Broads & Lower Waveney Warden

We are seeking an enthusiastic and suitably-skilled Warden to join our Reserves Team to deliver high-quality conservation management across our North East Suffolk sites. The Broads & Lower Waveney Warden is a key member of the East Reserves Team, based at Carlton Marshes. The role supports the successful delivery of conservation management across a set of “home” reserves – Worlingham Marshes, Castle Marshes, Barsham Marshes and Winks Meadow – as well as supporting work on other East area reserves as required.

This is a practical, hands-on post that turns conservation objectives into day-to-day action: helping to write and deliver reserve management plans, planning and undertaking habitat management works, coordinating ecological monitoring, maintaining machinery, vehicles, equipment and site infrastructure, and supporting contractor management, consents, budgets and reporting. A major part of the role is recruiting, developing and leading volunteer teams (including using Team Kinetic for volunteer management), ensuring excellent standards of health and safety across all activities.

The Warden also helps develop these reserves as flagships for the Trust’s work – ensuring sites are welcoming and accessible, supporting guided walks and events, and acting as a visible ambassador for Suffolk Wildlife Trust, raising awareness through engagement and communications that help deliver the mission to bring nature back to Suffolk.

Across Suffolk, Suffolk Wildlife Trust cares for 50 nature reserves covering over 2,900 hectares (7,100 acres), protecting a rich variety of habitats and giving people the chance to connect with nature close to home. These reserves are managed as wildlife havens and visitors can help by sticking to paths, keeping dogs under close control, and following on-site notices and guidance.

In East Suffolk, the Trust’s Broads & Lower Waveney reserves are centred around Carlton Marshes Nature Reserve & Visitor Centre, a 1,000-acre landscape in the Broads National Park in the Waveney Valley. Carlton Marshes is a “jigsaw” of wetland habitats including grazing marsh, fen, peat pools and dykes, shaped by traditional management and now supporting an abundance of wildlife, from breeding waders and wintering wildfowl to dragonflies and water voles. The visitor centre and key trails are designed to be welcoming and accessible, with facilities including a café, shop, toilets, bird hides and wheelchair-friendly routes.

The post holder will need strong practical knowledge of woodland, wetland, meadow and heathland habitats, with hands-on experience delivering habitat management works using industry-standard conservation power tools and relevant machinery. You’ll bring excellent communication, partnership working and project management skills, with the ability to engage and support volunteers, work safely with contractors and manage resources effectively.

A good working knowledge of Microsoft 365 is essential, alongside a willingness to learn and apply task-specific tools and systems (e.g. GIS/QGIS, volunteer management systems and CRM). You’ll be confident assessing risk and producing risk assessments, comfortable working outdoors in all weathers and varied terrain (including around water bodies), and able to think on your feet – resolving issues with a proactive, solutions-focused approach.

This is a permanent position working 37.5 hours per week (five out of seven days each week – standard hours are Monday to Friday from 9:00am to 5:00pm) based at Carlton Marshes Nature Reserve. Annual leave entitlement starts at 33 days per annum (including Bank Holidays), increasing annually to 38 days plus an extra day off for your birthday. We offer a 9% employer pension contribution with no employee contribution required, free 24-hour Employee Assistance Programme, free life insurance from day one of employment, free access to a private GP and discounts at high-street retailers. Staff can also enjoy a 10% discount in our visitor-centre cafés, including retail.

We are committed to being an inclusive organisation where everyone is welcome. As a conservation charity, we recognise the value of diversity both in nature and in our staff and volunteers. Suffolk Wildlife Trust is an organisation where everyone feels respected, valued and empowered to contribute, so that together we can deliver our vision, mission and strategic goals for a wilder Suffolk.