Conservation Data Officer (Fixed-Term)

Job Description

Are you interested in supporting the RSPB’s evidence-based approach to saving nature by helping to ensure our conservation data can be used with confidence to make decisions and direct our work? Do you have experience collating and managing species data and would like to use your knowledge and expertise to support our conservation teams? Do you have a patient and friendly manner and a good eye for detail? Most importantly, do you love a good spreadsheet?

What's the role about?

The Conservation Data Department are a friendly and innovative team that sits within the Global Conservation Directorate and oversee all aspects of mapping and conservation data management at RSPB. This includes managing and supporting Merlin (our in-house conservation database, mapping and reporting system) as well as various other software packages, tools and apps.

We are looking for an enthusiastic and knowledgeable Conservation Data Officer to join the Data Management Section. The successful candidate will be involved in all aspects of the Section’s work, including managing our data flows to and from national recording programmes (e.g. WeBS, UK Butterfly Monitoring Scheme, Seabird Monitoring Programme), working with some of our priority species datasets, helping our nature reserves get the most out of our GIS system, Merlin, and working with conservation staff to fulfil external requests for our data.

You will be working closely with the other teams in the Department to share skills and knowledge, as well as with colleagues from across our reserves network and conservation teams to support them with generating high-quality data. We will encourage you to spot opportunities for enhancements to current processes and to keep abreast of new and emerging technologies to augment our conservation data toolkit.

With a varied work programme, spanning many aspects of RSPB’s conservation work, there will be plenty of ways to develop your data management skills and learn to use new software and tools. By helping to ensure that the RSPB have the very best data management processes in place, you will be enabling well-informed decision-making for conservation.

Key work areas will include:

• Being the main point of contact for some of our priority species data flows and liaising with internal and external colleagues to ensure that data are accessible
• Managing data flows with national recording schemes
• Supporting project managers with data management requirements for new projects
• Working with reserves to ensure that species and habitat data are correctly entered into our database
• Assisting with remote Merlin training and developing e-learning materials
• Keeping our species database up to date by uploading new records and maintaining lookup tables
• Providing a data supply service to fulfil external requests for RSPB species data
• Providing data summaries and reports in PowerBI.

Essential skills, knowledge and experience:

• Excellent computing skills and knowledge of Microsoft Office products
• Excellent Excel skills and experience in manipulating data
• Experience using GIS software (specifically ArcGIS and ArcPro)
• Experience of good data management along with an aptitude for, and interest in, managing data
• A logical and methodical approach to your work, with excellent attention to detail
• The ability to communicate clearly and concisely to a range of audiences (verbally and in writing) in a patient and friendly manner
• Ability to prioritise tasks during periods of high and low demand
• Ability to use your own initiative to solve problems and identify improvements to current ways of working.

Desirable skills, knowledge and experience:

• Knowledge and experience of Merlin
• UK species identification skills and knowledge of species/habitat survey techniques
• Experience collecting and managing species/habitat data
• Knowledge of the UK biodiversity data infrastructure, e.g. recording schemes and NBN
• Knowledge of GDPR and its applications to biological recording
• Previous experience providing training/support, preferably with GIS/data management
• An interest in exploring and creating new tools for data capture such as mobile/web apps
• Experience of using scripting languages, e.g. SQL, R, Python and/or reporting software, such as PowerBI or Report Builder.

This is a Fixed-Term Full-Time contract for 18 months. 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 from 11th January 2023. For further information please contact gill.dowse@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.

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.