Project Officer Cambs, GRCF Restoring biodiversity: building a mink-free East Anglia

14th December 2020

Details

This post-holder will be a crucial member of the team working on the Green Recovery Challenge Fund (GRCF) project ‘Restoring biodiversity: building a mink-free East Anglia’. This project involves three Waterlife Recovery East partners (Norfolk Rivers Trust, The Suffolk Wildlife Trust, as well as the Countryside Restoration, the employer for this post).

Role title: Project Officer, Cambs. GRCF Restoring biodiversity: building a mink-free East Anglia

Organisation: The Countryside Restoration Trust, Cambs

Closing Date: 17/12/2020

Role Location: East Anglia

Role Description

Post: Part-time (equivalent to 3 days/week) 15 month contract, with a need to work flexibly and to include some weekend work

Salary: pro rata at a full-time annual rate of £27,000, with pro rata 25 days annual leave. Mileage and other expenses will be included

The Project: this post-holder will be a crucial member of the team working on the Green Recovery Challenge Fund (GRCF) project ‘Restoring biodiversity: building a mink-free East Anglia’. This project involves three Waterlife Recovery East partners (Norfolk Rivers Trust, The Suffolk Wildlife Trust as well as the Countryside Restoration, the employer for this post). Waterlife Recovery East (WRE) is an ambitious conservation project aiming to achieve a mink-free East Anglia. WRE is a partnership of fourteen conservation organisations, three of which are involved in this project. The GRCF is being delivered by the National Lottery Heritage Fund in partnership with Natural England and the Environment Agency.

A Mink-free East Anglia will allow populations of species of conservation concern, most notably the Water Vole, to recover from the impacts of this predator. We will be using innovative techniques to achieve this aim which, if successful, will demonstrate the potential for an island-wide Great Britain mink eradication attempt: this opportunity will put the successful candidate in the forefront of the world’s largest invasive species eradication attempt. For more background visit our project website https://waterliferecoveryeast.org.uk/

The Role: with volunteer helpers you will be operating a network of mink traps across the waterways of Cambridgeshire. Specifically:

  • Learn to undertake smart mink trapping:
    • operate safely and dispatch mink humanely using an air gun (full training and equipment provided by the project)
    • use the technology involved in smart traps, which alert the user via phone and email
  • Find suitable locations across the county to operate mink rafts
  • Recruit and train local volunteers to support the operation of mink rafts
  • Respond rapidly to trap alarms by raising a suitable local volunteer or by attending in person
  • Maintain good record keeping and input data to monitor the progress of the eradication
  • Use social media and press to build awareness about riparian species
  • Inspire and advise landowners to protect and enhance their wildlife on their waterways

Qualifications/attributes: this role would be ideal for someone starting a career in conservation. The post-holder must have a full current UK driving licence. A strong interest in conservation and countryside activities are important. Experience of pest control/gun use is an advantage but not essential. The ability to work outdoors, alone, in river habitats in all weathers is essential. Mink enter traps at any time and any day so the ability to be flexible and respond to these events is essential, the officer will be working alongside a Lead Project Officer on the same project and will be supported by volunteers but ensuring the welfare of trapped animals is a legal requirement.

Start date: January 4th 2021

Applications: the funding for this project means that a rapid start is required. Applicants are encouraged to submit a short (under 500 words) letter expressing interest and a copy of their CV by Thursday Dec 17th, 2020 to vlea@countrysiderestorationtrust.com

Short-listed candidates will be informed by Dec 20th and called for interviews to be held using Microsoft Teams or similar remote means on Dec 22nd.

Contact Vince Lea for more information on 07944 347488 or the email above.

Link to Website: https://www.countrysiderestorationtrust.com/news/green-recovery-challenge-fund-grants-nearly-a-quarter-of-a-million-pounds-to-save-threatened-east-anglian-wildlife