Wildlife Ranger - Ringwood Beat

Job title – Wildlife Ranger - Ringwood Beat

Contract type – Permanent

Vacancy closes - 20 /07/25 23:58

Join us. We\'re foresters, professionals and experts. We are a passionate team who love to share our enthusiasm and want to make a positive difference for you and the environment.

Together, we’re using our scale and expertise to grow the nation’s forests for everyone. We’re already adapting our landscapes for tomorrow, and getting stuff done today, like creating amazing places and experiences for you to enjoy. We\'re providing vital homes for wildlife, making our air cleaner to breathe and producing sustainable timber .

What you’ll do…

You will work as part of the district\'s wildlife management team, protecting forests and supporting conservation priorities, including mammal management. You will be a champion for our health and safety culture by demonstrating our value of ‘look out and look after’.

You will deliver forest protection and habitat conservation objectives through:

• Controlling deer and other mammals to protect forest regeneration and biodiversity in line with wider district plans and objectives.

• Undertaking regular liaison with Forest District staff and assisting with beat and recreational planning, monitoring and delivery.

• Building and maintaining relationships with Forestry Commission (FC) and external contacts, where this benefits collaborative wildlife management and the functioning of the wider South Forest District.

Please see the job description below for more information and details about what we need from you.

Where you’ll work…

We are Forestry England. We are the country’s largest land manager, caring for the nation’s forests for people, nature and the economy. The foundation of our organisation is our world-class sustainable management of the nation’s forests.

Our South England Forest District team is made up of around 170 people with a diverse range of roles - from foresters and wildlife rangers to civil engineers, and ecologists to marketing professionals. We all contribute towards the management of 46,000 hectares of public forest estate that stretch from Sussex to Dorset, and from Berkshire to the Isle of Wight. Nearly all of our forests are within either a National Park or Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

Much of this forest is of high national importance for nature conservation and wildlife, and of international importance for biodiversity. South England Forest District is therefore responsible for land that includes Special Areas of Conservation (for habitats), Special Protection Areas (for birds) and Ramsar sites (for wetlands). We also provide public access and recreation in our forests, with nearly 50 million visits every year to South England Forest District.

If the post you are applying for is PB5 or above, you will be asked to join the District duty roster, after a suitable period of time.

Alongside your salary, Forestry England contributes an average of 28.97% towards your pension. You will become a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension Scheme.

• 25 days holiday a year, raising by one day every year’s service, up to 30 days (pro-rated for part time employees) plus additional days off such as bank holidays.
• STaRis our employee benefits scheme offering discounts on everyday supermarket shopping, as well as other things such as hotel stays clothes, mobile phones, other electrical items, medical and car insurance, holidays, gym discounts, household bills, Headspace wellbeing app.
• free parking at Forestry England sites and free entry to our National Arboretums at Westonbirt and Bedgebury.
• a commitment to lifelong learning through career development. Forestry England will support your career development in a variety of ways, including continual professional development, support for individual learning plans and sponsored membership of professional bodies.

You will be asked to write a 200 word statement on your relevant experience and career history, along with a personal statement of no more than 500 words. You will be assessed on both during sifting. More details about how to apply are listed on the application form.

You will be assessed on two technical skills and strength based questions during your interview.

We\'ll assess you against these technical skills during the selection process:

We would like applicants to to prepare a 5 minute presentation. There will be no digital aids available. Further details will be provided to candidates invited to interview.

A firearms skills test. You will be observed at all times and all your actions will be taken into account whilst handling a firearm. The firearm skills test will follow the DSC level 1 shooting test.

If you require any reasonable adjustments, please email fcrecruitmentteam@forestryengland.uk.

Read more about nationality requirements here.

Working for the Civil Service…

Forestry England is part of the Civil Service . The Civil Service has a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS). This means candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria during the application process will be guaranteed an interview. We also offer a Redeployment Interview Scheme to current civil servants who are at risk of redundancy, and who meet the minimum requirements for the role. This role is also part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans andPrison Leaver Recruitment initiative.

Within Part 7 of the Immigration Act 2016, it is essential that applicants should have the ability to provide conversation in accurate spoken English.

Our recruitment process makes appointments based on fair and open competition and merit, as outlined in the Civil Service Commissioners’ Recruitment Principles. If you feel your application has not been treated in in line with/according to these principles and you wish to make a complaint, please email: englandhr.services@forestryengland.uk .

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• Job Reference forestryengland/TP/1985/286