Berkshire Reserves Officer (East)

Salary: £21,440 - £22,186 (pro rata) per annum (£26,800 - £27,733 FTE)

Contract: Permanent

Hours: 28 hours per week. Tuesday -Friday

Based: Woolley Firs.

The Berks, Bucks & Oxon Wildlife Trust has a vision for “more nature everywhere, for everyone”. We’re working hard to create an inclusive culture, where everyone feels they belong. This includes you being comfortable bringing your whole self to work, and us co-working with the diverse communities we serve to ensure we are meeting everyone’s needs.

The Berkshire Reserves Officer will help nature recover by directly working towards habitat management objectives across a suite of reserves covering lowland heathland, lowland and floodplain meadows, wetland and woodland habitats, of which many are designated Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI).

This will provide an exciting opportunity to work within a close knit, enthusiastic, friendly team committed to nature conservation.

What you’ll be doing:

• Responsible for undertaking practical habitat and infrastructure work on our nature reserves, utilising well supported key volunteers and volunteer teams. 
• Involved in the management of all aspects of Trust owned cattle and sheep.
• Overseeing the delivery of works undertaken by contractors to support the management of the nature reserves.

What we’re looking for:

• A commitment to wildlife conservation and a working knowledge of principles of habitat management relevant to Berkshire wildlife.
• Self-motivation and problem-solving, with a strong work ethic and a willingness to work in all weathers.
• A commitment to high standards of work, safety standards and attention to detail
• Willingness to undertake relevant tools, livestock handling, first aid and other training.
• Ability to engage people of all ages and backgrounds.

This post will be DBS checked at basic level. A criminal conviction will not necessarily be a bar to obtaining the position. BBOWT will not unfairly discriminate on the basis of criminal convictions. BBOWT’s policy regarding this matter and the Disclosure and Barring Service Code of Practice are available on request.

For all your hard work you can expect a great rewards package in return. In addition to being part of a friendly, skilled and knowledgeable team, passionate about making a difference, when you work for us, you’ll also receive:

• Generous annual leave entitlement with paid birthday leave, wellbeing days, urgent personal business leave and generous occupational sick pay
• Enhanced maternity, paternity, and family-friendly policies
• Flexible working to achieve work-life balance
• Salary exchange pension with generous employer contribution
• Learning & Development Programme for all
• Wellbeing initiatives including qualified Mental Health First Aiders, YuLife benefit package - access to our EAP, providing you with immediate and confidential help for any work, health, or life matters; 3x life assurance, online GP access prescription service, a variety of discounts
• Salary sacrifice Cycle scheme & Electric Vehicle scheme
• Membership to BBOWT’s, and The Wildlife Trusts’, Staff Network Groups for social interaction, peer support, mentoring and personal development

How to apply

For full details, please read the job description and T&Cs below. To apply, please follow the application link.

The closing time and date for applications is 11.59pm on Monday 15^th July. Interviews will take place on Thursday 25^th July.

BBOWT values diversity and inclusion and the benefits this brings. We want every candidate to have the best chance of success as part of this process. In order to do this, we know that some candidates will need reasonable adjustments. Contact us on recruitment@bbowt.org.uk if there are any reasonable adjustments we can provide during the recruitment process, including completing your application.

When applying for the role you can expect to answer a few questions online relating to the skills required and what you would be doing in the role. Your responses will be anonymised, randomised, and scored by a panel of reviewers. 

We don't use an application form, or CVs - your answers to our situational based questions will be scored against a review guide and scores from these will decide which candidates go through to the interview stage.  See here to find out why we do this.

Whilst we appreciate ChatGPT and other AI platforms can answer these questions, we know what they have to say (and generally the answer they generate isn't great). We want to hear your perspective written in your own words. If it is clear that any of your answers are not your own work, we reserve the right to reject your application on that basis. 

We want our people to be as diverse as nature, so we particularly encourage applications from people who are underserved within the communities in which we operate. This includes people from visible ethnic minority backgrounds, people with disabilities (including those who are neurodivergent), the LGBTQ+ community, those from lower socio-economic backgrounds, and younger people. We are committed to creating an organisation that recognises and truly values individual differences and identities. 

You’ll also be asked for information about your background, anything you feel comfortable sharing will be anonymised and will not be shared as part of the selection process, it will only be used to help us understand how we are performing against our equal opportunities metrics. All candidates will receive feedback on their application.

To find out more about what we do please visit our website.

Berkshire, Buckinghamshire & Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust, The Lodge, 1 Armstrong Road, Littlemore, Oxford Oxon OX4 4XT

Registered Charity No. 204330 www.bbowt.org.uk