Position: Project Officer
Project: Rewilding Denmarkfield
Location: Rewilding Denmarkfield, Denmarkfield House, Redgorton, PH1 3EH
Role: Part Time . 2 days a week .
Sectors: environmental conservation & wildlife, environmental education
Closing Date: Midday on Tuesday 4th April 2023
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We are recruiting for a part-time Project Officer, to help us with the day-to-day management of this exciting 90 acre rewilding project. The main elements of this job will involve managing the implementation of rewilding interventions, habitat management, conducting ecological surveys and managing volunteers.
Rewilding Denmarkfield is an ambitious 90 acre rewilding project located between Perth and Luncarty in Perthshire. The landowners bought the arable land in 2016 and started the rewilding project in March 2021. We are currently going through the process of registering Rewilding Denmarkfield as a Community Investment Company (not-for-profit company).
We are aiming to restore ecosystem function wherever possible on this ex-arable land, to help address the current ecological and climate crisis. We are restoring and creating a wide range of native habitats such as wetlands, species-rich grasslands and broadleaf woodlands. We would like to see a patchwork of species rich grassland, scrub, wet habitats and mature trees across the site. We are largely allowing natural processes (such as vegetation succession) to determine the design and pace of habitat restoration. There are however some rewilding interventions that we are implementing to remove man-made ecological barriers or catalyse the rewilding process where appropriate. Interventions include the creation of ponds and scrapes, removing unnecessary fencing and increasing native seed sources by planting native and locally underrepresented trees, shrubs and wildflowers.
We are monitoring the change in biodiversity over time through our rigorous ecological monitoring programme. This includes permanent photo points, botany surveys, bee and butterfly transect surveys, breeding bird surveys, camera trapping and biological soil analysis.
Our project is unique when compared to most other rewilding projects in Scotland because of its location. Over the next two decades the site will be engulfed into the city of Perth due to two large housing developments. We are therefore planning for this to be a rewilding project within a city! We work hard to provide outputs to the growing local community through: our environmental education programme with local schools, community workshops and practical work parties and the creation of a community allotment and orchard.
The Role
We are looking for someone to help with the day-to-day running of this new and exciting rewilding project. The successful applicant will work within an enthusiastic team of five staff members. We are seeking someone who can help us to maximize our positive impact on the environment and outputs for the local community.
This job will involve:
- Rewilding intervention management – such as wetland creations and tree planting
- Contractor management
- Habitat management
- Managing volunteers and interns
- Conducting ecological surveys – botany, butterfly, bee, bird, mammal and worm surveys
- Engaging with project stakeholders
- Managing our social media pages – Facebook and Instagram
- Occasionally helping with our environmental education programme and community events
- General site maintenance, equipment maintenance and workspace organizing
Essential job requirements
- Passionate about environmental conservation
- Passionate about environmental education
- Good foundational knowledge of ecology and native Scottish habitats
- Good understanding of rewilding principles
- Good understanding of current environmental issues in Scotland
- Experience of habitat management e.g. wetlands, woodlands, grasslands
- Self-motivation to work alone and the ability to work as part of a team
- Good at explaining ecological concepts in layman’s terms
- Desire to share skills and knowledge with others
- Understanding of experimental design and data collection
- Good botany identification skills
- Experience of doing basic data analysis and report writing
- Experience managing people e.g. volunteers
- Live close to site
- Happy to work with children
- Happy to work outside in all weather conditions
- Occasional availability on Sundays to help with community events
- A resourceful and flexible approach to coping with a wide variety of activities
Desirable requirements
- Experience of creating social media content
- Experience of finding and applying for grant funding
- Experience with writing press releases
- Experience of using and maintaining electric power tools such as brushcutter, scythe mower and lawnmower
- A member of Disclosure Scotland’s PVG scheme
- Possess a valid First Aid Outdoors certificate
Hours and Pay
Hours: 2 days per week (likely Wednesday and Thursday) from 9-5pm
Pay: £28,000 pro rata
Duration: 6 months with potential to extend
Desired start date: May 2023
How to Apply
To apply for this role please send a CV and cover letter to
jess@denmarkfield.co.uk by
midday on Tuesday 4th April 2023.
Your CV should be no more than 1 double-sided A4 page and your cover letter should be no more than 400 words.
Please attach to an email with the subject: Project Officer Application 2023 – “INSERT YOUR FULL NAME”
We will interviewing a selection of applicants on Wednesday 12th April 2023.
