Park Caretaker in Ottery St Mary

This role plays an important part in the smooth running of the park, ensuring it is presentable, safe, and welcoming for visitors, staff, and the animals in our care. Working within the maintenance and development team, you will carry out a variety of practical caretaker duties such as gardening, general maintenance, security and manual labour. There will also be the opportunity to learn new skills and get involved in bigger projects as appropriate.

Key Responsibilities

• Grounds work, including gardening, grass cutting, maze hedging and keeping paths safe and clear at all times.
• Maintaining and repairing animal enclosures, visitor and staff spaces, and unique features such as the yurts and Saxon village.
• Daily safety and cleanliness checks of the play barn and play equipment.
• Practical hands-on tasks, general repairs and manual labour as required.
• Keeping both public and staff areas clean and welcoming.
• Helping with park security, including opening and closing the park each day.
• Managing your workload confidently, prioritising and responding to urgent issues as needed.
• Using tools, machinery and vehicles safely and responsibly at all times, adhering to safe ways of working with minimal supervision.
• Occasionally support other departments with a variety of customer-facing situations.
• Work closely with colleagues across all departments of the organisation to deliver on our strategic vision and mission.

The Working Week

Your working week will be varied and busy, with no two days the same. One day you might be cutting the grass and fixing fences, the next you could be helping to maintain our visitor facilities or assisting with an exciting new project. You’ll be using a variety of tools and equipment, so it’s important to have a good awareness of safe working practices. A positive, can-do attitude is essential, and there’s plenty of scope to learn, grow, and even take on specialist responsibilities.

Core working hours are Monday to Friday 09:00 until 17:00 with an unpaid half an hour for lunch. This post is 37.5 hours per week over 5 days. The job will involve overtime, including some evening, weekend and bank holiday working as part of your normal duties. You may be required to occasionally travel between parks.

This job involves undertaking duties which include the following health, safety and wellbeing considerations:

• Use of machinery / tools
• Hand Arm Vibration
• Repetitive limb movements
• Lone working
• Use of company vehicle

Mandatory Training for this role includes:

• Equality & Diversity
• Fire Safety Awareness
• Ladder Safety
• First Aid

Skills, Knowledge, Qualifications & Experience

All Wildwood staff are passionate, committed, and resourceful. To succeed in this specific role, you will be hardworking, a great team mate, and someone who takes pride in their work.

• A good understanding of basic Health & Safety matters relating to the role.
• Gardening experience, including the safe use of strimmers and lawn mowers.
• Confidence to carry out tasks independently, whilst also having the ability to work productively and successfully with a team.
• Hands-on experience with repairs, construction tasks, and power tools.
• Good time management skills, able to prioritise and think on your feet.
• Ability to think on your feet, exercising your own initiative to tackle problems as they arise.
• A friendly, approachable manner, especially when helping other teams in customer-facing situations.
• Demonstrate a genuine love of British wildlife and belief in Wildwood’s Mission; to protect, conserve, and rewild British wildlife.
• Experience within the construction industry, demonstrating competence in a range of construction disciplines.
• Experience in small to medium sized plant operation, power tools and chainsaws.
• Specific experience within the family attractions, zoos and/or agricultural/animal management sectors would be highly valued, though not essential.

Why work for Wildwood

Wildwood is a native species conservation charity established in 2002 to push the boundaries of innovative conservation and rewilding. We work with nature to fight the biodiversity crisis, to halt the extinction of species and to create resilient habitats in which nature thrives. We focus on nature-based solutions to return native species and recreating truly wild spaces.

Wildwood has a proud culture of respecting and valuing all colleagues. Our people are integral to our success; their expertise enables us to achieve our ambitions, their professionalism creates strong collaborations, and their integrity upholds our organisational values.

Employment Package

• Annual salary of £25,145.00
• Annual leave allowance of 30 days a year, including statutory holidays
• Workplace pension (auto enrolled after three months)
• Inclusive and family-friendly working policies
• Selection of staff benefits including discounts
• Free or reduced price entry to BIAZA accredited zoos and aquariums