Plant Operations Supervisor – Operations Team

Westcountry Rivers Trust is recruiting a Operations Plant Supervisor.

This is a permanent contract after a successful 6 month probation period.

The starting salary for this role is between £30,000 and £33,000 per annum (dependent on
experience).

The role is 37.5 hours per week.

Apply by midnight on Sunday 3rd December 2023 by CV
and Covering Letter to: hr.breathehr.com/v/plant-operations-supervisor-32663

Interviews will be on Friday 11th December 2023 and
will be held in person at our offices in Stoke Climsland.

For queries about this role or the application process please contact [email protected] 

About the Westcountry Rivers Trust

Formed in 1994, the Trust was established to restore Westcountry rivers. Measures to protect
rivers can help to save money for farmers, lower costs for water companies, boost tourism,
reduce the need to dredge estuaries and even benefit human health. Everything the Trust does is
informed by the best available science. Their work is driven by an ‘ecosystems approach,’
considering the function of the entire catchment, not just the rivers that flow within them.

Today the charity works with a wide range of stakeholders from landowners to local communities,
businesses, farmers and water companies to restore and protect the rivers, lakes, estuaries and
coastal areas for the benefit of people, wildlife and the local economy. There has never been a
more important time to work on the rivers of the West Country as the impacts of climate
emergency and the ecological crisis is forcing society to invest in building catchment
resilience.

Spurred by a shared love of rivers, the Westcountry Rivers Trust is very much a grassroots
organisation, brought into existence from the bottom up. In the early 90s, a group of
individuals, passionate – but concerned – about the waterways around them, began to stitch
together their ambitions for restoring Westcountry rivers, laying the foundations for the Trust
we know today.

Everything the Trust does is informed by the best available science. Their work is driven by an
‘ecosystems approach,’ considering the function of the entire catchment, not just the rivers
that flow within them.

It was this new perspective – not to mention the hands-on and tireless approach to river
restoration – that grabbed the attention of so many supporters and funders and which lies
behind the flourishing rivers trust movement. Since then, the Trust now has circa 75 employees
with an annual turnover of c£3m running multi-annual projects spread across a wide range of
funders.

The Role

This role will contribute to the safe and effective delivery of the broad work programme
undertaken by our Operational Team at WRT across various projects. Supporting the Operations
Manager, Operations Supervisor and Operational Team by leading various plant-based activities
within projects and providing technical support for the Operational Team and wider Trust for
plant and other machinery-based work. The role requires internal and external engagement and
enabling processes which assist our work to be delivered. This role will support the
development of the team and Trust during an exciting period of growth and opportunity, enabling
the delivery of projects and encouraging the environmental resilience and sustainability of our
catchments throughout the South West.

Key responsibilities include:

• Provide support and guidance to teams and projects with good technical experience and
  knowledge of operating plant safely and efficiently on site as per industry best practice.
• Mentor, train and develop others in the safe use of plant.
• Support with the production and review of RAMS and other H&S documents concerning
  on-site machinery-based activities.
• Support the Operations Team and other departments at WRT with managing the effective
  delivery of our work programme across various projects at the Trust.
• Supporting project managers with a range of outputs, providing realistic timeframes and
  cost estimates to develop a schedule of project activities and key milestones to achieve
  project objectives.
• To highlight and manage risks, issues and changes to the work programme.
• Work with the Operations Manager and H&S lead to identify skills gaps and develop
  appropriate training programmes.
• To input to the maintenance, interrogation and regular update of work schedules for
  achieving the completion of project outputs within a timely fashion, liaising with the
  Operations Manager, Operations Supervisor and team.
• If/when required, line manage other members of the Operational Team and deputise for the
  Operations Manager or Operations Supervisor. Mentoring and leadership will still form a core
  aspect of this role.
• Support with events, meetings, and workshops.
• Prepare essential project-related paperwork and assist with the drafting of Risk
  Assessments, Method Statements, Site Assessments and Surveys, reports and collation of material
  and data.
• To build positive relationships and liaise regularly with colleagues and external partners
  or organisations.
• To attend formal and informal training and develop relevant knowledge and skills (CPD) as
  appropriate.
• May be required to carry out other duties from time to time commensurate with the level of
  the post.
• Maintain appropriate confidentiality of information relating to WRT and its employees and
  maintain compliance with the UK GDPR.

Essential Criteria: 

• Regular experience working safely with plant and machinery from various disciplines on
  various sites. – please provide examples in your CV and/or cover letter.
• Formal plant and machinery-based qualifications such as excavator, dumper, wheeled digger,
  tractor or other machinery. – Please provide details in your CV and/or cover letter.
  Information about experience of operating machinery without any formal qualifications or
  tickets is still beneficial; formal qualifications would be provided within the role for the
  right candidate who can evidence this experience.
• Experience working in a project and site-based setting, including planning and delivering a
  portfolio of work and managing sites in a multi-task environment.
• A proactive approach and ability to use initiative and problem solve, with a strength in
  the logistical management of a team and multiple workloads.
• The ability to work accurately with a high attention to detail.
• The ability to work to manage your workload and meet deadlines, managing conflicting
  demands and working effectively to deadlines with minimum supervision.
• Experience managing/mentoring people effectively and planning workloads across a team to
  ensure objectives are delivered.
• Effective verbal and written communication with the ability to build positive working
  relationships.
• Demonstrable experience working with MS Office suite, especially Word and Excel.
• Formal education to Level 2 (GCSE Maths and English to grade C or equivalent).
• Experience working with or performing appropriate desk-based and site surveys for statutory
  designations, species and habitats, services (above and below ground), historic environment
  features or similar.
• A knowledge and understanding of biosecurity and NNIS in relation to identifying and
  managing these on-site.

Desirable Criteria: 

• Previous experience working in a forestry/arboricultural, agricultural or
  construction-based environment or similar.
• Experience working with Health and Safety policy, process and site-based documentation.
• Membership of a relevant professional organisation.
• Higher level plant/machine, site supervision/management or other H&S qualification.
• Degree-level qualification in a subject relevant to the environmental sector.

There will be the opportunity to work from home in this role and work flexible hours. Travel to
sites throughout the Westcountry will also be required regularly; this role is a mixture of
office and site-based.