Ranger

Contract: Full time, permanent (excluding existing contracts which may be part time)

Location: Wildwood Kent, Herne Common, CT6 7LQ

Reports to: Park Operations Manager

Responsible for: This role has no direct reports

Grade: 5

Job Purpose

The Ranger role is integral to the successful operation of the organisation’s premises. You will undertake skilled repairs, project builds and respond effectively to urgent defects. This ‘hands on’ role focuses on ensuring all infrastructure is safe, compliant, and fit for purpose.

Key Responsibilities

• Undertake assigned tasks to maintain, repair, and build park infrastructure, ensuring quality work and using appropriate tools and materials.
• Ensure the safety, efficiency and quality of your work, minimising impact on visitors, animals and environment wherever possible.
• Carry out routine inspections, identify and report deterioration or defects, make hazards safe, and carry out permanent repairs without avoidable delay.
• Maintain safe, secure and well-organised working areas, ensuring safe use of appropriate tools and materials, reporting concerns and defects, and disposing of waste appropriately.
• Respond to urgent incidents and infrastructure failures, including those affecting animal security, utilities, fire safety, flooding, severe weather or visitor safety, in accordance with emergency procedures and personal competence. This may include out of hours working in the event of an emergency.
• Adhere to all safe working practices, health and safety requirements, and site standards, completing all necessary paperwork.
• Work sensitively within Wildwood’s conservation setting, complying with ecological, SSSI, pollution-prevention and waste-management requirements and choosing durable, proportionate and sustainable solutions where practicable.
• Undertake other reasonable duties consistent with the nature of the role.

The Working Week

Your working week will be varied, balancing hands-on maintenance with responding to unexpected operational issues. You will maintain all park buildings and grounds, playgrounds, paths, car parks, toilets, signage, fencing and landscaping. You will also support with park events, using your creativity and practical skills to create engaging visitor experiences. You may also be allocated to project work, such as the building and planting up new enclosures, and installing and testing electric fencing. Priorities can change quickly, so you must remain calm and maintain good communication with the team.

Core working hours are 07:30 until 16:00, with an unpaid half hour for lunch and an additional unpaid break of 30 minutes in the morning. This post is 37.5 hours per week over five days, including weekends. The role may require evening and bank-holiday work, emergency call-outs, and occasional travel and overnight stays between Wildwood sites. Any rota, overtime or time-off-in-lieu arrangements will operate in accordance with your contract and Trust policies.

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

• Regular outdoor work in all seasons and on uneven or muddy ground.
• Physical work, manual handling, working in awkward positions, and lone working.
• Use of hand tools, powered tools, machinery, access equipment and company vehicles.
• Working at height, noise, vibration, dust, chemicals, fuels, hot work and other maintenance hazards, subject to training and risk controls.
• Work in or near animal enclosures only with the authorisation of the relevant animal team and in accordance with the applicable safe system of work. The role does not normally involve direct animal interaction.
• Pressure to meet key deadlines such as might be integral to high profile projects

Mandatory training for this role includes:

• Equality, Diversity & Inclusion
• Safeguarding Awareness
• Sexual Harassment Awareness
• Customer Engagement & Complaints
• Manual Handling
• Fire Safety Awareness
• Ladder Safety
• Animal Escape & Emergency Procedures
• COSHH & Risk Assessment training
• Near miss & accident reporting
• RIDDOR Reporting
• Legionella Awareness
• First Aid
• Fire Warden & Extinguishers
• GDPR / Data Protection Awareness
• Additional equipment specific training according to assigned duties

Skills, Knowledge, Qualifications & Experience

All Wildwood staff are passionate, committed and resourceful. To succeed in this role, you will be practical, safety-conscious and dependable.

Essential

• A recognised qualification in a relevant trade at Level 2 or equivalent, or equivalent maintenance experience.
• A relevant skill such as carpentry, plumbing, fencing, fabrication, chainsaw use, MEWP, tractor/telehandler operation or electrical testing, where formally competent.
• Ability to follow instructions, whilst also having the confidence to share concerns, suggestions and ideas.
• Working knowledge of health and safety, including risk assessments, safe systems of work, COSHH, machinery safety, work at height and isolation procedures.
• Experience using a variety of tools and power tools, and working with a variety of materials.
• Positive and proactive attitude, particularly in the face of adversity.
• Ability to identify defects and risks and report these appropriately, making the area secure as necessary.
• Ability to complete digital and written records.
• Good communication skills and the ability to work constructively with animal teams, all other departments, contractors, volunteers and visitors.
• A genuine commitment to Wildwood’s mission to protect, conserve and rewild British wildlife.

Desirable

• Experience in a zoo, wildlife park, visitor attraction, agricultural estate or conservation organisation.
• Chainsaw license, or willingness to train
• Experience of using plant machinery.
• Full UK driving license

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, halt the extinction of species and create resilient habitats in which nature thrives. We focus on nature-based solutions to return native species and recreate 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. We believe in equal opportunities and the benefits of a varied workforce.

Employment Package

• Annual salary of £25,146.
• Annual leave allowance of 30 days a year, including statutory holidays.
• Workplace pension.
• Inclusive and family-friendly working policies.
• Training and development opportunities.
• Selection of staff benefits, including discounts.
• Free or reduced-price entry to BIAZA-accredited zoos and aquariums

Probationary Measures of Good Performance

These measures will be reviewed informally each month and formally at three and six months. Any variation should be agreed with the Park Operations Manager to reflect access, resources and operational priorities.

1. Within four weeks, complete your site, animal-area, emergency and safety inductions and agree a plan for any outstanding training or support you need.
2. Within six weeks, build working relationships with colleagues.
3. Within three months, evidence safe use of all tools appropriate to the role to the Head Ranger.
4. By the three-month review, evidence one completed maintenance job that the Head Ranger deems to be of an acceptable standard.
5. By the six-month review, evidence a second completed maintenance job using different skills and materials that the Head Ranger deems to be of an acceptable standard. Agree on areas of existing strength and one key area where skills can be improved. Identify a buddy to support with this specific area of development.