Seasonal Warden

Working Pattern: Annualised hours from 1 March to 31 December each year.

30 hours per week, working a 4 out 7-day rota including regular weekend working.

A degree of flexibility will be required, especially over the busy summer months.

In 2022 the shift pattern will be mostly 8.30 a.m. to 4.30 p.m.

Depending on operational requirements, in peak summer there may also be a requirement to work a later shift of 11.45 a.m. to 8.15 p.m.

This is a part time, permanent vacancy, however we are a flexible employer and encourage applicants who wish to work other flexible working patterns to apply, as requests will be considered.

Nationality Requirements: We are currently unable to sponsor individuals to work in the UK; therefore it is essential that you ensure you have the Right to work in the UK before applying to work with us.

You are also be required to meet the nationality requirements to work for the Civil Service.

Disability Confident Scheme        Applicants claiming a guaranteed interview will be invited for further assessment should they meet the minimum essential criteria listed in this document.

Further information about this post is available from. Moira.Harkin@forestryandland.gov.scot or Amy.Morton@forestryandland.gov.scot

If you have any queries relating the recruitment process or require any adjustments for the application process, please contact HR@forestryandland.gov.scot

About the team

The Central Region includes Glasgow, Edinburgh, Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park. This role will be situated in the eastern part of the national park: Queen Elizabeth Forest Park.

Queen Elizabeth Forest Park contains a number of popular visitor locations:

The Lodge Visitor Centre, East Loch Lomond, 3 Lochs Forest Drive, Ben A’an, Ben Ledi, Strathyre, Achray Forest and Loch Ard Forest. The seasonal warden role will work from two of these key sites: The Lodge Forest Visitor Centre, Aberfoyle and Sallochy campsite, East Loch Lomond.

The Lodge Visitor Centre receives over 200,000 visitors annually and is a national 5-star Visit Scotland destination delivering a wide range of visitor experiences on site. Sallochy is a key semi-formal campsite on the shores of Loch Lomond, and the West Highland Way is a core part of this offer. Maintaining standards at the 3 Lochs Forest Drive and Rowardennan car park is also part of this role. Delivery and maintenance of these destinations are vital to our customers, local communities and the tourism sector.

The Visitor Services (VS) team works closely with a number of partners such as Café at the Lodge, Go Ape treetop adventure and the National Park Authority on a variety of programmes and initiatives.

What you will do

You’ll deliver a consistent and excellent visitor experience at key sites within the Queen Elizabeth Forest Park as part of a team of staff and volunteers. You’ll deliver high quality front of house customer service and will also monitor, deliver and record facility standards at the sites and contribute to event delivery.

Main Duties

• Deliver high quality front of house customer services and hospitality including advice and information.
• Maintain site standards by delivering daily inspections, litter picking, cleaning and maintenance duties within our visitor centre, campsite, forest drive and car parks.
• To respond to minor customer concerns and suggestions in a professional and courteous manner and escalate more significant issues to a supervisor.
• Work as part of a team to deliver high presentation and quality standards as part of our Visit Scotland and Green Tourism accreditation.
• To collect, monitor & record campsite income.
• To support events programme run by the team.
• Liaise and foster good working relationships with key partners including Go Ape, Lodge café, National Park Ranger team & Police Scotland and our key onsite contractors.
• To undertake safe working practices in relation to personal, visitor and site safety standards
• Be self-organised, and be able to manage own administrative tasks including timesheets, emails and annual leave
• Be able to prioritise and make decisions based on-site rules and policy

Success Profile

Below are details of the Success Profile that make up this role. You will be expected to provide evidence to show how you meet the criteria at application and/or interview stage.

Behaviours

Behaviour 1 and Lead Criteria: Managing a Quality Service

Behaviour 2: Working Together

Behaviour 3: Delivering at Pace

Behaviour 4: Leadership

Experience

Essential:

• Experience of working in an outdoor setting/ in a visitor centre.
• Experience of delivering a high level of customer service and hospitality.
• Demonstrable evidence of successful team working.
• Able to self-manage, be organised, prioritise tasks and use own initiative when required to do so.
• Be friendly, welcoming and approachable to members of the public.
• Knowledge of relevant health & safety processes.
• Basic level of computer literacy to include experience of using Microsoft packages such as Word, Excel and Outlook and WhatsApp.
• Experience of communicating with customers via email and telephone.
• Good level of written and spoken English.

Desirable:

• Previous relevant work experience gained within the leisure, recreation or tourism sector.
• Evidence of being able to anticipate the needs of a customer.
• Experience of working at a campsite.
• Experience of undertaking site checks and site cleaning.
• Experience of working with parking machines.

Technical

Essential:

• Full Driving Licence

Desirable:

• Qualification in Customer Service/ Customer care.
• An HNC or equivalent qualification within a relevant field such as leisure, recreation or tourism would be advantageous.
• A current First Aid qualification.

What we offer you

If successful, you will be entitled to a wide range of benefits.

This includes:

• A generous annual leave allowance of 25 days, rising to 30 days per year after 5 years’ service. In addition, there are currently 11.5 days of public and privilege holidays, dates of which are set annually.
• A competitive contributory pension scheme.
• Annual pay progression (subject to Scottish Government approval).
• Access to an ASVA card, giving you free access to over 480 visitor attractions and sites across Scotland.
• Employee discount with Forest Holidays.
• Cycle to Work Scheme.
• A generous paid maternity and paternity leave.
• We recognise the importance of enabling employees to achieve a healthy work-life balance by offering flexi-time arrangements in areas of the business where it is appropriate to do so.
• Access to join the Civil Service Sports Council (CSSC), which offers a number of discounts, access to leisure activities, gyms and much more.
• Free car parking spaces for staff (dependent on the office location).
• Employee development opportunities - Personal and professional development with a range of in-house courses offered by our Learning and Development team.
• Access to the Employee Assistance Programme – available all year round (24 hours, 7 days a week).
• Trade union membership for those interested in joining one.

Additional information

Where a vacancy attracts more than 10 applications, only certain ‘essential’ criteria, known as ‘lead criteria’, will be assessed at sift stage, providing this is specified in the advert. However, it is still important that you complete the entire application form in sufficient detail, as there is no way of knowing that a vacancy will have a high number of applications.

We strongly believe in an inclusive and supportive work culture. We welcome applications from everyone regardless of background. We are currently under-represented by women; therefore, we encourage applications from females.

Concerns about our recruitment

If you believe that the Civil Service Recruitment Principles have been breached, you can submit a complaint to the Head of People and OD who will assess compliance with the Recruitment Principles but will not review the decision(s) of the selection board.

If you are not satisfied with the response from your complaint, you may submit an appeal to the Civil Service Commission, as set out in the complaint outcome letter. For more information on the Civil Service Commission Complaints Procedure, please click here.

To APPLY click here.

Closing date: 7 February 2022.