Jobs

Ranger

Organisation: The National Trust for Scotland

Salary: £22,797 - £24,071 pro- rata, per annum

Location: Dollar Glen

JOB PURPOSE

To maximise our visitors’ enjoyment of National Trust for Scotland managed sites by maintaining excellent standards of service, optimising opportunities to generate income and ensuring that the property and its assets are protected, safe and secure.
Specifically, working to support delivery of our public facilities and services. This role is to ensure the smooth and safe delivery of those everyday services which are available to the general public visiting Dollar Glen. Dollar Glen is a unique 21.922ha site consisting of steep sided walkways, waterfalls and woodland. The role will support our Visitor Services Supervisor and events when required, helping to make the property the best possible place to visit and work.
This is a fantastic opportunity for anyone looking to gain skills, knowledge, and experience to help you further you career in conservation.

You will work on your own and with other staff and volunteers, on a variety of tasks to help us achieve a greater volume of education and outreach activities. This is a hands on role dealing with repairs and maintenance on the site and you will contribute to the long-term sustainability of the Dollar Glen ranger service through income generated memberships and donations inspired by our work, growing our capacity through volunteers and cost-effective use of resources.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES AND ACCOUNTABILITIES

 Be an enthusiastic and effective part of the Dollar Glen team, contributing to the smooth operation and enhancement of Dollar Glen.
 Reach out and connect with relevant local community stakeholders to build / strengthen relationships and attend relevant networking events.
 Seek to minimize our environmental impact through sustainable working practices and sensitive use of power, equipment, transport, and other resources.
 Assist with and lead practical countryside management including litter picks, path maintenance and safety checks of visitor infrastructure.
 Welcome customers in a friendly, efficient, and knowledgeable manner, answering queries and providing information about the property, facilities, and the local area.
 Contribute to the development and delivery of products that bring alive our stories, including on-site displays, self-guided trails, signage, guided walks, talks or other hands-on activities.
 Support a strong health & safety culture, complying with the property’s ‘Safe System of Work’, risk management and emergency procedures, to safeguard yourself, colleagues, and the public.
 Contribute to biological monitoring programmes.
 Manage and collate biological information in a consistent manner compatible with Trust and national datasets.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS, SKILLS, EXPERIENCE & KNOWLEDGE

Essential
 No formal educational qualification required.
 A full, clean driving license for driving in the UK.
 Experience of developing and delivering events and learning activities – including supervision of volunteers and/or responsibility for specific activities.
 Knowledge of natural history and conservation.
 Confident communication and influencing skills with colleagues, volunteers, and the public.
 Previous event co-ordination experience.
 Strong personal belief in the value of excellent customer care with the ability to translate this into actions.
 Excellent organisational, administrative and time-management skills with the ability to prioritise and re-prioritise workload to meet changing demands.
 Reviewing and overseeing Health & Safety documents (e.g. risk assessments).
 Flexible and adaptive to change and working in a variety of situations.
 Competent user of Microsoft Office products.

This role is one for which the duties, responsibilities or accountabilities of the role do require you to become a member of the Protection of Vulnerable Groups (PVG) scheme, administered by Disclosure Scotland, as this role involves regulated work with children.

Desirable
 A formal qualification in Natural History and/or Conservation.
 A genuine understanding of and belief in, the work of the National Trust for Scotland.
 Access to own transport.
 Experience of community engagement and using social media in a workplace context.
 Experience in supervising volunteers.
 Experience of engaging the public in nature tourism or working in a busy countryside setting

DIMENSIONS AND SCOPE OF JOB

Scale
 Resting above the town of Dollar, Dollar Glen is an unique 21.922ha site consisting of steep sided walkways, waterfalls and woodland. The site forms part of the SSSI for the wider Dollar Glen catchment and with the woodland being Oak and Ash dominant species. The glen is well used with walkers who are accessing the wider Ochil’s, visitors to Castle Campbell (managed by Historic Environment Scotland) as well as dedicated visitors to the glen.

People Management
 Supporting the VSS Ranger and working with other Rangers and Visitor Service Assistants,
 Engage with the public, championing a “leave no trace” culture and providing practical advice based on the Scottish Outdoor Access Code.
 Supervise volunteer roles to help grow our team’s capacity and assist with the leadership of group volunteering activities as required.
 Build positive relationships with our neighbours and local community, including other land managers, schools, community groups and recreational users.

Finance Management
 Not a budget holder but expected to liaise with the Line Manager prior to incurring any expenses and be mindful of cost-effective use of Trust funds and resources.
 Seek and support ways to generate sustainable sources of income, including encouraging donations, enrolling new members, booking events, payment of parking charges, visits to other properties and awareness of our fundraising campaigns.

Tools / equipment / systems
 Use of educational equipment
 Will be frequent user of machinery, tools, vehicles and equipment subject to appropriate training.
 Use of office computer for email enquiries/responses, create posters, social media posts and data input.
 Use of office telephone for visitor and stakeholder communication.

Example key performance indicators and targets
 Recruit members for the National Trust for Scotland – targets will be set at the start of the season.
 Positive engagement with visitors measured by feedback from visitor surveys.
 Visitors leave feeling they have received a warm and informative welcome and inspired about the work carried out on this important site.
 We understand the wildlife in our care in the most comprehensive way possible. New innovative ideas and input into recording are welcomed.
 Wildlife is given the protection it needs to thrive and people are informed about key conservation issues locally and in a wider context.
 Engage with as many people as possible while working. This is recorded to help us understand and better our outreach.

The Purpose, Context, Key Responsibilities, and Person Specification reflect the requirements of the job at the time of issue. The Trust reserves the right to amend these with appropriate consultation and/or request the post-holder to undertake any activities that it believes to be reasonable within the broad scope of the job or his/her general abilities.

Application Deadline: Friday 17/03/2023