Area Ranger

The National Trust is seeking an Area Ranger for their Maidenhead location. The role involves managing a small team and volunteers to maintain and present landscapes, focusing on habitat conservation and access management. Candidates should have experience in land management, team leadership, and practical skills across various habitats. Strong communication skills are essential for engaging with the community. This is a full-time position based on-site, not remote.
We’ve got an exciting opportunity for an Area Ranger to join our team. Working in some of the nation’s most stunning places and spaces, come rain or shine, your love of the outdoors will inspire others as you strive to ensure that landscapes are beautifully presented and maintained.

You’ll be part of a small team, reporting to the Lead Ranger for the Cliveden Portfolio, managing one member of staff and several volunteers. With a focus on Maidenhead and Cookham Commons, you’ll play a key role in planning and delivering practical habitat conservation and access management, as well as ensuring our places look their best. With the help of volunteers, we look after diverse sites including broadleaf woodland, species-rich chalk grassland and SSSI grazing marsh, so our work is equally varied.

What you’ll be doing

As the Area Ranger, you’ll manage a small team of Rangers working throughout the portfolio: following the lead from the property’s business plan, you’ll build and manage an effective and flexible work programme for you and your team.

You’ll support your fellow rangers in undertaking engagement and conservation work, contributing towards HLS (Higher Level Stewardship) targets.

You’ll play the key role in maintaining excellent standards of presentation and property maintenance, successfully achieving Conservation Performance Indicator targets.

You’ll build and maintain strong professional relationships with colleagues, contractors, tenants and neighbouring land managers.

You’ll also be responsible for helping with excellent communication of our conservation work to a wide range of audiences, both new and existing, through events, guided walks and engagement with local communities.

You’ll appreciate the need for our countryside sites to bring in income, so your business ideas will play an important part in the team’s success.

Who we’re looking for

We’d love to hear from you, if this sounds like you:
• evidence of experience in land, access, and conservation management, preferably in an upland context including delivery of small projects and supervision of contractors
• experience of developing and delivering work programs to meet conservation and access outcomes
• a strong team player, with experience of leading and line-managing teams of staff and/or volunteers
• practical skills applied across a broad range of habitats and estate management, preferably with certification in chainsaw use, tractor driving, and towing trailers
• able to work safely, leading on compliance including writing risk assessments as well as safety and environmental procedures
• demonstrate a passion for nature and the outdoors – able to engage with visitors to help them understand the value of our work
• a driver with a full UK driving licence

If you need any help with your application, i.e. due to technical difficulties, please call us on 0370 240 0274 or email us at recruitmentenquiries@nationaltrust.org.uk

If you require an adjustment to the application process, for example due to disability or medical condition, please call us on 0370 240 0274 or email us at adjustments@nationaltrustjobs.org.uk and we’ll support you as best as we can. For examples of how, please see our supporting you page.