NNR Reserve Manager- Castle Eden Dene -

Do you have a passion for nature and the environment? Do you want to make a real difference and secure significant environmental gains in the present and the future? Do you enjoy working in a team? Can you see yourself advising communities and customers to maximise gains for the Natural Environment?

If this appeals to you, a career at Natural England offers rewarding opportunities to secure environmental improvements and play your part in creating a better future for people and nature.

The priority work Natural England is delivering includes:

• Establishing a Nature Recovery Network to help wildlife thrive
• Monitoring environmental changes to identify and help reduce the effects of climate change
• Working with farmers and landowners to develop greener food production methods
• Advising on plans for new developments to maximise gains for nature
• Providing ways for people to better connect with nature, including green social prescribing

We are the Government’s advisor for the natural environment, playing a vital role in delivering the Government’s 25 Year Environment Plan, an ambitious vision which brings new opportunities to protect and enhance and to achieve real outcomes for the environment.

Find out more about the work of Natural England at www.gov.uk/government/organisations/natural-england

Natural England staff are inclusive, motivated and ambitious to achieve results for our environment, for everyone. We welcome and encourage applications from all communities and we operate a guaranteed interview scheme for disabled applicants who meet the minimum requirements for the role.

Wherever possible we will accommodate requests for both full-time and part-time hours and other flexible working patterns to help employees achieve a good work/life balance and maintain their health and wellbeing.

From induction to ongoing learning and development, everyone in Natural England is supported to develop their skills and capabilities. Where appropriate there will be offers of training under our apprenticeship schemes.

Natural England is adopting hybrid working – which means that our staff will work from a flexible range of locations, encompassing home, offices (ours and our partners) and relevant sites. By default, all new staff will be formally linked to one of our 25 offices across England and the expectation is that all new staff will be able to access their local office to be part of the community of staff in their geographic area.

The successful candidate is required to carry out all their duties working in this way and cannot do so from an overseas location at any time.

National team roles can be linked with any Natural England office while Area Team roles will be linked with an office in the relevant geographic area. This role will be based in the Castle Eden Dene and Teesmouth National Nature Reserves and the office base will be at Castle Eden Dene.

View a map of our office locations here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/natural-england[1]office-locations

The Local Team

Castle Eden Dene National Nature Reserve (NNR) Team who sit within the Northumbria Area Team at Natural England. The Team is based at Castle Eden Dene NNR in Peterlee.

Job description

Natural England is seeking to recruit a professional and highly motivated individual to work as a Reserve Manager. The successful candidate will be a member of both Castle Eden Dene NNR team and the wider Northumbria Area Team which cover Northumberland, Durham, Tyne & Wear and Teesside. On a daily basis he/she will work with the Senior Reserve Manager, the NNR Reserve Managers and volunteers working primarily at Castle Eden Dene in addition to our NNRs at Teesmouth, Thrislington and Cassop Vale.

Typical working pattern will be 37 hours. Working pattern will cover a seven-day week with weekend working including site patrols, volunteer group tasks and helping with public engagement activities.

The role involves a considerable amount of practical management, working with various plant machinery and equipment and outside working in all weathers and on challenging terrain. He/she will be expected to:

• Co-ordinate, manage and deliver, where appropriate, the day- to- day operations at specified National Nature Reserves in accordance with agreed management plans, under the guidance of the Senior Reserve Manager.
• Co-ordinate and deliver the agreed programme of monitoring and recording of NNR management and its outcomes, including maintaining appropriate corporate recording systems.
• Provide advice and support to the Senior Reserve Manager in producing and revising Management Plans and any annual work programmes.
• Responsible for ‘health and safety’ management including maintaining servicing and records, risk and COSHH assessment.
• Work as part of the team delivering on the volunteer work on the Reserves – managing, co-ordinating and supervising volunteers, carrying out practical work, engagement, and monitoring.
• Assist with project planning, management and reporting.
• Act as a contact point and provide regular communications with communities and stakeholders, referring complex or contentious issues to the Senior Reserve Manager or Team Leader.
• Develop and undertake programmes of public engagement that build the support of visitors and local communities.
• Work with colleagues to design and deliver work programmes through volunteers and contractors, working within Natural England’s policies and procedures, and supervise delivery of such projects.
• Work with partners to identify, develop and deliver opportunities for joint delivery of engagement opportunities and projects.

The role will also involve assisting with coordination, management and direct delivery of the day-to-day operations and contractors at Castle Eden Dene and Teesmouth NNRs, in accordance with the agreed management plans, in agreement with the Senior Reserve Manager. This will include:

• Habitat management works.
• Access management.
• Species management including pest and invasive species control.
• Basic maintenance of tools and equipment, and safe and efficient running of the NNR workshop.
• Ensuring a high standard of upkeep of the visitor facilities.
• Supervision of contractors regarding any of the above.
• Assisting in the co-ordination of data collection and management and recording of site data and monitoring.
• Assisting research workers, students and others studying on the Reserve.

Additional information

Introduction to site and location: http://publications.naturalengland.org.uk/publication/6013576

This role is based primarily at Castle Eden Dene NNR. However, you may be required, on occasion, to work at other NNRs across the Northumbria Area.

A Driving Licence is essential for the role.

Flexible working patterns will generally be accommodated unless stated otherwise.

How to apply

We will assess you against the competencies below during the selection process. When completing the application form you should present relevant examples using the STAR format. STAR stands for:

• Situation
• Task
• Action
• Result

A maximum of 250 words is allowed for your response to each competency. The Candidate Information Pack has lots of useful information – read it before you begin completing the application form. Please note STAR format is not required for the ‘Technical Skills and Knowledge’ competency.

Competencies

Competence 1

Professional competency

Detail

Work delivery

Description

• Handle data responsibly, understand your role in good governance, and comply with delegations, policies and procedures (Basic)
  
  • Manage and deliver your workload to meet agreed targets and deadlines (Practitioner)

Competence 2

Professional competency

Detail

Putting people at the heart of the environment

Description

• Understand and explain the outcomes that we seek in your local patch and how these fit in with local and national issues (Basic)
  
  • Understand the importance of people accessing and engaging with the natural environment, and how to balance their needs with nature conservation objectives (Basic)

Competence 3

Professional competency

Detail

Personal effectiveness

Description

• Be ambitious, identify and adopt ways to make improvements in your team and Natural England and inspire others to act (Practitioner)
  
  • Respect the diverse needs and experience of other people, be inclusive in everything you do (Basic)

Competence 4

Professional competency

Detail

Technical Skills and Knowledge

Description

Contact and additional information (Recruiters Name, Email and Phone Number)

Ben Woodcock : ben.woodcock@naturalengland.org.uk Mob 07796 028299

Joe Davies: joe.davies@naturalengland.org.uk Tel: 0191 5860004 Mob: 07803 228414

• 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 average employer contribution of 27%

Job contact :

Name :
Ben Woodcock
Email :
ben.woodcock@naturalengland.org.uk
Telephone :
07796 028299

Recruitment team :

Email :
defra-recruitment-enquiries@gov.sscl.com