Buckinghamshire Council
Ranger - Site Management (Off-site)
Reference: Buc11223
Type: Contract
Location: Buckinghamshire, England
Industry: Public Sector and Government
Salary: £25078 - £26247 per annum
Description:
Overview
The Country Parks Ranger team is dedicated to ensuring our beautiful parks are maintained to a high standard. As a Site Management Ranger, you’ll work as part of the Site Management team to deliver high-quality practical site management, woodland management, conservation, and maintenance work across Buckinghamshire Council’s Country Parks. Based in Black Park Country Park, you’ll be surrounded by over 500 acres of woodland, heathland, and open spaces. Langley Park Country Park presents different challenges and opportunities, with over 100 veteran trees, and is a Grade 2 historic landscape. Denham Country Park is different again with rivers and meadows being the key features. If you have a wide range of countryside management and practical skills and want to work in a stunning outdoors setting, this could be the role for you.
This role is a 12-month fixed-term maternity cover position. We will consider part-time, please state this in your application if required.
About us
Buckinghamshire Council is a relatively new organisation that combines the strengths and expertise of the previous five councils in the county to create positive change for local people, communities, and businesses. We are firmly focused on the future and have made a clear commitment to serve residents better and to provide stronger representation for Buckinghamshire, both locally and nationally.
About the role
You’ll be joining a close-knit team, who will support you to get off to a great start with us. In this highly practical and diverse role some of your responsibilities will be to:
- Deliver the practical maintenance and management of the country parks natural and semi natural environments and related infrastructure in line with work plans and management plans.
- Operate and maintain a range of specialist equipment and vehicles, including but not limited to ATV’s, spraying equipment, ride on mowers, brush cutters, blowers, chainsaws, tractors, and the towing of trailers.
- Deliver conservation work including, seasonal grazing, heathland restoration, veteran tree management, surveys and monitoring, and other habitat management activities as identified in site management plans.
- Lead and engage with volunteers in the delivery of practical work in the country parks, assist with the development of volunteer skills and volunteering work plans including larger volunteer activities such as corporate groups.
- Deliver a visitor focused service meeting demand at peak times such as weekends and school holidays. Proactively engage with visitors to give advice, help with enquires, take feedback, and rectify or report problems for resolution. Support first-aid incidents and other incidents and emergencies.
As part of the role, you will contribute to a rota that covers seasonally extended hours and working alternate weekends from approximately the 1st of April to 31st October for 30 weeks. For the rest of the year 22 weeks, weekdays only.
An enhancement will be paid for all weekend days worked on top of the advertised salary. You will also be required to work some bank holidays throughout the year, an enhancement and lieu time for all bank holiday days worked is also on top of the advertised salary.
This role requires you to hold a full driving licence, have access to your own vehicle, and pass a Buckinghamshire Council driving test.
Fixed
As a ‘fixed’ worker, you’ll spend most of your time in the same location, which will likely be a fixed office or location where your role is performed. Typically, you’ll be based in the same location as the rest of your team, because you provide a particular service from that fixed location or need access to information there.
About you
From delivering specialist management of lowland heath, to leading and supporting our dedicated volunteer groups, you’ll work to maintain the high standards of our Country Parks, making them safe and special places for visitors and nature. You’ll possess relevant qualifications and have experience in delivering high-quality site management, conservation, volunteering, and woodland management. You will have an excellent working knowledge, qualifications and experience using machinery and equipment. Good communication and interpersonal skills, as well as being organised and solution focussed. Above all, you’ll be enthusiastic and ready to become part of our experienced team of Rangers.
Other information
Following the establishment of Buckinghamshire Council as a unitary authority, we have undertaken a comprehensive review of our parks’ services. We are now entering an exciting period of growth for the Country Parks team, with some great new projects to be delivered including the opening of a brand-new Country Park.
Andrew, Head of Parks & Green Spaces, said: “All of our current team have secured positions in our new structure, and there are now great opportunities to come and join our team at this exciting time. I look forward to meeting highly motivated individuals who can bring their passion and skills to our growing team!”
We welcome a diverse range of visitors from Buckinghamshire and surrounding counties each day of the year. From our stunning Temple Gardens at Langley Park to our peaceful lakes at Black Park, you’ll be surrounded by natural wildlife and picture-perfect scenes to enjoy. Sam, Ranger at Black Park said: “No two days are the same; it’s a very satisfying job and a beautiful place to work!”
If that’s not enough reason to join us, you’ll be entitled to a range of benefits from Buckinghamshire Council including a very competitive employer pension contribution; a minimum of 25 days annual leave allowance per year; a flex-time scheme; and discounts in local shops, restaurants, and gyms.
This role requires you to hold a full driving licence, have access to your own vehicle, and pass a Buckinghamshire Council driving test.
For an informal chat about this role in more detail, please contact Matt May, Lead Ranger Site Management or Tim Williams on 01753 511060. Or email countryparks@buckinghamshire.gov.uk
Take a look at our dedicated career social media pages @bucks_careers to meet our Country Parks teams and find out more about life at Buckinghamshire Council.
This post is covered by the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and therefore applicants are required to declare:
- All unspent cautions and/or unspent convictions
For further information on how long it takes for cautions and convictions cautions to become spent, please refer to our guide on the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (updated 2023) | Nacro
We reserve the right to close the vacancy once we have received sufficient applications, so please be advised to submit your application as early as possible.
Our values and culture
We have a set of values, which our employees have chosen, that represent what we are – Proud, Ambitious, Collaborative and Trustworthy.
By joining Buckinghamshire Council, you can expect:
- a fair and inclusive culture
- the chance to really make a difference to those around you
- health and well-being initiatives including an Employee Assistance Programme, Mental Health First Aiders and mindfulness workshops
- a unified voice through our Employee Representative Group
- ongoing support, and the opportunity to develop and progress in your career with us
- opportunities to take part in fun activities such as fundraising and social events
At Buckinghamshire Council, we know that our biggest strength comes from the people that work for us, and that’s why we’re working hard to ensure we continue to be an accessible and inclusive organisation.
From dedicated staff networks overseen by our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Steering Group, to proudly standing as a Disability Confident employer, it’s important to us that all our colleagues feel engaged, listened to, and valued. Our offer of flexible working empowers a productive and happy workforce and allows employees to combine work with other responsibilities and commitments.
We believe our workforce should reflect the diverse communities we service in Buckinghamshire, and are looking for like-minded individuals to join us in promoting equality, fairness, and inclusion for everyone.
About the Business Unit
Our Communities directorate works across the county to deliver a number of the key customer-facing services that our residents, businesses and visitors rely on every day.
This directorate includes a wide range of services, including:
- collecting and disposing of waste and recycling
- maintaining our roads and Rights of Way network and parking
- ensuring the delivery of school transport, and supporting sustainable travel including public bus services and School Crossing Patrollers
- managing Country Parks
- leisure facilities, museums, theatres and libraries, as well as developing our Cultural Strategy
- licensing, cemeteries and crematoria
The customer is central to how we develop and deliver all of these services, which help promote our rich and vibrant culture and special environment.
We are looking for enthusiastic, ambitious and committed individuals to join our team and help us to continue to make Buckinghamshire a great place to live, work and visit. This is an exciting time for us as we bring together the services previously run by five separate councils before Buckinghamshire Council was created. Whilst making major changes to contracts affecting residents across Bucks, we continue to focus on delivering great customer service. You will join us on our journey of continuous improvement - whether that’s through developing strategies and ways of working or delivering services on the ground, every person in Communities is a valued member of the team.
We recognise and reward you
Hard work and success deserves recognition. That’s why we pride ourselves on the benefits we give our people. We actively encourage a good work-life balance and promote flexible and agile working arrangements. We provide discounts on various Cafés, restaurants, shops and auto enrolment onto our generous Pension Scheme. We also offer a salary sacrifice personal car lease scheme to those who are eligible and have passed their probation period. In addition to the opportunity to gain membership to Costco, we have discounted gym memberships, travel discounts with Arriva and much more.
Working at Buckinghamshire Council
Closing Date: 08/04/2024 Location: Buckinghamshire