Plant Operator

Westcountry Rivers Trust is recruiting a Plant Operator. This is a permanent contract following
a successful 6 month probation period.

The starting salary for this role is between £25,000 and £30,000 per annum (dependent on
experience).

The role is 37.5 hours per week

Westcountry Rivers Trust’s office is in Stoke Climsland and whilst we have adopted hybrid
working there is an expectation to work from the office, and to travel to sites across the
delivery area on a regular basis

Benefits while working for Westcountry Rivers Trust

• 25 days Annual Leave per annum, with a reward for long service – an additional 1 day per
  year for each year worked over 5 years, up to a maximum of 30 days for employees serving 10
  years.
• An additional 3 days Annual Leave for the Christmas Closure period.
• 9% Employer Pension, plus Life Assurance cover.
• Hybrid Working.

Apply by midnight on Thursday 1st August by CV and
Covering Letter to: hr.breathehr.com/v/plant-operator-36383

Interviews will be held in person at our offices in Stoke Climsland on Wednesday
14th and Thursday
15th August 2024

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

About Westcountry Rivers Trust

Formed in 1994, the trust was established to restore Westcountry rivers and everything we do is
informed by the best available science.

Our work is driven by an ‘ecosystems approach,’ considering the function of the entire
catchment, not just the rivers that flow within them.

We work 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. 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 benefit human health.

There has never been a more important time to work for the rivers of the Westcountry as the
impacts of the climate emergency and the ecological crisis forces society to invest in building
catchment resilience.

Spurred by a shared love of rivers, 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. 

The Role

This role will provide a Plant Operative position and additional support, to the Operational
team, across a varied programme of work and will report to the Senior Operations Project
Manager

This role will support with a mixture of site-based delivery on a range of WRT projects and
require a combination of acting as the lead machine operator on various work packages,
potentially team leading on some sites, as well as supporting other staff and teams with their
project work. The successful applicant will be a motivated, enthusiastic, team player who will
be reliable and show initiative.

This role is a predominantly site based, but some desk-based work will be required, and the
successful candidate will be able to work in line with WRT’s hybrid working policy which
includes home, office and site-based work.

This role will support the Operations Team and other departments at WRT with the delivery of
various catchment management outputs such as but not limited to, habitat creation and
restoration opportunities, monitoring, natural flood management, arboricultural work and
community engagement. Your role will be predominantly site-based working at various locations
on our catchments throughout the South-West, supporting on the delivery of on array of project
outputs for the Trust. You will be responsible for leading a small team of operatives to
deliver a range of work safely and professionally on WRT sites. Reporting to the Operations
Manager you will develop your knowledge and experience of working in the environmental
conservation sector with a focus on enhancing freshwater environments.

Key responsibilities include:

• Safely operating plant and machinery on site to support with the delivery of WRT project
  work.
• Undertaking site surveys, drafting, and inputting to various site documents such as Method
  Statements, Risk Assessments and other consents or permits.
• Mentoring others in the safe operation of plant and other equipment.
• Support the operation and other Trust teams with other site-based work such as, but not
  limited to; chainsaw-based work, surveys and monitoring, installation of a variety of habitat
  features and monitoring equipment.
• Potentially leading a team on site to safely deliver Trust work.
• Ensuring a high level of health and safety standards are maintained.
• Maintaining Trust equipment, machinery and tools.
• Engaging with the public, volunteers, landowners and other stakeholders.
• Developing junior members of staff and apprentices.
• Delivering toolbox talks and other training to team members.
• Supporting with capturing site-based evidence of work and drafting information for project
  reporting.
• Flexibility to support on projects throughout the South-West.
• Attend team and project meetings as required.

Person specification.

Knowledge and Experience

• Qualification and experience of using plant machinery, in particular excavators.
• Previous experience of carrying out work with chainsaws and other hand tools and plant
  machinery.
• Experience of working outdoors in aquatic environments and remote locations.
• Routine maintenance of plant and equipment such as chainsaws, brush cutters and other hand
  tools.
• Good understanding of industry Health and Safety standards and codes of practice.
• Experience of using various software from the MS Office suite.
• Experience of delivering tree planting, NFM and habitat management schemes. (D)
• Previous experience of supervising a team. (D)
• A background in river restoration, fisheries, arboriculture/forestry, ecology or
  construction. (D)

Skills and Competencies

• Ability to plan and manage workloads including suitable delegation and supervision of
  tasks.
• Good communication skills.
• Some of our commercial clients may require you to undertake a medical exam including drug
  and alcohol tests from time to time prior to carrying out work on their sites.
• Experience of mentoring and training others. (D)

Qualifications/Membership

• Plant and Machinery Qualification(s)
• An industry recognised Health and Safety Qualification such as IOSH or similar.
• Working to attain professional membership of industry organisation.
• Minimum of Level 4 qualification or similar in relevant subject. (D).
• Arboricultural qualifications:
• • NPTC Chainsaw 201, 202, 203, 206, 306, 308 (D)
• FAW+F (D)
• LISS/CSCS card (D)

The above are Essential criteria unless indicated as Desirable (D)