Can you help us deliver our mission to save nature?  We are looking for a warden to join our Exe estuary nature reserves team in Devon.

The Exe is an internationally important estuary for wildlife, specifically for the tens of thousands of waders and wildfowl which come here in winter. Our team manage five mainly wet grassland nature reserves around the Exe with the wintering wildlife in mind, including Bowling Green Marsh, which is one of the main high tide roosts on the Exe. We also manage these reserves for breeding waders in the spring, with the Exminster and Powderham Marshes reserves holding the last breeding population of lapwing in the south west.

We also look after four other nature reserves; Labrador Bay and Ashill near Teignmouth (mixed farming landscapes for the red listed cirl bunting), and Isley Marsh and Chapel Wood (saltmarsh and woodland respectively) in North Devon near Barnstaple/ Croyde.

Of course, it’s not all about birds! We undertake management for a huge range of other habitats and species including saltmarsh, reedbed, species-rich grassland, woodland, arable plant communities, ditch flora and fauna and mammals including dormice and bats. There’s always lots of variety in our work programme.

Our visitor operation is small but growing and we have great ambitions for the nearby population of Exeter to be more engaged with nature and to make the Exe estuary reserves more accessible. Part of your role will involve supporting our visitor operations team to help deliver close up nature experiences on reserves and engaging the public through a small number of guided walks/ talks each year.

What’s the role about?

In your role as reserves Warden, you will coordinate and lead the delivery of a busy work programme across multiple sites. Your role will be varied – in any given week you could be supervising and developing volunteers, surveying wildlife and habitats, setting up contracts, working with visitors, carrying out estate maintenance or delivering hands on habitat management. 

As the Warden for the Exe Estuary (and associated) nature reserves, you will be working across a diverse range of sites in Devon, including vibrant wetlands such as Exminster Marshes and cirl bunting reserves such as Labrador Bay. You will lead a team of volunteers and have line management responsibility for an Assistant Warden and up to three residential volunteers.

Are you the right person to take on this exciting role?  You’ll be energetic, practically minded, great with people, able to lead teams, well organised and able to deliver an ambitious work programme. With a proven track record of working in nature conservation, you will have a good and practical grasp of land management techniques, ecological principles, wildlife and habitat monitoring, creating a safe working environment, leading and managing staff / volunteers.

What we need from you

Essential Qualifications, Knowledge, Skills and Experience

• Knowledge of and a proven track record of conservation land management
• Relevant ecological knowledge, particularly relevant to wetlands and/or mixed farm landscapes
• Agricultural or livestock knowledge
• Knowledge and experience of health and safety applying to site management
• Relevant knowledge of compliance requirements eg agricultural and environmental legislation
• Able to communicate and engage effectively with a wide range of audiences whether in person, by phone, video or email
• Estate management skills
• Machinery operations and equipment servicing
• Tickets, some of: pesticides (PA1, PA2, PA6AW), brushcutter, 4x4, sit-astride ATV, trailed loads, first aid, chainsaw
• A proactive approach to problem solving
• Organisational, time management and prioritisation skills
• Individual and team management skills
• Experience of biological monitoring
• Experience of working with graziers and contractors
• Record keeping/data management
• Experience of working with and/or managing staff and/or volunteers

This is a Permanent Full Time role for 37.5 hours per week.

The RSPB is an equal opportunities employer. This role is covered by the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974.

As part of this application process you will be asked to complete a full application form including evidence on how you meet the skills, knowledge, and experience requested.

The RSPB is an equal opportunities employer. This role is covered by the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974.

If you want to have an informal discussion about this role, please contact:
Natalie Holt, natalie.holt@rspb.org.uk 07793 170651

We are looking for an enthusiastic and skilled person with a passion for wildlife, landscapes and people to join the team – we look forward to hearing from you!

Before applying for this role, we recommend reading through the candidate guidance notes attached to the top of this advert.