fixed Term)

Job Description

About Frampton Marsh

Blessed with a variety of freshwater habitats, Frampton Marsh provides close views of the abundant birdlife of The Wash, one of Europe's most special places for wildlife. Avocets, redshanks, skylarks and whimbrels can all be seen in summer, with thousands of ducks gathering on the freshwater scrapes in winter.

About the Role

We have a broad and talented group of volunteers that are essential to the success of the reserve. You will lead and develop this high performing team by leading by example. Good communication, humour and work ethic will see you settle in well.

We have a large complex wetland, made up of smaller habitat parcels. You will help to manage these different areas individually and in unison to ensure conservation targets are being met while providing eye popping views of wildlife for visitors. This will include island vegetation management in the Autumn prior to winter flooding.

To get the job done we need the tools to do it. Maintenance of reserve machinery to ensure they are operating safely and efficiently for you and the team is essential. This will be a mixture of external and in house training where needed.

A broad range of breeding birds needs a broad knowledge of species and survey techniques. If you can identify Little Ringed Plover on call and separate Skylark and Meadow Pipit on flight views you'll love our early marsh mornings.

Hitting the higher percentiles for visitor satisfaction is something we take seriously. Maintenance of reserve infrastructure for visitors to ensure a smooth and enjoyable experience is a regular and ongoing part of the role.

With an abundance of wildlife on the reserves, understanding what is doing what and where is at the core of our workload. Monitoring of key species and habitats allows the reserves management practices to be assessed so targets for improvements can be set. You will aid the monitoring and have input into improving these targets.

You will be working with a team that maintains high standards of health and safety. This minimises the risk to you as an individual, our volunteers, visitors and the RSPB. It is essential to ensure understanding and compliance of health and safety while undertaking duties on the reserves.

Everyone chips in to help the reserve be the best it can be. Part of that may involve assisting with the running of events, and generating income to support the work we do.

General administration and report writing are associated with all of the above. Understanding of Microsoft Word and Excel will ensure admin and reports are up to date and systematically organised for record keeping of reserve data.

What we need from you:

Essential skills include:

• You will have knowledge and experience of practical habitat and estate management.
• You will have a proven track record of working of completing work alone and working within a varied team.
• Comfortable managing volunteers from a range of backgrounds
• Reasonable birdwatching knowledge and experience of biological surveys
• Be willing to assist with predator control to benefit ground nesting birds
• Full manual driving licence or ability to access remote locations without public transport.

Desirable qualifications, knowledge, skills and experience:

• Lantra or equivalent qualification in using equipment such as brushcutter and tractor, PA1/6 pesticides.
• Knowledge of servicing and maintaining vehicles, machinery, tools and equipment to agreed standards.
• Experience of staff or volunteer recruitment and line management.
• Implementing and updating health and safety records and assessments.

Additional information:

• This role will involve lone working and working in remote locations.
• This role will require occasional weekend, early morning and evening working so will need someone who is able to be flexible.

This is a 6 month Fixed-Term role for 37.5 hours per week.

The RSPB reserves the right to extend or make this role permanent without further advertising dependent on business needs at the end of the contract term.

We are looking to conduct interviews for this position on Friday 8th March. For further information please contact Susan Dempsey susan.dempsey@rspb.org.uk

As part of this application process you will be asked to complete an application form including evidence on how you meet the skills, knowledge, and experience listed above.

We are committed to developing an inclusive and diverse RSPB, in which everyone feels supported, valued, and able to be their full selves. To achieve our vision of creating a world richer in nature, we need more people, and more diverse people, on nature’s side. People of colour and disabled people are currently underrepresented across the environment, climate, sustainability, and conservation sector. If you identify as a person of colour and/or disabled, we are particularly interested in receiving your application. Contact us to discuss any additional support you may need to complete your application.

The RSPB is an equal opportunities employer. This role is covered by the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974.

This role is not eligible for UK Visa Sponsorship - the successful applicant will need to have a pre-existing Right to Work in the UK in order to be offered an employment contract.

Before applying for this role, we recommend reading through the candidate guidance notes attached to the top of this advert.