White-tailed Eagle Project Officer

South England Forest District manages some 46,000 hectares of the public forest estate across West Sussex, Surrey, Berkshire, Hampshire, Isle of Wight, Dorset & South Wiltshire. Much of the land is of high importance for nature conservation, supporting some 29,000 hectares (ha) deemed to be of national importance for wildlife of which approximately 28,000 ha are also designated as being of international importance for biodiversity as Special Areas of Conservation (SACs), Special Protection Areas (SPAs) and Ramsar sites. The majority of the land managed by the District is also within areas designated for their landscape value, including 4,000 ha within AONBs and 31,500 ha across two National Parks.

The White-tailed Eagle project is a partnership with the Roy Dennis Wildlife Foundation, to reintroduce this species back to the south coast of England. The project has a Natural England licence to release birds over a 5 year programme, starting June 2019.

Purpose of the Job

To deliver the reintroduction project on the Isle of Wight. The Project Officer will work closely with Forestry England’s ecology team and the Roy Dennis Wildlife Foundation to carry out a successful reintroduction programme with good monitoring and close liaison with our stakeholders and the wider public.

Key Work Areas

Evolving our offer: Reintroducing a species back to the south coast that delivers part of the government’s 25 year environment plan. This will increase diversity in our woodlands and create resilient, naturally functioning ecosystems.
• The post holder will develop a volunteer network to help deliver the reintroduction process, including feeding of the birds and monitoring post release.
• They will oversee information dissemination via a project website, social media and a programme of guided walks and talks.
• Develop information around how and where to see the birds, including developing interpretation material for the project.

Increasing our commercial value: Grow existing partnerships and foster new ones. And engaging with customers: Build valued relationships with partners.
• The post holder will be the key person liaising with stakeholders both on the Isle of Wight and on the mainland to ensure the success of the project.
• They will be the first point of contact for any concerns raised by the local landowners and organisations, with support from Forestry England ecology team and the Roy Dennis Wildlife Foundation.
• The post holder will be local to the Isle of Wight so that they can be on hand during the period when the birds are in cages at the release location and during post-release feeding.
• They will work with local enterprises looking to add value to the project.
• Support the Bird Aware project in the Solent.

Person Specification

Experience and Professional/Technical Expertise

Essential

• Sound knowledge and understanding of birds and wider ecology.
• Experience working with local stakeholder groups, including: farmers; landowners; non-governmental organisations; charities; local government.
• Experience working with the public.
• An effective communicator, both written and verbally.
• Fieldwork experience of monitoring birds, particularly raptors
• Experience engaging with volunteers, volunteer recruitment and management.
• Competent in IT – Microsoft Office, website content and social media.
• Current resident of the Isle of Wight or prepared to relocate.

Desirable

• Practical experience of species reintroduction projects.
• Sound knowledge of the application of environmental legislation to project planning and delivery in the context of species reintroductions.
• Experience developing a suite of interpretation for a project.
• Experience in monitoring using satellite tagging.

Seeing the Big Picture
• Keep up to date with a broad set of issues relating to the work of the project.
• Focus on the overall goal and intent of what you are trying to achieve, not just the task.
• Ability to communicate the wider context of the project to others.

Making Effective Decisions
• Demonstrate accountability and make unbiased decisions.
• Speak with the relevant people in order to obtain the most accurate information and get advice when unsure of how to proceed.

Communicating and Influencing
• Display enthusiasm around goals and activities – adopting a positive approach when interacting with others.
• Identify key players and seek to gain their co-operation in advance of formal communications.
• Actively listens, allowing others to fully express their opinion.
• Be an effective representative of the team
• Listen to, understand, respect and accept the value of different views, ideas and ways of working.

Working Together
• Build, maintain and improve relationships with different stakeholders at the relevant level to understand differing views and issues.
• Be approachable, open, polite and helpful to others.
• Draw a diverse volunteer network to support the project.

Delivering at Pace
• Create regular reviews of what and who is required to make a project/activity successful and make ongoing improvements.
• Remain positive and focused on achieving outcomes despite setbacks.

Further information