Senior Grasslands Conservation Officer – Epping Forest and Buffer Lands

Job reference: OENV024
Contract Type: Permanent
Salary: Grade C+ £34,510 – £38,490 per annum inclusive of all allowances
Opportunity: 35 hours
Shift and Schedule: Monday-Friday between the hours of 07:30-17:00

An exciting opportunity has arisen to appoint a Senior Grasslands Conservation Officer
at Epping Forest. We are looking for an experienced tractor driver with a passion for
conservation and land management to lead and deliver a variety of amenity, conservation, and
access vegetation management across the Epping Forest Landscape.

If you have clear leadership skills, an ability to manage a small team working in a
variety of disciplines, have excellent communication skills and the desire to work
collaboratively to manage this dynamic, highly visited landscape, then we would love to hear
from you.

About Us

Epping Forest is amongst 11,000 acres of open spaces, parks, and gardens in and around London
owned and managed by the City of London as part of its commitment to sustaining a first-class
city. Each open space is a unique resource for the use and enjoyment of the public and for the
conservation of wildlife and the historic landscape.

Epping Forest stretches from London’s East End for 14 miles out into Essex and covers over 6000
acres along with a further 2000 acres of ‘buffer land’ and receives over 10 million visits each
year. Two thirds of the Forest is designated as SSSI and SAC and is home to over 50,000 veteran
trees, ancient pollards, over 100 ponds and lakes, two registered parks, ancient monuments, and
listed buildings. The ancient wood pasture landscape is managed with the help of a resident
herd of 200 Longhorn cattle.

The Role

You will work as part of the Grazing and Landscape Team helping to deliver grassland management
across the ancient landscape of Epping Forest. You will be responsible for delivering a
programme of works and monitoring the outcomes that will inform future management. As well as
using tractors and machinery the team uses arboriculture equipment to manage access routes and
for habitat creation. This is a multi-skilled role providing lots of variety and an opportunity
to help build and develop on 20 years of conservation works. As part of the wider team, you
will assist and provide support when needed managing our 200 head herd of cattle and associated
infrastructure. The works you carry out will help deliver our objectives for biodiversity and
environmental stewardship which we receive grants for. With a new fleet of tractors and
equipment, the role will include ensuring proper and regular maintenance and checks are carried
out. Machinery requirements within teams can fluctuate and a collaborative pragmatic approach
is needed to ensure we meet our goals as a division.

The Ideal Candidate

You will be a vital member of team, encouraging collaboration to achieve the best balance of
conservation requirements with public safety, access and recreation. You will have motivational
leadership skills and can demonstrate practical conservation experience with managing teams or
small groups and individuals working in a variety of disciplines. You will be passionate about
the environment and enthusiastic about engaging with the community, volunteers, and partner
organisations to manage this complex and busy environment.

If you would like to discuss this role please call 0208 532 1010. Ask for John Phillips

Benefits Include

• Competitive salary starting at £34,510 pro rata (including outer London weighting).
• 28 days annual leave plus public holidays (or time in lieu where applicable).
• Pension scheme is operated in accordance with Local Government Pension Scheme
• Employee assistance programmes including mental well-being support.
• Bicycle Loan scheme.
• Travel card scheme

To apply online please visit careers.cityoflondon.gov.uk 

Alternatively, please contact 020 7332 3978 (24 hr answerphone) quoting reference number
OENV0245. A minicom service for the hearing impaired is available on 020 7332 3732.

The City of London Corporation is committed to Equal Opportunities and welcomes applications
from all sections of the community.

Closing date: 12 noon on 19 February 2024.